ARKANSAS
When I told
friends that I wanted to visit Arkansas on my road trip, I generally got a
response “But why?!” accompanied with a scrunched up face of confusion. Not only was a co-worker of mine from Arkansas
and spoke of how beautiful it was, but the state also has a national park that
I wanted to visit and check off my list. Another reason to visit was a desire
to finally see and explore the Ozark Mountains. As a child, one of my favorite
books, and movies, was Where the Red Fern
Grows. I had formed in my imagination that the Ozarks was this wild,
treacherous and untamed place that the young main character so bravely explored,
fighting off mountain lions and battling near-debilitating weather…..and I
wanted to explore it also. I just never imagined that part of my adventure
would include my own small terrifying experience.
Before
heading up north to the Ozarks, I first stopped at Hot Springs National Park. The
park was initially set aside as the first federal land reservation in 1832 by
President Andrew Jackson, essentially becoming the unofficial first national
park in the U.S. It was officially made into a national park in 1921. In the
late 1800’s and early 1900’s multiple bath houses were established and the area
soon became an upscale spa city in the rough frontier and continues to attract
over a million visitors a year. An interesting fact that the park ranger shared
with me was that in exchange for protecting the area as a national park, Congress
insisted that the water from the park must be donated to the residents and
visitors of the city for free to prevent capitalization of a basic right. As
such, public water stations are established all over the town for anyone to use
as drinking water. Every water station I passed was packed with people filling
up their water containers. Of course, I did the same and filled up my water
jugs. And, as expected, the spring water was clear and crisp.
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| Hot Spring. Hard to see the steam rising up. |
The park
itself is relatively small but aims to protect and keep clean the hot springs
as well as protect the public from themselves…..because you know some idiot
will attempt to climb into 143 degree water thinking they will be just fine.
There are a few beautiful hot spring
fountains around town, steaming with the clear clean water and every tourist that
approaches has to stick a finger in to test the temperature (Yes, I did it too.
Yes, it was hot). All other springs are
sealed off to essentially protect the water source. Otherwise, the little town
is a cutesy and quaint with lots of little bohemian shops and easily walk-able.
The day I arrived the weather was sunny and 70 degrees. Hallelujah!! The
downtown is surrounded by hills with some easy and moderate hikes. I went on a
few small walks around the springs and then a longer hike on the opposite side
of town. After a hiking a couple miles, I reached the top of the hill, with a
beautiful overlook of the town and surrounding beautiful hilly area. If it was
this beautiful in the winter, I can’t image how beautiful it is during the
other seasons. The spot was too peaceful and scenic to just pass by, so sat
down on a nearby bench and just soaked up the sunshine. I ended up sitting there for a good 45 min.
My mind filled with gratitude for just about everything in my life from nature,
to the “good” and “bad” experiences I’ve had, for people who have crossed my
path and my own growth. My mind played like a slide show of happy and sad
memories throughout my life, but I didn’t dismiss any of them. I breathed in deeply
the nature surrounding me and just sat with my emotions as they meandered
through the sulci of my mind. I allowed myself to be in the moment with my thoughts, and one
memory or feeling would trigger another, from feelings of joy and gratitude to
sadness and pain (with a few tears) but also relief, gladness and peace. When I
was done “feeling” I sauntered back down the path, a little lighter on my feet
and was again grateful for the perfect weather and sunshine.
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| The visitor center was located in an old bath house |
The next
morning I headed up to Ozark National Forest. It took several hours to drive there
simply due to the landscape being very hilly and the roads narrow and winding. The area of the national forest that I visited was only staffed Wednesday through
Sunday. I was there on a Tuesday. I passed a few cars driving through, but
otherwise the forest and campground were empty. I found a nice footpath along a
mossy stream and followed it for a couple miles. Later, I explored another 4
mile hike through the woods. It was
peaceful and quiet and for some reason I felt uneasy at being completely and utterly alone. This
doesn’t happen to me very often and I don’t like that feeling. I tried to
dismiss it. As the sun started to go down, I drove down
the long and windy road to the campground, nestled in a quiet and picturesque
ravine with a shallow river running through it. The road crossing into the
campground was level with the river and I drove through about an inch of water
flowing over the top of it. Bright
yellow signs were posted throughout the camp warning of flash flooding when
raining and advised campers to stay at their own risk. I knew rain was in the forecast, but it has
only been sprinkling on/off and I wasn’t terribly worried. I picked a place to
park my car higher up on in the campground, just in case. As I fell asleep, the
rain was lightly coming down and soon fell asleep. However, in the middle of the night
the rain grew heavier. I started to get worried and thought about the flash
flooding, but then I rationalized that the rain wasn't THAT bad. But around 3 am, the rain started to come down so hard it
sounded like hail. The intensity put me on edge, but I kept telling myself I
was safe. I had parked higher up in the campsite so therefore, I wasn’t going
to be swept away by a flood. The other, more level-headed side of me, reminded
me that flash floods have that name for a reason. I was in a narrow ravine and
the only way out was driving through that river that was sure to be much higher
than an inch by now. Then terror started to rise in me as I realized that I had
absolutely no cell phone service and not a single soul knew I was there. If a
flash flood rushed through the ravine, and something happened to me, not one person on earth
would know about it. The two sides of my brain kept presenting their arguments:
I was over-reacting and needed to stay calm; Or, I could be in danger for very
legitimate reasons and my worries about all the “what if” scenarios were
justified. An hour later, at 4 am, the rain was still coming down in thunderous
torrents. My anxiety turned into fear that even if there wasn’t a flash flood,
what if the river rose so high that I couldn’t get out in the morning. It was
supposed to rain all the next day as well. The decision was made. I decided to
leave and not risk any “what if” scenarios. Better safe than sorry.
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| Fresh water spring in the Ozarks |
I climbed
from the back of my car, between the front seats, to the driver seat. I turned the car on and the lights seemed to
barely shine through the intensity of the darkness. It was so dark I couldn’t
see the river and how high it had become. I started to shiver; I was cold. My
car read the outside temperature at 30 degrees and I turned the heat all the
way up and waited for the windows to defrost. As I approached the stream, I guesstimated
that the creek was a good 8-10 inches high now, still passable, thank God. I
drove out of the ravine, up through the winding roads of the mountain, the
darkness still engulfing me, but filled with a sense of relief that I was now out of danger and safe. I thought multiple times about pulling off and
going back to sleep, but I was too awake and alert. The rain was also still
coming down heavily, and loudly, and I wouldn’t be able to sleep anyway. I
decided to head to my next destination two-and-a-half hours away, Petit Jean
State Park.
By the time
I arrived at Petit Jean State Park, a recommendation from my co-worker, I was
exhausted. I pulled into the visitor center parking lot around 7:30 am and
decided to take a nap until the visitor center opened. Two hours later I woke
up. It was still raining, but significantly lighter. Rain was in the forecast
for the next couple of days with a chance of sunshine after a few days. I decided
to get a campsite for 2 nights with the hope that I’d get an opportunity to
explore. It then rained and thundered the next two days. The morning of the
third day the rain had finally let up and there was sunshine. YAY! I stepped
outside my car and brrrrrr, it was 15 degrees. I was not expecting it to be
that cold. The weather forecast predicted 30 degrees and there is a really big
difference between 15 and 30 degrees. Thirty degrees is like, “Oooh, it’s
really cold, I should bundle up.” Fifteen degrees (to me) is like, “OH @#$% its
cold, imma going back inside and coming back out in the summer time!” However, since I haven’t had too many sunny
days on my trip I couldn’t chicken out due to some cold weather. I decided to wait until late morning to go on
a hike, with the hope of the weather maybe warming up to 30 degrees. Around
11 am, the temp had increased to 20. I was tired of waiting. Tired of being in
my car for two days. I had plenty of
warm winter clothes, so I decided to bundle up and head out. I am so glad I
did!
I chose to go on a 4 mile hike along a
tumbling stream (which turned into a 6 mile hike because I accidentally took the
wrong fork in the trail). The cliff sides were lined with frozen moss,
frosted into green lace doilies. Frozen mud stood up from the path like
ant-sized stalagmites, and icicles of every size adorned the rocky landscape. I
felt like I was in a frozen fairy land (spare me Disney's Frozen references).
What a pleasant surprise! I thoroughly enjoyed that peaceful magical morning.
TENNESSEE
After Arkansas
I headed onto Tennessee, with a quick stop in Memphis and then onto Nashville.
As I drove over the Hernando de Soto Bridge into Memphis, which crosses the beautiful Mississippi River, I
had to stop and watch the sunset. An orange glow reflecting on the river and the twinkling
lights of the city starting to flicker on for the evening. I later took a little walk down famous Beale
Street, with the flashing lights, music and clubs but nothing enticed me in.
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| Sunset at Hernando de Soto Bridge |
In the
morning I headed to Nashville. A good friend of mine from my childhood now
lives there and offered me a place to stay. We had assessed that we hadn’t seen
each other since her wedding 8 years ago, so we spent a couple hours getting
caught up on the last decade of our lives. It’s interesting to reflect how much
we all change and grow throughout life.
When I think of all the changes that have happened to me in a single
decade, let alone my entire life, I now realize why it’s probably not a
good idea to know our future. There is no way I would have believed all that
has happened in my life, nor would I have accepted it 10 years ago.
Nashville is
the Hollywood of Country Music and it showed. My friend and I headed downtown
for the evening to Broadway Street where there are a million bars, dives, dance
halls and tourist shops. We heard
everything from Bluegrass, Rock, Country, Country Rock, old-time Country, and
plenty of Cover bands. The energy was electric and everyone was having a good
time, including us. Each performer was hoping to catch their next big break and
get discovered. There was a plethora of talent and I can’t imagine the effort
and perseverance it takes to make the “Big Time.”
My friend
also gave me the grand tour of the suburbs of Nashville. It was CLASSY!
The homes were big, some ostentatious, but not out of place or screaming
“Look at me!” The lawns were large, well-manicured and one could tell the
community took great pride in its appearance. The homes reminded me of the southern
charm, class and strength of the country music stars Dolly Pardon, Carey
Underwood, and Kacey Musgraves. All classy southern woman in the way they
dress, speak and act. I’m not saying
every country star presents this way, and that they don’t all have their
scandals. I’m just saying that the homes, neighborhoods and general community
seem to reflect the general southern classiness and pride in appearance. Overall,
my short time in Nashville was a pleasant time and a place I’d be happy to
visit again.
KENTUCKY
I mostly
wanted to make a trip up to Kentucky to visit Mammoth Cave National Park. I
think it would be fun to go to a horse race one day, or visit some stables, since learning
to ride a horse is on my bucket list. I think they are magnificent animals!
There are also a few other historic and touristy things that seem interesting, but due to poor weather, I decided to keep my trip simple and short and perhaps one day
I’ll return and explore a bit more.
Mammoth
Caves was named because it is the longest and largest cave system on Earth (at
least that has been discovered and mapped). This natural wonder has over 400 miles of tunnels
and caverns, 365 miles of which have been explored and mapped. I’ve been on
several cave tours across the U.S. and all are unique and some really are
spectacular, but Mammoth Cave is definitely my favorite. It helped that our tour guide had a thick
country drawl and had the talent of animated story telling.
The cave has
a long history of humans exploring it, although the Native American history with the
cave is ambiguous. The cave has had a multitude of different explorers and enthusiasts from the early 1800's and on, with young men attempting to be guides, making money by charging tourists a
small price to take them down under the earth. But in 1838, a teenager named
Stephen Bishop, a slave at the time, was asked to be the primary guide and explore the cave more thoroughly and also take the tourists
and scientists through the cave. He performed this duty with showmanship and
curiosity for the duration of his life, and is known for the most prominent
discoveries in the cave. He received his freedom one year before his death, at
the age of 37.
Historical anecdotes
are always fun to hear about, such as finding out that church was sometimes held
in one of the caverns during the summer months, due to the cool climate in the
cave. Also, names of tourists from the late 1800's and early 1900's are still
seen on the cave walls and ceilings. Apparently this is how some of the
enslaved tour guides made a little money, by charging a fee for etching or using
smoke to spell the names of these tourists. It is also how
some believe that Stephen Bishop learned his letters to read and write. On our
tour, we also walked along a fresh water river running through it with multiple
small waterfalls, which at times, plummeted so far down I couldn't see or hear the water hit the bottom. The cave also has very few stalagmites or stalactites, which I
have seen in all other caves I’ve toured. Apparently the ground level above is
protected by a thick layer of stone and water is unable to leak slowly through
to create the structures.
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| Entrance to Mammoth Cave |
As we exited the cave, I was reminded of the rainy weather following me on my trip. Mammoth Cave National Park is unique in that it is not just a cave but also the land above it is set aside as part of the park and has numerous walking and biking trails to explore. I was kind of bummed that the weather was rainy, cold and dreary, and I supposed I could have walked some paths in the rain, but my exploring and adventurous spirit isn’t always “on.” Perhaps someday I’ll return, when the sun is shining.
