Mind the Switchback

Wildflower season is upon us! Picked this hike because reviews on AllTrails said the bluebells were in full swing. I didn't know this was a thing! Well, now we both know that the Swimming Deer Trail in St. Francois State Park is blanketed in bluebells at the start of the season!  Everywhere you look, those cheery little bells are ringing in the season. We'll have to make a regular event of this!    In addition to bluebells, we saw so many beautiful shapes and colors rising from the dead leaves - Dutchman's Breeches, poppies, lilies, ferns... I took gobs of photos and played with my macro lens. This trail featured epic views of the St. Francois River, which I love since I'm used to floating and rarely get this perspective, enhanced by the lack of foliage for another couple of weeks.  There also are some cool rock formations and mossy rectangular boulders strewn along the way. Not too challenging, not too muddy, really enjoyed this one. After Swimming Deer, we had lunch

The thing about tornadoes is - you can't really predict them.   But that insight came at the end of the day. Before the tornado watch was issued, we hiked! Arkansas has some amazing natural beauty. We camped on the Buffalo River a couple years ago and have been wanting to return ever since. So when a friend invited us to camp in central Arkansas in late March, we jumped at the offer. It was a straightforward 6.5 hour drive, and we arrived around 2:30pm.  At our first choice - Crystal Springs Campground - our party was a little taken by surprise that campsites could only be reserved online, no walk-ups. It seems all state parks work this way. Good to know. And of course everything at Crystal Springs was booked. But at least they had internet service. We quickly reserved 2 sites at Denby Point and drove over to see what we reserved.  Lucky for us, the Denby Point sites were much prettier and roomier than Crystal Springs! The campsite was excellent. Mostly RVs and a lot of dogs, inclu