Lake Ouachita Vista Trail

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, including a few wiener dogs who never stopped barking, just sometimes went inside the trailer, and - a baby goat! No matter how mad you wanted to be at that baby goat for bleating in the early morning, its cries were just too dang cute to hold a grudge. 

We even checked and double-checked the forecast in the morning, to prepare our campsite before we left for our little hike around Lake Ouachita (pronouced waa·shee·tuh). Rain was predicted for 4pm, so we set up our big canopy and made sure all our clothing was packed in the car before we left, just in case the weather decided to surprise us.  

When camping with friends and friends of friends, you have to adjust to others' expectations. In this case, it meant the fastest hike of my life. Whereas I like to meander and consider every fungus-like bump in the leaves, these folks were like mall walkers in the woods. They HUSTLED. I passed up the first few fiddleheads to keep up with the group, but after kicking myself the next half-mile, I vowed to stop and catch up as needed. 

Found our first Devil's Urns along as a reward!

 We shaved off a last spur, because folks felt "we're not going to see anything we haven't seen already." :O We got back to the campsite by around 2pm and split up for a bit.

Ryan & I consoled ourselves with a chilly yet invigorating soak in the lake. Cold, kinda cloudy lakewater on a carved-out sliver of beach lined with gnarly, exposed tree roots. all to ourselves. One of my favorite moments of the trip. Then we all napped. Some in tents, some in hammocks, some in chairs. Lovely, lazy afternoon by the lake. 

The tone of our lazy day shifted abruptly when our companions came back from a firewood mission. Thanks to their quick pop into a gas station, we learned we were currently under a tornado watch! From 3-11pm!! WELL OK THEN. That explained why the few RV folks with a canopy had taken theirs down...

We gathered all the chairs under the canopy while they started a fire. Of course rain came pouring down on their efforts. They continued to cook during the downpour while Ryan & I stayed dry with our friends' dog, who doesn't enjoy storms. We wouldn't mind a dinner of foods that don't require cooking, if that's what it came down to. 

Thankfully, the worst we got was an hour or so of that heavy rain followed by gusting winds all night. Actually, I found the sound of the wind in the trees all night to be soothing. But for pete's sake, it makes you wonder - if we hadn't gone on a firewood run, how would we even have known we were under a tornado watch?!?!

I give the campsite 5 stars and would definitely visit again, even with the 6-hour drive. And we know the choice spots to reserve now. ;) More pics of this little adventure can be found here!