GETTING BACK TO NATURE

We just got back home from spending a few days/nights camping at Magazine Mountain State Park in Arkansas. This is the tallest spot in the state and many of the overlook areas are windy, including the hang gliding launch zone above. The Flaming Bore has a strict policy that feet must be touching terra firma at ALL times, and when I peeked over that launch zone, I knew there was a good reason that I'm such a wuss. Those hang glider folks must be totally mad.

Our main purpose of the trip was to hike some trails we'd not had time to cover during our last trip there in November. After walking five miles, across a ridge and up and down and all around Bear Hollow, we made the mistake of stopping at an overlook for a lunch break--good ol' Beanie Weenies--and our joints stiffened up so much that the last two miles were a challenge. Didn't help that it was one mile up a rocky trail and one mile back down on the same type of terrain. No permanent damage, though. Nothing that a hot shower and a great campfire couldn't cure.

Here's an old Beanie Weenie grizzly bear I met in the woods.

More tomorrow.