Fall Hikes

Fall is the perfect time to go for hikes and or walks here in Arkansas.  We have definitely taken advantage of the beautiful fall weather here.

Some of the leaves here are so stunning.

Fist up: Crystal Bridges.  No season would be complete without a walk around there.  We collected leaves while we were there so we could dry them and make pictures out of them later.

Calder found some great leaves!

Part of the museum.

They are in the process of relocating a Frank Lloyd
Wright house to Crystal Bridges, which I think is pretty cool.

I love the ombre leaves!

Adelaide added a few leaves to our collection, too. 

Next Up:  Devil's Den (Yellow Rock)

This was a hike that led up to an incredible view!

More leaves...I can't resist taking pictures of them.

We found a fun little cave.  Calder was skeptical.

Adelaide was enjoying grabbing the back of Craig's head.

At one point Craig was carrying both kids.  This was the moment we realized any hike we went on should only be a mile.

Love.This.Picture.

We made it to the top!

Craig's mustache. All of our November pictures are tainted.

Arkansas has so many pretty places!

...and another pretty picture.  I really can't help myself.

Thanksgiving week: We took a trip to a place called Mount Magazine.  It is the highest point in Arkansas.  (roughly 27,000 ft is all)  And again, another beautiful place! There was a lodge at the top of the mountain that we got to stay in.  We got to see the sun rise, and have breakfast overlooking the valley below. When it warmed up a little, we finished walking the 0.4 miles up to the top of the mountain.  And what a surprise, we actually felt like we were on a real mountain!  Not just a big hill, like the rest of the places around here. 

The view from the lodge.

Both kids loved that our room had a deck.

They each had to take a turn sitting in the chair.

On the hike, Calder gathered all the little acorns/nuts that he could find.  

Adelaide was pretty thrilled with everything she was finding, too.

Playing around with the camera...

 At one point during the walk/hike, Craig and I both thought we heard a growl.  Like, what a bear would sound like.  We did see some deer bounding away, but didn't see anything else.  We were a little paranoid after that, though.

We made it to the top!  The kids were't quite as thrilled as we were.  

After hiking, we rode our bikes with the trailer around one of the loops at the top of the mountain.   More gorgeous views.  They say, on a clear day, from the top of Mount Magazine you can see clear to Oklahoma, and if you total the miles seen from all sides of the mountain you can see 25% of the state of Arkansas.

Crazy how far you can see!

Last but not least: Shaddox Hollow Trail

Jared and Ali, my brother and his wife, came and visited for Thanksgiving.  So we took advantage of one of the warm afternoons and took them on a little hike in the Ozarks.  This one hiked down to Beaver Lake, where we spent most of the summer boating.

Yay for Jared and Ali!  It was so fun spending time with these guys.

Made it to the lake.

Adelaide had a great time finding rocks in the mud.

She is going through a phase where she is bothered when her hands get dirty, so she wasn't so sure about the mud for a few minutes. 

Calder was upset because we took him away from throwing rocks into the lake for a family picture.  How dare we.

He was throwing with all his might!

All the leaves are off the trees now, but maybe we will get another hike in before Christmas!