Indian Shelters, Video Trails, and Waterfalls

Tuesday, October 20, 2020

Indian Shelters, Video Trails, and Waterfalls

A brief encounter with the weekend in north central Arkansas

Quickly putting the city in the rear view mirror, it took nearly the exact estimated requisite number of hours to traverse the 580 km of highway south into Arkansas. The second half of the journey occurred primarily under the cover of darkness, disquieted only by the lingering prospect of suicidal Cervidae.

A test of the the GoPro out on the trails took precedence on the this particular expedition. The first attempt at Bridal Veil Falls worked our reasonably well, and included some satisfactory scenery. Heavy rains passed through recently, and both falls were flowing better than usual.

Later in the afternoon, a second trial yielded less satisfactory results. The scenery stood mostly uncooperative in terms of any sort of inspirational footage. The hike around the base of Sugarloaf Mountain was as enjoyable as always, though.

The third appraisal of the day flowed well, capturing the cascades along the Mossy Bluff National Nature Trail gushing more so than usual. High winds and quite possibly the tornado from the previous week created quite a mess along the trail, ultimately ending the hike early than anticipated. Downed trees much too large to simply hop blocked the last quarter of the way, and the surrounding legion of poison ivy deterred any thoughts of an end-around.

. . .

A day as bright and sunny as the first outing followed, enabling a wander north and west of base camp. Along the way, Dill School in Ida finally emerged from hiding. The school had long been on the list of things to uncover, but had remained elusive until now. Built in 1938 with assistance from the National Youth Administration (NYA), grades one through four were taught in one room and grades five through eight in the other until the it closed in 1958.

Another emerged unexpectedly, further down the road, though little is known about the church, which was later a school. It is known simply as Davis Special, reporting its own identity as having been born in 1912 and serving through 1963.

The "Indian Rock Shelter" appeared in short order, marked politely and somewhat ironically with an "American Totem Pole." Without going on at length in this post, the ensuing trail and features proved quite an interesting discovery, in spite of lying about the past as having been a location of significant in the travels of Hernando de Soto.

Down the road and around the corner, Indian Falls Trail flowed lightly. Falls from the prior day had set high expectations for a meeting that turned out less than as much. It is likely a fantastic sight with water cascading down staggered platforms into a giant pit after a solid ran or during the more wet season. This day it only trickled.

A parade of flags lined the egress and departure from Fairfield Bay. The route back to Heber Springs still holds a few points noted for future explorations, but other priorities demanded attention. The cool waters of Greers Ferry and warm shores of Sandy Beach beckoned.

The expedition headed northward again the following day. With very little time on the agenda left to squander, no further exploration ensued. Although, a panorama of blue skies in the windshield and a few spare moments encouraged a last second decision to change heading to ensure the course crossed at the Peel Ferry.