To Hell and Back

Immediately following the spectacle known as Christmas, we launched down the road for yet another visit to Arkansas and good company.  We had hoped the weather would be better than it ultimately turned out.  However, the cold front reached further south than it was supposed to have, leaving us with a cloudy and chilly 7° C weekend.  It is a good thing that is nearly perfect weather for hiking about and discovering new places.

Hell Creek Natural Area has been quietly waiting on the to-do list for quite some time now. Timing is everything for this spot.  Excessive undergrowth and reports of a militarized tick population generally prohibit access from March through October.  Click the title above to read more.  It was a good, quiet journey.  There are not many folks out on the trail at this time of year.

While lingering about, a return visit to Woolly Hollow enabled solid exercise though more calm and quiet forest.  A bear bellowed in the distance at one point along this hike.  Each attempt to record the racket failed.  It was as if the beast knew of the effort through some sort of game cam of its own.  I departed empty-handed, since there seemed no solid reason to stick around to learn more of proximity.

The courthouse consistently greeted us each evening in its best display.  New lights bordering the windows caused them to stand out brighter than ever.  The only thing missing from the scene, a light blanket of snow. We had left that at home, to clean up after itself, and it was due to be gone before we returned.