Arkansas with the Girls

This weekend after the fourth of July, we headed south into the Arkansas wilderness with the two oldest girls.  The youngest of two had specifically requested this journey months in advance, and it only made sense to include her older sister-cousin.

A 6.5-hour trip south turned into a 13-hour adventure without even realizing it.  Along the way, we enjoyed rediscovering Bass Pro Shops in Springfield, another trip on the Peel Ferry.  Finding a free water park, burning up energy on a few playgrounds, and eating everything the Western Sizzlin' had to offer really helped round out the day.

The following day, we hiked to the bottom of Bridal Veil Falls, followed by an afternoon at the beach.  We had one lunch before we went there, then another on our return, followed by blissful napping in a cold dark bedroom.  Upon waking, we headed back to the beach to await fireworks at Freedom Fest on the Lake with the best seats in the house, right down in the water.

After that late night, we slept in a little, then headed to the top of Sugar Loaf, cooling our heals shortly thereafter in Collins Creek.  The beach called to us again, and we spent the rest of the afternoon there, after finishing Lunch Part 1.  After the beach, they polished off the rest of their watermelon in Lunch Part 2, then crashed hard in their cold dark bedroom.  They met some new friends that evening, doing their best to crash into each other on the Slip & Slide in the backyard, before heading down to the park to expend the rest of their energy.

Morning found us chocolate chip pancakes and on the road again.  Rain trashed any attempts to do much.  We eventually outran it, though it caught up to us at nearly every stop along the way. We cooled our heels a few times, once at the Buffalo River, where skipped rocks and just chilled for a bit, and the other at Woods Fork.  Ice cream in Springfield offered a different break from the road, along with a stop at Gordon's Orchard, after finally breaking free of that snarl of traffic.  The Optimist playground offered more relief in Clinton, but had no facilities, so bailed in favor of pizza followed by the playground in Urich.

Skies darkened again and pressed us homeward again, but not before offering up a clear view of the tornado beginning its descent upon central southwest Missouri.  After that, nothing but pure joy to finally be home in the comfort of our own beds after only 11 hours on the road this time.