Crossing the Mississippi Delta

Wandering down out of the Ozark Highlands on a southeasterly bearing, it might have been easy enough to just slide over to Memphis and follow the interstate system.  A particular loathing has grown significantly for that route though.  It is as homogenized as it gets, at a high speed.

The expedition headed immediately southeast towards a little known spot in Arkansas relevant to the history of the state before it was a state.  Indeed, relevant to many the western states before they were even states.

Little more than a marker in a swamp, Louisiana Purchase State Park commemorates the planting of a survey marker.  It is not just any survey marker though.  This boulder in a swamp preserves the initial point of beginning for surveys of all land acquired in the Louisiana Purchase of 1803.  It is puzzling why such a location was chosen, when plenty of wide open solid land surrounds the area.

Continuing across the massive floodplain of the Mississippi River into a state by the same name, the remainder of the day moved lazily down the road, like the the barges on the Mississippi River.   The seven and a half driving hours for the day bypassed all the major metropolitan areas.  Indeed, US-49 seemed to bypass pretty much everything, except the heat.  The radio confirmed that it was 44°C near Webb, mockingly following that up with news that there would be a low of 42°C overnight.

Skies became increasingly cloudy near Greenwood, just as the journey turns into the southern pine belt. It proved a little cooler there too; a chilly 38°C.  Humidity in both of these instances stood at the precipice of raining, without ever going there.  Stepping out of air conditioning into this pea soup equal  only to being slammed in the chest with a sledgehammer, while trying to swallow a gallon of water.

Pine forest consumes much of the landscape after that point. Two-lane highways begin to twist and wind their way through this land mass.  It is amazing that this far south, even after all the years, this part of the world maintains one of the highest percentages of forest cover in the nation.  Then again, with the heat they experience regularly, maybe not so surprising.  Storm never quite caught up, though made a gallant effort, apparently raging everywhere around.  The most witnessed firsthand on this outing amounted to little more than a few splatters here and there.

Arriving at camp for the night unscathed, accommodations were found satisfactory, and a quick journey into Laurel for sustenance proved successful.  Some friendly folks dining nearby at the bar asked if we had come to see the related to the HGTV series "Home Town."  They appeared amused and somewhat relieved that we had no idea what that was all about and immediately offered a few interesting alternatives.  Though a few suggestions seemed interesting enough, our destination was the beach though.  The only real purpose for stopping in this town was to enable a three hour journey to attain that goal.

The journey back to camp seemed much longer than the dusk travel into Laurel.  Everything grows right up to the side of the two-lane blacktop here.  Additionally, a settling fog and shadows challenged  expedient navigation.  At camp, the night stood blissfully absent of human intervention.  Frogs and crickets set the tone for the night.  One little tree frog came inside for a brief visit, but had to be evicted after attempting to scale the walls. 

. . .

Further Reading

Louisiana Purchase State Park
Arkansas State Parks

The forest cover of the United States mapped

Vivid Maps

"Home Town"

HGTV

First Jim Kress Mission

Beyond Big Creek Natural Area (above), an excellent little hike down through the bluffline along and down to that feature is contained within a larger space known as Jim Kress Wildlife Management Area.  While mostly ignored, it recently sparked some curiosity, where it was resolved to return and dive down many of the other paths it offers on the next encounter.

Following a logging road one afternoon led roughly 1.6 kilometers down to Big Creek.  There was no surprise there, though access to the same did not seem a wise choice at the time. After passing a gate that seemed to have a primarily purpose of blocking road traffic, nearing the creek found a settler.  A lone pickup shrouded with a variety of blankets, towels, and the sort did not encourage much more than a solitary hiker back the way he had come.  

Warren Mountain Logging Road 1a, as it was dubbed for this occasion, is not a particularly challenging  path, but a pleasant stroll overall, with any sound of humanity completely erased from the landscape. Numerous similar roads  criss-cross the landscape in this area, which appears little more than a huge pine tree farm for the state of Arkansas.   It is likely a great place to hunt also, so care will need taken on future intrusions into this land.

. . .

Further Reading

Big Creek Natural Area

Arkansas Game & Fish Commission

Jim Kress WMA

Arkansas Game & Fish Commission

Setting Tone for the Beach

Heading south late in the afternoon, a rocket ride across Missouri and into north central Arkansas proved mostly uneventful.  A minor diversion uncovered very little beyond beautifully empty roads, crops and livestock.  Skies were charitably clear, though temperatures remained around 32 °C, and surprisingly dry.

Much of the same sort of weather followed the next day, to include an abundance of clouds, but not so many as to spoil the view of the blue.  Adventures in hiking the usual local haunts throughout the morning gave way naps in the afternoon for one, while more hiking followed for the other.  An enjoyable performance by a couple of folks that previously appeared on the television show "The Voice" topped off a perfectly unplanned day.

Cardboard boat races, swimming at Sandy Beach, more hiking about, and yet more swimming rounded things out another day.  Spiderman seemed to be the star in an event otherwise circus-themed event. It was good to finally return to this fun little fiasco.  More photos and video from this even can be found at the link below.

. . .

Further Reading

country, cardboard, & fireworks

phocas.net

Radiant Stoney Ridge

In search of a little sunshine after a few days of rain led to location only a little north of Sedalia in Missouri.  Originally named Stonyridge Farm, Bothwell Lodge State Historic Site is home to one of a few castles that dot the landscape in the state. 

The lodge stood shuttered on this particular visit, but is regularly open to tours, for a small fee. Constructed at the turn of the twentieth century, using limestone quarried on site, the structure is perched upon a bluff overlooking the valley that also hosts US-65.  It is unique in that it attempted to leverage a natural cave, discovered at the time of construction, to provide air conditioning to the home. Access to admire the exterior of the stately home, along with a grand view of the valley below, remains available during all daylight hours.  

The only touring available on this round involved stomping through the forests and fields associated with the property.  The first, warmed things up for the second of only two trails on the site.  The Stonyridge Trail is just under a kilometer and wanders a relatively wide trail near the lodge, visiting a couple of points of interest to visitors of a bygone era.  

The second path is a bit more demanding, but only length.  Clocking in at just over 5 kilometers, it meanders around the forest and fields related to the site.  It is a narrow packed earth trail most of the time, rolling along, widening here and there, though never enough for a side-by-side stroll.  A small, quiet pond offers an opportunity for mosquito infested reflection about half way along.  The pathway also crosses a few meadows filled with tallgrass, wildflowers, and ticks at this time of year.  Only three of the tiny hitchhikers were found on this occasion, before they had dug in for an extended stay.  Generally, it is a good route, likely enhanced in the late fall, after everything dies off, or in the early sprint before the insect population becomes too active.

. . .

Further Reading

Bothwell Lodge State Historic Site

Missouri State Parks

Bluffton and the Gold Star Highway to Warsaw

It was decided that the route back to Kansas City would include a stop at nearby Blufton Preserve to examine the potential for future expeditions.  This first intrusion investigated the purported waterfall.  Double Drop Falls displayed not much more than an array of trickles on the lower drop, and not much better on the upper.  A good look at these would likely require a visit immediate after rains passed through.  Other trails offered interesting things to discover too, but those would have to wait for the next round.

The road stretched out mostly uninterrupted on this occasion, excepting a detour north through Warsaw.  It had been suggested that US-65 went all the way there now, but that turned out untrue.  The road narrowed back to two lanes somewhere near Buffalo. 

It was good to check in on the old town though, which had undergone extensive renovations during the past 10 years.  Everything was as it was before mostly, with an array of new businesses and fresh paint.  The park at Drake Harbor seemed to be the most changed, with quiet an extensive pairing of walking trails, playground equipment, an amphitheater and other outdoor activities.

Cloudy to partly cloudy skies filled most of the journey, collecting in mass more in Missouri than in Arkansas.  The rain that had been left in Kansas City persisted, in spite of efforts of the sun to break through.  It never really rained though.  

. . .

Further Reading

Bluffton Preserve

The Nature Conservancy

Warsaw, MO

Drake Harbor

Benton County, Missouri