Aussie Expats Update – Arkansas Adventures

Friday has come and as I promised, so do I deliver.

People, our trip to Arkansas was AWESOME. Now, I know a lot of people say this about their trips and I guess they’re probably right in some way or another, but they’re mostly wrong, because our trip was the most awesome. Probably ever. [Disclaimer: the fact that I am easily pleased and was travelling with my favourite human has not influenced this completely objective assessment of our trip. At all.]

Friday morning saw us leisurely pack the last few pieces for our journey, which featured a boot-full of bags, boxes and random bits and pieces (in what was little more than a complete mishmash o’stuff), then head east.

The air in Arkansas, at least where we spent our time, can be drawn into your lungs like a cold drink (which probably isn’t the best place to put a cold drink, let’s be honest, but just go with it). Since we’ve arrived in the US, stepping out of the air-conditioned sanctuary of our house or car into Oklahoman air has been much akin to walking straight into an oven. An oven of varying temperature, and with some really great storms, I’ll concede, but an oven nonetheless. For us then, Arkansas was like another world. It’s so much cooler than the air in Oklahoma, and we spent a lot of time breathing deeply and driving with the windows down in attempts to take it all in.

We drove to Steel Creek Campground via Walmart (for pillows) and Rib Crib (for lunch), listening to some sweet tunes on our new Bose speaker, singing loudly, and chomping our way through cookies, candy and chips (strong snacking alliteration). The campground is on the Buffalo National River and was well-populated for the evening. There were washing lines and makeshift volleyball nets set up, and people fishing in the nearby river, and a very proud-looking dog… And also a small boy who used a tent pole to fence with a stationary metal pole (he was pretty good, actually). So there were other life forms, but it also featured lush green grass (which meant the blow-up mattress we borrowed from Dave and Lee wasn’t really necessary: we regretted using it!) and easy access to the nearby river. We found our own little spot away from everyone else and settled in. 

We prowled along the river, walking through clear, cool water, snapping photos and going for a dip in some of the deeper areas.

Later, we ate dehydrated mac’n’cheese followed by dehydrated ice-cream for dinner, which was a bit strange, but really not that bad: an experience that everyone has got to try (if for no other reason than to say they’ve eaten astronaut food). The next morning we awoke without the need for alarms, which is always refreshing, and got an early start to the day (as witnessed by the fog surrounding these deer, and us in our campground sign photo) in order to get out to Eden Falls.

Eden Falls was beautiful, though waterfall was only vaguely dripping because (d’oh!) it’s not really the right time of year for a heavily flowing waterfall: something we didn’t even consider! Regardless, we had a seriously epic time climbing along the tracks and then crawling on hands and needs through a cave to reach an interior waterfall. Though I think I may have a mild case of claustrophobia, I enjoyed sneaking through the cave and got some great bruises for our efforts.

Our lunchtime stop in Little Rock was sunny, warm and highlighted by some truly incredible Kilwin’s fudge and ice-cream. If you’re ever in the area, you MUST drop in. We bought two slices of fudge (which were HUGE) and got one for free… six days later and we’re still working our way through the deliciousness of it all. And their ice cream was the bomb!

Of course, we over-ate (I thought James was going to pass out or throw up!) and  enjoyed frolicking around the city before heading onwards and upwards to Garvan Woodland Gardens.

It’s a lovely, sprawling area, with a lovely Japanese Garden, a koi pond populated with some huge and likely over-fed koi, who looked like they could easily devour a small child. Maybe someone should put up a warning sign. Anyway, as you can no doubt tell, I’m easily enchanted by scenes of magic, so it’ll be no great surprise to hear that the Fairy Garden completely captivated me. I’ve only included a few photos, purely out of self-restraint, though James took an amazing array of them. We also spent some time watching bees crawl into (right into) some flowers and back out again: it’s amazing how far they can wiggle their little butts in there to fetch the sweet nectar!

We spent Saturday night at an admittedly rocky and completely deserted area called the Hickory Nut Mountain Campground (great name, right?!). There was no one else around, and we set up a fire for some tasty dehydrated lasagna – seriously, it’s pretty decent – and then made piping hot s’moes! (Bonus point to anyone who figured out that was a Toy Story 2 reference, not simply my inability to spell simple words). Two s’mores down and we were both stuffed, so we sat into the evening, listening to some Norah Jones as we watched the embers flicker red and gold, and the flames lick at the wood.

Of course, we got lost on the way home the next day! But all in all (to cut a very long and unnecessarily detailed story short), we had an amazing weekend. We head to Dallas today for a birthday weekend in the ‘big smoke’, so we’re looking forward to some new adventures, and whatever else may be coming our way.

Have a phenomenal weekend everyone!

— Ana.