Seven Hollows Flora and Fauna

The fall color wasn't the only natural reason to enjoy a hike at Seven Hollows.  The fall berries and flowers were out too. The purple beautyberries really lived up to their name. Such lovely clusters of bright purple berries.

The sumac is another striking plant to see as you walk along - furry, rusty red. I imagine the birds and other little critters enjoy it throughout the winter too.

In among the hollows are rock overhangs with damp places that shelter ferns and moss. There probably would have been even more ferns, but this year has been so dry that all the little creeks and drips and seeps had dried up.

If you are lucky while hiking, you may see a feral poodle.  And you thought poodles were only those pampered, primped frou-frou dogs from dog shows! No siree - they like to get down and dirty in the mud and leaves like any dog. Doesn't she look happy?

And there are rocks, lots of 'em - little ones and big ones.  If you look closely, you can see Vincent's head in the left bottom corner. He is over 6'5", so you know that is one big rock

Seven Hollows hike, part 1

On Sunday we went hiking at Petit Jean State Park with Amber, Vincent, Collette and Brook.  This was the first trail we hiked after we moved to Arkansas, back in August 2008. I didn't post many pictures that time, so I am going to make up for it with at least two days worth this time.The four of us have been wanting to go hiking together for a while, but since we all have busy schedules, it has taken us a while to get to it. I'd say it was worth the wait - it was humid, very humid, but not too hot, and the threatened rain held off for us.

Collette and Brook, charging down the trail.

The dogs all had a great time. Miikka was more focused on hiking than on the girls, and actually kept up a better pace at the end (of course, the girls got to go off-leash and started out the hike running ahead, then back to us, then ahead again, so they probably did double the distance). It had rained overnight, so there were many, many good smells.

The mighty hiker is ready to go.

Although the color this year is not as brilliant as it can be, autumn was in full force. There were yellow, red, brown and orange leaves all in view.

Blazing yellow.

In the hollows.

Rain clouds in the distance. But not on us.

The neat thing about the Seven Hollows trail is that it takes you down into the hollows, then leads you up to the tops of the bluffs, so you can look up at fascinating rock formations, then down into the hollows and over the tree tops.

Taking a quick break.

Tomorrow, more dogs, more flora.

Of waterfalls and free radicals

Sunday was the first truly nice day in weeks, far too nice to stay at home, waiting for word about our offer on the house. We decided that it was a perfect time to go for a hike. May is a good time to go waterfall hunting in Arkansas, and the amount of rain we have had lately has made it especially good. So, we headed out to Petit Jean Park to see Cedar Falls. Check out the difference between our trip on Sunday, and our trip last August!

The falls were indeed worth the hike in to see them, and the large number of families seemed to agree. Now, I fully support introducing children to nature - I was taken hiking before I could walk - and I fully support people getting out in fresh air rather than sitting on their couches playing video games, but sometimes, I wish they would all go away! People, if there is a warning at the beginning of the hike that it can be a difficult trail, do not hike it in flip flops. If you have children with you, and they have to pee, please take them off the trail a little way, so I don't have to watch them. Keep the free radicals under control - there are other people on the trail with you who do not care to have to dodge children the entire hike.

No idea what this is, other than a lizard-like creature. Greg, do you know?

Whew. Off my soapbox now. After we finished the hike to the waterfall, we headed off down another trail, one that was delightfully free of people. It was quiet - no screaming or crying toddlers. Ahh. The trail wound around a series of rocky outcrops, and we got to scramble around and do a bit of amateur rock climbing. Benjamin enjoys pretending to be a billy goat!

All in all, it was a good day.