To The Mountains - Part 4 (The Final Day)

While we were gone, we still had lots of animals to take care of: A dog (Belle), A cat (Ginger), Five Cows (Rosie, Clarabelle, Luna, Aussie, and Clarabull),  Four Goats (Annie, Buckwheat, Agnes, Matilda), and Seventy-something Chickens (We don't name all of them!  We call them all Sally Henny Penny).  Our neighbor's grandson agreed to feed and water them each day, and he did a good job.

The night before we were to leave to head back home, we planned to hike down from our mountain cabin to the creek that you could see from the deck out back on the following morning.  We rented the cabin from Fireside Retreats in Mountain View, Arkansas, and I have to put in a very favorable review.  What a fantastic get-away!  Our cabin was an A-frame that was very modern and had all the amenities that you are looking for on a vacation.

The deck out back had an incredible view.  We spent a lot of time out here just soaking in the sights.  It was so VERY quiet.  The cabin is secluded and away from any traffic.  You could really take in all the wonders of God's creation out here.

The A-frame sleeps 6 people and has a loft up top.  That's where the boys stayed.  Down the hall to the front door was the bathroom on the right and master bedroom on the left, with access to each through barn doors.

The bathroom had interesting and cool fixtures.

The kitchen was modern and stocked with anything and everything you'd need.  We cooked every single day.

So the final night of our stay, we were awakened by gentle, rolling thunder and then rainfall.  We could hear the rain hitting the roof right over our heads.  It was relaxing, soothing, and restful.  That's exactly what you want in a vacation, right?  We woke up in the morning, had coffee and a devotion and looked out on the deck.  It was still raining.  The hike down to the creek was off.

But you know what?  That's okay.  Checkout time was 11 AM, and we had three hours remaining in the mountains.  We all climbed up into the loft and laid in bed, talking about the memories we made while watching the rain continue to fall.  So nice.  A perfect vacation only 8 hours away.  We thoroughly enjoyed our time in Arkansas - The Natural State.

Leviticus 26:4

“Then I will give you rain in due season, and the land shall yield her increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit.”

To The Mountains - Part 1

Once we dried off the cows, we took an 8 hour drive north to the Mountain View, Arkansas area to relax and recuperate for a few days.  We stopped in first to visit an old friend and his wife.  It was great catching up with them.  They gave us a tour of their beautiful home, barn, and property and showed us two Trail Trees in their yard.  I had never heard of that before.  Apparently they are markers made by Indians or early settlers to point toward springs, caves, etc.  My friend has a theory of what the trail trees were pointing to and had us follow him and his wife.  After a brief hike, we arrived at the shelter cave below:

We then journeyed on to an old train bridge in the area, but were too chicken to drive over it.  It looks like they poured concrete over it.  We watched as people drove across it, but we just walked.

Blanchard Springs Caverns were closed due to Covid-19, but we did hike around the area and see where the springs come out of the rock:

It is hard to believe that if you just drive 8 hours north there are mountains and crystal clear spring water (no mud!). 

The sounds of the water in the creek flowing over the stones in the creek bed are so relaxing and peaceful.  We wanted to stay here all day!  Arkansas is called the Natural State.  The views we take in of nature are gorgeous.  We talked more than once about the beauty of creation that our Creator made!

The park is well maintained, clean and has nice walking trails.  No litter and not congested with people.

Despite our protests, Benjamin hopped out on a moss-covered rock in the middle of the creek.  We thought he might slip and fall and break his head open.  But, alas, he did not.  The water in the creek was COLD!

Mirror Lake was right down the road and lived up to its namesake.

We arrived at our cabin on top of the mountain that we rented from VRBO.  It was a really neat A-frame.  Clean, modern, yet rustic, and comfortable.

I'll show you more of the cabin later, but here is a photo off the deck in the back, looking down the mountain at the creek far below.

Beautiful, relaxing, peaceful.  But it didn't end there!