Hike #14 - Artosphere

Today's hike had a very different flavor.  Our local Walton Arts Center is hosting a summer seriesArtosphere that seeks to combine local arts with nature.  Today we took advantage of "Trail Mix" along the Frisco Trail which runs right though Downtown Fayetteville.  We took a one and three quarter mile stroll along the paved Frisco Trail with frequent stops to enjoy local professional and amateur musicians ranging from bluegrass to classical.  There were also stations along the way for kids to create their own musical art.  Probably the highlight for the kids was the "bike zoo," which can be described best by this picture:

We ended our leisurely evening stroll in Wilson Park for some phenomenal acrobatic performers, Circa, music by Paula Fuga and the Okee Dokee Brothers, and more bike zoo. Quite a treat all around. 

Travel time from home: 15 minutes

Today's miles: 1.73

Miles remaining: 53.1

Hike #13 - Lake Sequoyah

I'm not sure what the attachment to "Sequoyah" is here in Fayetteville, but today we hit another local spot, Lake Sequoyah.  We have found this spot is very well known among fishermen (and fisherwomen!), but the growth that encroaches on the trail (it is not so bad in fall/winter) makes it clear that it is little used among hikers.  We have done two different trails here, but we find that almost no one knows about it.  Someone seems to be trying to change that though.  There are some nice new signs with trail maps.  An exciting plus is that the trail maps include three more trails we didn't know about.  Two of them are only accessible during low water when you can cross the spillway.  Today we did the King Fisher Trail.

This out and back trail is just over 3 miles.  There are some nice views of the lake and some neat outcroppings and trail switchbacks.  The highlight for the kids though is a downed tree that was made for climbing.  The base is right by the trail, but the top branches prop it up so it stays level as the ground slopes away.  The result is that pretty quickly the kids are 12 feet off the ground.  They are much more excited about that than mom is.

There are some other neat features at the lake that are not exactly part of this trail.  You enter the park across an intimidating one-lane bridge.  One of the opposite side of the lake from this trail is a horse ranch where you can get trail rides around the lake.  There is also a very impressive spillway that ties into the white river.  Today the spillway had pretty high water.  A different day when we were here there was a family catching, cleaning, and cooking fish on a charcoal fire they had going by the spillway.

I also just came across this video of a segment of a local outdoor show that was made about Lake Sequoyah.

                  

Travel time from home: 10 minutes
Today's miles 3.09
Remaining miles: 54.8

Stuff We Like - The Whistle System

Our kids, especially our boys, love to run ahead of us on the trail.  99% of the time we feel safe with them out of our site in the woods, but every so often we want to know where they are.  We tried to implement a whistle system, but our chintzy plastic whistles from the fish pond at the school carnival weren't cutting it.  So, we got these little beauties on Amazon:

The first time I blew it I thought it wasn't loud enough.  As I thought about it more though, I realized I don't want it so loud that anyone in the park can hear.  I don't want the sound to carry much farther than the maximum distance I want between me and the kids.

Here is our system.  I keep one attached to my pack, and they kids keep one attached to their pack.  One whistle is a check-in.  Either I or the kids can start and the other will respond with one whistle.  This is just to say everybody's fine.  If I blow two whistles, the kids know that they need to come back closer until they can see us again.  Three whistles, blown by anyone, is an emergency, which we define as dangerous wildlife or serious injury.

We tried it for the first time at Hobbs, and it worked great.

Hike #12 - Pigeon Roost

One of the nearby state parks that we had not checked out at all is Hobbs State Park, which is actually a Conservation Management Area.  We weren't sure what that meant exactly until we looked it up after the trip.  I assumed that it was meant to protect some threatened species, but it seems to be more about lack of development/roads to preserve the natural environment.  I also learned when I added the link above that Hobbs is our largest state park at 12,000+ acres.  The real draw of Hobbs is that it has 22 miles of lakefront.

 

We were also pleasantly surprised to find that Hobbs has the best visitors center that we have seen yet at a state park.  It has a cave simulation that was realistic enough for us to wonder if it was a real cave rather than a simulation.  It also had a large 3D map showing all of the trails and features of the park, and they would light up when you pushed the appropriate button.  There were several ladies working in there who were very excited to help.  They suggested several trails for us, but when they saw all of the kids they started suggesting half mile hikes.  We found their lack of faith disturbing.  We decided on the 4.5 mile Pigeon Roost loop.  There is actually a second loop off of the main loop that makes it 8.5 miles.  There are five first-come-first-serve backpacking sites on this loop, but we will save that for another time.  There is a lot more to see there than we had time for because they lock the gates of the visitor center parking lot at 5:00.  If your hike will take you past that time, like ours did, be sure you don't park there.

Pigeon Roost is a very pretty trail.  It is not overly strenuous, but it has some nice ups and downs, so you do get a workout.  About a mile in you get your one view of Beaver Lake.  Our kids can never quite comprehend that it is the water we drink.  There isn't much else of note on the trail other than standard Arkansas nature, which is never bad.

We had a great unexpected learning moment for this kids as we got towards the end of the trail.  Our
five-year-old spotted a pretty butterfly on the ground.  We quickly realized it was injured.  He was very concerned about this and began asking questions about how he could help it.  It was heartbreaking to tell him that he couldn't help it, but they all understood very well.  Since we couldn't help it survive, we settled on surrounding it with wildflowers to give it a peaceful death.

We will definitely have to head back to Hobbs to check out more trails.

Travel time from home: 45 minutes
Today's miles: 4.4
Remaining miles: 57.89

Hike #11 - Devil's Den (Part 2)

Today we returned to our first adventure of the year, Devil's Den,  We had family in town, and were joined by a grandma, grandpa, and uncle.  Grandma and grandpa did not complete the whole trail, but it was great to have them there.  The water was flowing nicely on the waterfalls today.  Since we've already explored this trail this year, there aren't many new details to share.

The most unique thing was an up-close encounter with a Pileated Woodpecker.  He was huge, and he was low on the trunk, only about four feet from the ground.  He didn't like people too much, but he didn't fly away when we got
close.  He would just bounce around the other side of the tree and then back again as we walked off.  It was something we had never seen before.


Travel time from home: 35 minutes
Today's miles: 2.66
Remaining miles: 62.29

It Was Bound To Happen

Among the wonderful flora and fauna we encountered at Lake Wilson was everyone's favorite: poison ivy.  Thankfully we have a great GP who gives us enough prescription refills to cover its inevitable passing through all of the kids.  Poor kid got it bad!

Leaves of three, let them be!

Hike #10 - Clark Trail at Lake Wilson

I had noticed Lake Wilson on a map of the city months ago and had wondered if there was anything there to explore.  Just this morning some friends tipped us off to the trail there, and because this 2.5 mile loop is so close to home we thought we would try something different.  We finished dinner, left the dishes on the table, and did our first sunset hike.  The late April evening weather was perfect for a windows down drive.

Lake Wilson was the original water supply for the city of Fayetteville, but has now been replaced by Beaver Lake.  Joe and Maxine Clark were conservation minded citizens who helped support the growth of the local trail system.  This is a great trail, and we cannot believe we did not even know it existed.

The lake is very pretty, and we were surprised at the number of other people out there on a Saturday evening hiking, fishing from boats and the shore, and swimming (against the rules, which we would never approve ;) ).  There is a nice pavilion with picnic tables at the trailhead.  This is one of the best marked trails that we have done yet. The three year old is obsessed with loudly pointing out every tree blaze, and he was not disappointed here.  There are some great rocks here that are begging us to come back when we have more time to explore.  One of the things I love about loop trails is that if you hike the opposite direction next time it is like exploring a whole new trail.  The last 3/4 mile was right along the bank as dusk was coming on, and it was perfect.  Another feather in the cap of Fayetteville.

One thing that may alter our hiking in the coming months is that the three-year-old is growing restless in the backpack.  Today his short little legs walked the first and last half mile.

Travel time from home: 15 minutes
Today's miles: 2.66
Remaining miles: 64.95