Maumelle Park

We needed to spend some time in Little Rock to be available for my mom while my sister was away on vacation. Maumelle Park is a Corp of Engineers park located near where the Maumelle River flows into the Arkansas River. The park can be accessed from state highway 10 (Cantrell Road in Little Rock) and is only a few miles from Two Rivers Park to the east and Pinnacle Mountain State Park to the west. I had driven through Maumelle Park several times in the past and thought it would be a nice place to camp. We reserved our campsite at the park from May 23th until the 31st. Most of the waterfront campsites were taken for the week, but we were able to secure site E30 on the back side of the eastern most loop. Being the week of the Memorial Day holiday it was surprisingly quiet in the park.

Site E30

For several days we were serenaded with bluegrass music played by a group of campers nearby. They setup and played at their campsite on the bank of the Arkansas River.

I spent time every day walking the campground. The river level was high and rolling past the campground at a good clip with river barges struggling to push upstream. 

During our ramblings around the area we stopped at the Pinnacle Mountain State Park Visitor Center. The visitor center is new and the entire park is getting upgrades including miles of new mountain biking trails.

Pinnacle Mountain Seen from the Top of Shinall Mountain

Springhill Park

Our first trip of 2025 was to Springhill Park Campground with John and Lynda. Springhill is a Corp of Engineers park located at the James W. Trimble Lock and Dam on the Arkansas River near Barling Arkansas. The park has two separate camping areas with some campsites lining the river below the dam, while others sit between John Paul Hammerschmidt Lake and Massard Creek upstream of the dam. We stayed on the upstream side in site A10 from April 8th, through 11th, 2025. We found the park to be a little noisy due to operations at the lock and dam, and air craft flying in and out of the Fort Smith regional Airport and the national Guard base. Fort Smith Regional Airport (FSM) in Arkansas is home to the Arkansas Air National Guard's 188th Wing, located at Ebbing Air National Guard Base. The 188th Wing operates on a portion of the airport's property and shares runways with the civilian airport. The base is also the site of a new Foreign Military Sales (FMS) Program Pilot Training Center, focused on F-16 and F-35 training for allied nations. Additionally the 188th Wing operates the MQ-9 Reaper remotely piloted aircraft (drones). One evening we believe we witnessed two MQ-9 Reaper flights pass through under cover of night.

Site A10

Massard Creek Behind Our Camp Site

F-16 Training from Ebbing Air National Guard Base

Donna All Dolled Up and Ready for Adventure

One afternoon we ventured into Fort Smith to visit the newly constructed US Marshall Museum. It was a beautiful modern building filed with exhibits showcasing the history of the US Marshall service.

Museum Entry

Mangled Steel from World Trade Center Terror Attack

Statue to Early Horseback US Marshalls

Desperados in the Lockup

John Wayne's Parade Saddle

US Marshall Simulated Tryout Test

US Marshall Van

On one of our drives we pasted the worlds largest Budweiser cans in Lavaca at the intersection of highways 22 & 96. 

Petit Jean State Park

Last camping trip of 2024 was November 10th to Petit Jean State Park. We reserved sites 48, 50, 51 and 53 back in July to accommodate four trailers for Donna and I, the Parker’s, the Riffey’s and John and Lynda. Sunny and cool, we had great weather for the entire week.

Sites 48, 50, 51 and 53 

Sunday night after getting setup at the campground we drove to Point Remove Brewing Company in Morrilton. We enjoyed some local beers and pizza on the outside patio.

After dinner in Morrilton we returned to the campground for an evening around fire at the Parker's trailer.

Monday I took a walk around the campground. I walked down to Lake Bailey and around to the Visitor Center. Near the overflow camping on Lake Baily is the Kayak Kiosk where you can rent a kayak and gear.

Kayak Kiosk

Old Visitor Center

New Visitor Center

Tuesday we got out to explore around the park. We went to Cedar Falls Overlook where recent rains had made little impact on the quantity of water in Cedar Creek and the falls were almost dry. While there we were buzzed by a C-130 flying low over the mountain right up the Cedar Creek drainage.

View from Cedar Falls Overlook Toward Mather Lodge and Rental Cabins (Top Left)

Rental Cabins as seen from the Cedar Falls Overlook

Palisades Overlook Photographed from Red Bluff Drive

While on the Red Bluff Drive we decided to take a walk down to the Rock House Cave. The cave has Native American pictographs dating up to 2000 years ago. Archeological digs have dated artifacts in the area that suggest native people visited the area as far back as 8000 B.C.

Native American Pictographs

Faint Native American Pictographs

On the hike down to the Rock House Cave you encounter the Turtle Rocks. A rock formation that resembles the shells of turtles covering the hillside.

While out exploring the guys took a hike around the Bear Cave Trail. On the Bear Cave Trail you walk under, around, through and over gigantic sandstone boulders high above the Cedar Creek drainage. The rock outcrop is visible from Mather Lodge back steps.

One of the best parts of camping as a group is taking turns doing dinner. Tuesday evening Donna and I made shish kabobs for eight. Donna assembled the kabobs and I cooked them on the campsite charcoal grill.

Directly behind our trailer was a grassy field on the property of Tanyard Springs. During the week we watched numerous deer grazing. One large doe in the heard appeared to be injured.

The last night at the campground we played Boom Again, a 50's, 60's & 70's trivia game. We played boys against the girls and obviously the girls had better memory for trivial things, especially for musical questions. The guys were defeated!