Lake Fort Smith State Park

 June 5, 2023

For several years now when Hannah and Brayden get out of school for summer break we take a trip to Lake Fort Smith State Park. This year we reserved our favorite spot well in advance. Site #20 is secluded at the end of the lower loop which means that there are no neighbors on the awning side of the trailer and neighbors on the other side are separated by a good distance with lots of trees. John and Lynda joined us on this trip and stayed just down the road in site #11. 

We setup the tent on the lower terrace pad for Hannah and Brayden. Hannah came prepared to make the tent her own complete with bedspread and throw pillows. When night came around she lit the inside with her awesome LED lights. Brayden was relegated to sleep on the futon in the trailer with Nana and Pops the first night so she could enjoy her palace alone. This year the nighttime temperatures were pleasant in the mid 60's so we didn't take the window air conditioner. The box fan was all she need to stay comfortable.

The visitor's center is just a short bike ride away. My 25 year old Gary Fisher Tassajara still looks pretty good parked at the visitor center (you cant see the scrapes and dings I've put on it through the years at this distance). 

Brayden enjoys a heated game of Ono with Nana, but for him a camping trip wouldn't be complete without s'mores made with campfire roasted marshmallow even if it is 80 degrees outside.

For this trip I was able to secure a recreational drone permit from the state park. Tuesday morning I flew my drone over the day use area and at the visitor center overlook.  I love the perspective from the air. Click this link Lake Fort Smith State Park to open a YouTube video compilation of drone footage and still photos from around the park.

Wednesday we rented peddle boats from the marina. One for Brayden and I, one for Donna and Hannah and a third for John and Lynda. The boats had Bimini tops to keep the sun off while we peddled around the marina cove. Although no swimming is allowed Donna got in a little refreshing dip at the dock after doing the boat to dock splits.

Several days we got in the pool at the park to cool off. This usually lasted until the summer camp teens showed up by the van loads.

As always we ate good. We combined efforts with John and Lynda to feed the hungry hoard. One night we made our required pilgrimage to Mountainburg Pizza Den for pizza and wings.

John's Turkey Spaghetti

Hannah Sporting Her Swim Goggles

Coco and Chewy made the trip to the lake also.

The weather cooperated with mild temperatures for June and only a few light sprinkles of rain. Hannah had to be taken back to Mulberry to meet her mom and dad a day early for wisdom teeth extraction.

Waveland Park

It was time again for our annual trip to Waveland Park on Blue Mountain Lake. We had site #26 reserved for four weeknights. However, we made changes at the last minute due to the passing of a friend's son with funeral service planned for Tuesday. Donna remained in Russellville Monday and I took the trailer to Waveland to setup camp. I joined her back in Russellville early Tuesday morning and after the services we drove back to Waveland Park via Paris and Mount Magazine State Park. Saddened by the events of the week the trip made for a welcome distraction for us both.

Weather for the week was beautiful with sunny days and some windy conditions. Late on Thursday with reports of severe storms we packed up everything outside for a storm that never materialized.  We did get some light rain overnight that just made for good sleeping.

Blue Mountain Lake was as high as we had ever seen it. As tends to be the case, the Corp of Engineers failed to release enough water to prevent the flooding of roads and facilities in the lower part of the park. The normal spring pool level is stated by the COE to be around elevation 386'. When we arrived the level was at about 406'. The water had been so high just days before that the camp host said that the main road into the park had been shutdown. It appeared that water had been flowing over the spillway at some point. So the park will once again have to undergo significant repair.

We were high and dry at our campsite and didn't let the water levels run us off. Future trips may not include Waveland in the spring.

We have been enjoying the little remodel we did to our trailer. The U-dinette was removed and replaced with a table and chairs, then the worn out jackknife sofa was replaced with a longer (adult length) futon. The problem with replacing either was finding furniture that actually fit through the 26" wide trailer door.

I spent a good part of the morning on Thursday trying to find the Blue Mountain Lake Vista. I drove Petit Jean Mountain Road (this mountain is different from the state park miles to the east). The road was narrow gravel that went over Petit Jean Mountain at an elevation above 2400'. The road is the southern boundary of the Dry Creek Wilderness Area. Never found the Lake Vista, but I think I figured out that I needed to take Lovell Road from the east end as the west end is gated at private property.

Knowing that storms were forecast for Thursday night we made plans to go up to the Mount Magazine State Park lodge for dinner. When we left Waveland Park we looked up at Mount Magazine and could not see the top. Having been caught in the clouds on top before we changed plans and drove west on highway 10 to Boonville. Looking around Boonville we found Reid's Hometown Barbecue. I highly recommend their BBQ ribs and a fried pie for dessert (I had a chocolate pie with a scoop of vanilla ice cream). 

Highway 10 East of Boonville

Returning to he campground we went up to the overlook for the requisite selfie. By this time the clouds had cleared and the sever storms had gone around us.

Site #26 was way to close to the neighboring site behind. I would not recommend site #26 or #28. It was less that 10' from our slide out to the neighbors fire pit. Also, two giant pine trees blocked the front side of our campsite. At least we had nice neighbors!

Lake Catherine State Park

Monday afternoon we traveled with John and Lynda to Lake Catherine State Park. We took highway 7 over the Ouachita mountains to Jessiville then highway 192 through Mountain Pine to highway 270. There is no easy way to get to Lake Catherine from Russellville without lots of curvy and hilly road. 

On our trip over we stopped on highway 7 at the Ouachita Trail Highway 7 Trailhead to take a break and let the dogs out.  While looking at the clear little creek we saw a hiker from the trail and realized it was someone we knew from Russellville. Our friend David was coming from highway 27, through hiking to highway 9. He said he was out for 5 days to cover the 70 miles of trail.

Our Caravan at the Ouachita Trail

After arriving at Lake Catherine State Park we got setup with John and Lynda in site #11 and Donna and I in site #12. I liked the seclusion of site #11 and #12 given that they are the last sites on the upper loop with no neighbors on one side, but only #12 had a view of the lake that probably will not exist when the trees leaf out. Immediately past site #12 the road drops off so steep that many people pull up to the precipice and stop because the road drops away so quick you cannot see road in front of your vehicle. This makes backing into the spot somewhat of a hard push. 

John’s friends Mark and Jackie were already at the park from the day before and made us a delicious Dutch oven lasagna with all the trimmings for dinner. We had a great dinner, cocktails and played Ono until time to retire to our respective trailers. 

John and Lynda in Site #11

Ronnie and Donna in Site #12

Tuesday we walked to Fall Creek Falls. The trail was busy with lots of people at the falls. Fall Creek was running making for a really nice water fall.

Lynda, Donna and Jackie

Mark Testing the Waters

Fall Creek Falls

Dinner Tuesday night was at our campsite. We grilled chicken and Donna had made baked beans and potato salad before we left home. I also made Dutch oven peach cobbler with ice cream for dessert. 

Wednesday the girls went to Hot Springs for some retail therapy. John and I hung out around the campground for a while, then took a little road trip around Hot Springs. Unfortunately, Mark had internet access and had to work from his trailer.

View from Hill Behind Campground

Wednesday evening was John's famous low country shrimp boil at his campsite. Seems like we spend a lot of time eating! John's friend Fran from Hot Springs joined us for dinner and gave us box seat tickets for the Oaklawn Park horse races on Thursday. 

 

Thursday it was off to the races at Oaklawn Park. The Upper Terrace area where our box seats were located was practically a ghost town with only one lady working a single window for all wagering.  My day started poorly without cashing a single ticket in the first three races. Then I hit horses in the next four races and by the end of the day I was up $4.50. That paid for a hot dog and half of a beer. We stopped for dinner at Rolando's Restaurante Nuevo Latino. 

Returning home Friday through Morrilton we were attempting to dodge the impending storms. We left around 10 AM and missed a storm at Lake Catherine, then ran back into the line of storms on I-40 at Morrilton. We made it home safely, but the same storm produced an EF-3 tornado that hit west Little Rock and traveled 31 miles to Cabot. The devastation in Little Rock was hard to comprehend. Over 2,600 structures were damaged, 38,000 without electricity and 50 people were hospitalized with one fatality in North Little Rock. A separate tornado fueled by the same line of storms caused extensive damage in Wynne, AR killing 4.