Lake Catherine State Park

Camping four days at Lake Catherine State Park September 23rd through 26th. We stayed in site #57 across the road from the lake. We have previously stayed in site #57 and like seclusion of the rock terraced wall behind.

On our way to the campground we took a route suggested by Donna's phone. Rather than stay on the major thoroughfares like Central Avenue past Oaklawn Park we were routed behind the track on Shady Grove Road. This route took us under a 11' 6" high railroad trestle. I was "pretty sure" we were less than 11' 6" and after getting home I confirmed we were 10' 10" to the top of the air conditioner. There is always some kind of adventure just getting to Lake Catherine State Park from Russellville.

First evening I made a few long exposure photos with my phone. In the first photo below you can just make out the Milky Way. 

We thought we would just try to sleep in on our first morning. However, the park management had other ideas. Directly behind site #57 they started cutting trees at 7:30 AM.

I did manage to get out and hike a few trails. The Horseshoe Mountain Trail was a wooded 2.7 mile loop just behind the campground.

RED and YELLOW Trails Diverge in the Woods

The Road Not Taken - By Robert Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though as for that the passing there

Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

The second trail I hiked was the Dam Mountain Trail. This trail is accessed from the campground and takes you high above Lake Catherine with some scenic overlooks. The trail starts after you cross over the Fall Creek Falls and proceeds up (and then up some more about a 400' elevation gain) until you reach the Lake Catherine overlook.

While at the top of the mountain I attempted to walk down to Remmel Dam. I could hear the roar of the water through the dam, but walking through the thicket became difficult. You can see from my recorded track above that I was very close to the dam.

Fungus on a Log

Dry Creek Bed

Mushrooms

Back down to Fall Creek Falls on the way to the campground.

Later in the day Donna and I decided to take a drive to Remmel Dam. I was able to hike to within a couple hundred yards of the dam, but it was about a 30 minute drive from the campground. Arriving as the dam it became apparent why I was able to hear it so well. The gates were open with a huge fountain of water being discharged. Remmel Dam was the first of the dams build by Arkansas Power and Light on the Ouachita River in 1924. I wish I could find a video I discovered in an AP&L warehouse in Pine Bluff while searching for Ritchie plant drawings. The video shows the construction of the dam using timber and gravel sourced from the area and the steam locomotive used to transport materials.

Down in the Flood Area Below the Remmel Dam

As we were packing up on our last day I noticed a snake skin hanging our of a drain in the terrace wall behind our camper. I gave it a tug to see if I could pull it out of the hole but it wouldn't come. It may have been attached to the snake in the hole so I just left it alone.

Snake Skin

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