Sunday 3-29-26 Three States, Roaring River State Park & Feeding the Fish

 Awesome Day

We had an awesome day. The morning temperature was 48 degrees at Natural Springs State Park in Oklahoma. The high temperature was 77 degrees at Roaring River State Park in Missouri. It got hotter than expected. We started out with long sleeve shirts and ended the day with short sleeve shirts. The temperature is ok, we have power, which means air conditioning.

We were at Natural Springs State Park for three fabulous days and did two hikes for a total of 4.5 miles. In the evening I walked Pine Ridge Trail for total of 6.75 miles. The weather was very nice and sunny.

I woke up about 7:30 am and got dressed. We shared a blueberry bagel with cream cheese spread on it and a half a bottle of meal replacement shake for breakfast. After breakfast we got ready to go. We put things away and secured. We weren't in any hurry we weren't going too far. We didn't get on the road until 9:00 am, which is late for us.

Our drive was 71 miles through three different states. We started in Oklahoma for a few miles before entering into Arkansas. Larry drove to Bentonville, Arkansas where he picked up a highway, that took us to Missouri. Our drive was two lane highways and part of an interstate. 

Arkansas welcome sign

Missouri welcome sign

Oklahoma welcome sign

When we got to Siloam Springs, Arkansas we stopped at the Walmart and picked up a few things. Larry needed some cash and Walmart will give you cash back when you purchase something. After shopping we were on the road again. 

We arrived at our destination about 11:30 am. Our final destination was Roaring River State Park. We were here back in May of 2022. Roaring River has three loops, when we were here in 2022 we stayed in loop 2. Larry wanted to stay in loop 1 this time. We parked in the parking lot by the bathroom in loop 3 so Larry could see what sites were available in loop 1. He found there were a lot of sites available. We drove to the loop which is across the street by the park store. We drove around the loop and found a site we like. It was site # 068, it's a pull through and right across from the bathroom and showers. We pulled in and Larry went on their site and reserved the site for three nights. Once it was confirmed we had the site Larry plugged us into the power. Then we setup the Minnie for our stay.

Our site has a picnic table, fire ring with a grate and a lantern hook with a green net bag for aluminum cans to be recycle. 

Minnie setup for it's stay at Roaring River

After setting up we shared a sandwich and chips for lunch. Then we relaxed in the Minnie. Larry did some research on what to do while we're here and where to go next. I played games.

I played the Daily Challenges of Solitaire and Mahjong. The event was Event: Two Games Tango Mini of 10 games (5 Spider and 5 Pyramid). It took me 1 hour, 7 minutes and 26 seconds, which put me in 10th place in my group. I played Angry Birds Friends and Angry Birds 2.

When it was time for dinner Larry got our grill out and barbecued hamburgers. After dinner we went for a walk. We walked over to the day area where people fish and the Roaring River Hatchery is located.

The Roaring River Fish Hatchery is located at the top of Roaring River. It was constructed in 1910 and is one of the oldest fish hatcheries in Missouri. It has 40 raceways, a building (where the eggs are incubated) and large pools of water with trout in them. There are pathways throughout the facility to see the trout. They have some food dispensers, where you can buy food to feed the trout. You don't have to worry if you don't have any quarters there is a change machine. The hatchery releases trout into the river everyday. The spring, where Roaring River begins produces an average of 20.4 million gallons of water per day. There are a couple of big falls there to keep the water circulated. 

On the way to the hatchery we walked by the river and saw a lot of people fishing. You have to have a permit to fish and they do walk around a make sure you do. The people fishing put the permit on the hat, around the neck or pin on their shirts. We walked around the hatchery and watched people fish and I fed the trout. I had fun feeding the fish. We saw a boy catch a trout by one of the waterfalls. He was very excited he showed his catch to his brother and dad. He had to remove the hook himself. The hiking trails are located at the hatchery and across the street from it. After walking around, finding the trails and watching people fish we started our walk back to the Minnie.

Trout in a raceway

Feeding the trout

The boy showing his trout (it's in the net) to his brother and dad

Fishing on the banks of the Roaring River

The walk back was along the river. We got to the end of the day area and sat on a bench and enjoyed the river. After relaxing we crossed the highway to get back to the Minnie. We stopped at the office and picked up a hiking trail map. When we got back to the Minnie we sat at the picnic table and relaxed. Larry read the hiking trails map. He planned our hike for tomorrow. Then we went inside. I continued playing my games. 

By the end of the day I only did 8,000 steps. We had a great day.        

     

    

Saturday 3-28-26 Camping and Hiking at Natural Falls State Park

 

Beautiful Loblolly Pines at Natural Falls State Park

We had a gorgeous day. It was cold but had a lot of sunshine. The morning temperature was 36 degrees and the high was 63 degrees. It was a great temperature to sleep in.

I woke up at 7:15 and made French toast cinnamon sticks for breakfast. After breakfast we got ready to go for a hike. I put a couple of bottles of water in my fanny pack. We went on a 2.5 mile hike for an hour and a half. We started the hike at the trailhead for Bear Trail, right at the beginning of RV campground. It was only 1.10 miles but it was very challenging. We had to climb down the rocky hill. The trail was very narrow, steep and rugged. There was a lot of loose rocks and roots. It took us down to Dripping Springs trail. We walked part of this trail along Dripping Springs. We hiked over a bridge to get to the other side of the springs. We had hiked part of this trail yesterday but didn't get this far. We hiked to springs dam and pump house, where we picked up Ghost Coon trail. We hiked up a steep road to a beautiful meadow. where the yurts are. The trails at Natural Falls aren't marked well so we had to guess where to go. We hiked around the meadow and found a trail sign. The sign pointed the direction we came from. Larry figured out which way to go. We hiked in a small section of trees back out at the other side of the meadow. We hiked across the meadow to another trail sign. Once again we were going the other way. There was a Sasquatch figurine leaning on a pole so we figured we were going the right way. We continued on the trail, which took us down a hill to the day area parking lot. We walked over the springs and walked through the parking lot to the entrance of the falls. Where we picked up the Pine Ridge trail. We walked the trail back to Rankin RV area. We didn't go directly back to the Minnie we walked around the campground. We had a great hike. 

Dripping Springs from Bear trail

Dripping Springs close up

The bridge we walked to get to the other side of Dripping Springs

Dripping Springs dam 

Ghost Coon Trail entrance

The trails at Natural Falls State Park are short but very challenging and fun.  

When we got back to the Minnie we relaxed for the rest of day. 

Larry usually tracks our hikes on Gaia GPS but today he didn't. After our hike he looked at both of our devices (Larry's watch and my band) and saw that they tracked our trail. He did a little research to see if he could sync our hike to Gaia GPS and All Trails. He found out he could do it from his watch but my band doesn't support exporting GPS data. Gaia GPS accepted the hike with no problem. All Trails accepted the trail as a personal trail, to get it accepted so that everyone can see it it has to be approved by a committee. Since the trail is not officially in All Trails Larry went ahead and submitted it. He is very excited he figured how to do this.    

Larry continued reading the book he started yesterday and finished it just before he went to bed. I continued reading Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir and finished it. 

 

Reading is very relaxing

I did my Daily Challenges of Solitaire and Mahjong. The event was Event: Free Cell Adventure of 20 games. It took me 2 hours, 47 minutes and 8 seconds to complete, which put me in 13th place in my group. I played Angry Birds Friends and Angry Birds 2.

For dinner Larry barbecued hamburgers. After dinner I walked the Pine Ridge Trail four and a half times to get 3 miles, which took an hour to do. By the end of the day I got 14,000 steps. 

  

Friday 3-27-26 Cold Windy Day, Hiking & Relaxing

 

Entrance to the Natural Falls

We had a cold windy day. The morning temperature was 50 degrees with a north wind. The high was 55. It was windy and overcast all day. What weird weather, after two days of temperatures near 90 now todays high was 55 degrees. I'm not complaining we have clothes for the cold in the Minnie.

I woke up at 7:00 am and got dressed. Then I baked some Rhodes cinnamon rolls for breakfast. The oven heated up the Minnie. After breakfast I walked over to the restroom. When I got back I told Larry it was cold so we decided to hang around the Minnie all morning. We relaxed with a book.

Breakfast

For lunch we finished up the pizza we got at Casey's. Then we got ready to go on a hike. I put my fanny pack together with water. We got our poles. We started our hike from the back of a site across from us. The trail was called Fox Den Trail (1.5 mile trail) we hiked a mile of it. It was very challenging we hiked down to the creek, crossed over the creek via rocks and up the hill on the other side. The climb down and up was very challenging. The trail was narrow and had a lot of loose rocks and it was steep. As we hiked we saw some caves in the rock made by the creek. I think the caves are the fox denning area. The creek had a little water in it. We saw the dam and it had a beautiful waterfall. I think it was the most difficult trail we hiked so far on the trip. We wore our jacket but the trail did warm us up. We did a loop, which brought us back to our campsite. We sat at our picnic table to rest before continuing our hike. 

Dam and Ozark spring

The fox den in the rocks

After our rest we hiked over to the day area, where the falls and other trails are located. We walked through the parking lot to the entrance of Dripping Springs Trail. It was a beautiful entrance. The trail to the falls was a half mile along Ozark springs. The walkway was very easy to walk to the overlook of the 77' Ozark Spring (waterfall). From there we took the 47 steps to the base of the falls. The fall was very pretty. While walking on the walkway we saw some beautiful ferns, mosses, liverworts and other plants. It was a beautiful walk/hike. After admiring the falls we walked back to the Minnie. 

Expansion bridge 110' high on the other side of the falls walkway

Standing at the falls at the bottom

Ozark Spring Falls

By the end of the hike we had done about 2 miles and hiked for an hour and a half. We had a great hike. 

I played my Daily Challenges of Solitaire and Mahjong. The event was Event: Easy Street Mini of 15 games. It took me 30 minutes and 39 seconds, which put me in 13th place in my group. I played Angry Birds Friends and Angry Birds 2.

When I wasn't playing games, hiking and walking I continued reading Project Hail Mary. It's a great book and very entertaining. 

Larry finished his book he started yesterday and started a new one.

 

Relaxing with a book and having fun

For dinner we had chili. After dinner I walked around the campground on the Pine Ridge Trail, which is a healthy .75 mile pave trail. I did this trail twice. By the end of my walk I had done 2 miles. I ended up doing 12,000 steps, which is my daily goal for steps.

We had an awesome day.

      

Thursday 3-26-26 Natural Falls State Park & RV Repairs

 

Natural Falls State Park

We had a hot windy day. The morning temperature was 62 degrees at Robbers Cave State Park and the high temperature was 87 degrees at Natural Falls State Park in Colcord, Oklahoma. As the day went on the south wind continued to get stronger.

We had four outstanding days of camping at Robbers Cave State Park. While there we hiked three four mile hikes, which were on Belle Starr Trail and Coon Creek Ridge Trail, Mountain Trail and Loop and Rough Canyon Trail. I walked around the campground every evening between 2 and 3 miles. We read a bit. I played my games.

Hiking Belle Starr Trail

I woke up at 7:15 am and got dressed. Then Larry and I shared a blueberry bagel with cream cheese spread on it and a meal replacement shake. After breakfast we got ready to leave. We put things away and secured. We were on the road by 8:15 am.

On the way out of the campground we stopped by the dump station and dumped the tanks. Yesterday, Larry topped off the water tank at our site. While Larry dumped the tanks I walked over to the dumpster and got rid of our garbage. Now we don't have to worry about dumping the tanks for awhile.

Our next destination was Natural Falls State Park, which was 132 miles from Robbers Cave State Park. The drive was down two and four lane highways. We drove by ranches and farms. We crossed over part of the Arkansas River and saw a beautiful reservoir. It was was a nice drive. 

When we got to Sallisaw we pulled into a convenient store to fill the Minnie with gas. While fueling Larry discovered we had a fuel leak. I was across the road at Sallisaw Donuts getting donuts. I got six donuts. When I got back. Larry told me about the leak so he pulled into the parking lot of a casino to find a place to work on the Minnie. There really wasn't anywhere. Larry had noticed an automotive repair place right next door to the casino. We drove over and Larry asked James if he could look at the problem. He said he was backed up for a week and they usually work on engines. He looked at the problem and said no problem he could fix it. The large fuel line that connects the filler to the gas tank had gone bad. He said he probably could not get the correct hose but as a temporary fix he could use a radiator hose. He got the hose off and headed to the local parts place, sure enough they did not have a fuel hose that size but they found a suitable radiator hose. It took him a little over two hours to do the job. While they worked on the Minnie I stayed inside and read. There were two guys working in the shop and they were very nice. They had a 12 week old pup and I played with her while Larry paid for the job. It was very reasonable, $207 for a two hour job. Larry gave him some extra money to show his appreciation. The name of the shop was JMB Automotive LLC. 

JMB Automotive LLC

The field where they worked on the Minnie

The donuts from Sallisaw Donuts (I ate the chocolate glazed one)

We have been very lucky when we're on the road and had problems with the Minnie. Somehow we have always had very good shops with friendly workers. 

After the work was completed we went to Casey's and filled the Minnie with fuel. While there we bought a large pepperoni pizza. A number of  folks have said how good Casey's pizzas are so we thought we would give it a try. They have a good pizza but I wouldn't go so far as to say it's the best. We ordered the pizza and it took about eight minutes to get it. The gentleman, who took care of us was very nice and delivered the pizza to me. I was in the store waiting. We had excellent service. They didn't have anywhere to sit so we ate the pizza in the Minnie. It was quite warm in the Minnie so Larry started the generator and we had AC.

After lunch we continued to Natural Falls State Park, which was another 63 miles. We drove down a two lane highway. We arrived at the park at 2:30 pm. We had reservations so we went directly to our site, which was #28. The site was very level, we didn't have to use any blocks. I helped Larry back the Minnie in the site and left enough room for us to get the motorcycle off the carrier if we want to. The site at Robbers Cave State Park was also very level.

Our site has a paved pad for the Minnie, picnic table, fire ring with grate and water and electric. The site has trees but not a lot of privacy. It's a nice park.

After we set up the Minnie for three nights we walked over to the restrooms to check them out. I walked over to the office and told them we were in our site and to get the hiking map. The lady in the office was very friendly and explained the map. There's not a lot of hiking but it's a nice place for the weekend.

When we got back to the Minnie Larry crawled up on the roof to fix the tape on the awning. The Minnie's awning is very old, over the years the sun has deteriorated the material where it attaches to the Minnie. We don't use it and years ago Larry used Gorilla tape to reinforce it. A couple of years ago he had to redo the tape. Today the high wind detached some of the tape at the front of the awning. Larry replaced that piece. When we get home he will redo all of it. When you own a RV you will have to do maintenance on it now and then.

Fixing the tape

We spent the rest of the day in the Minnie under the air conditioner keeping cool.

I played my games. I played the Daily Challenges of Solitaire and Mahjong. The event was Event: Pyramid Adventure of 20 games. It took me 1 hour, 12 minutes and 21 seconds, which put me in 13th place in my group. I played Angry Birds Friends and Angry Birds 2.

When I wasn't playing games I continued reading Project Hail Mary. Larry finished reading his book and wrote a review on it. 

Relaxing with a good book

After dinner I walked around for 40 minutes and did 1.75 miles on Pine Ridge Trail. I hiked it two times. I got a total of  7,000 steps.      

Wednesday 3-25-26 Rough Canyon Trail Hike, Camping & Having Fun

 

Robbers Cave

We had a warm day at Robbers Cave State Park. We woke up to 66 degrees with a little breeze. It got up to 88 degrees with blue skies.

I woke up at 7:15 am and got dressed. Then I made pancakes for breakfast. Afterwards we got ready to go on a hike. I got my small pack out of the cabinet and put a couple of waters in it. Then we loaded up on the motorcycle, the trail we wanted to hike was three miles away at the Robbers Cave day area.

We arrived there about 8:20 am and there was just one other car in the parking lot. We wore our lite jackets up there because the wind was a little chilly. We put our jackets in the tote box. I put the fanny pack on and we were ready for our hike. There are two hiking trails, Rough Canyon (4 mile loop) and Mountain (3 mile loop). We decided to do the Rough Canyon Loop, it took us over three hours to complete. The trail started from the parking lot at the shelter and finished at the Robbers Cave. It was a challenging hike, the terrain was very rocky with roots and it went up the hill. We hiked on loose rocks, over bigger rocks and in between boulders. The trail lead us through the forest and up the hillside. It wasn't all rough terrain, at times the terrain was flat and had pine needles and leaves on the trail. We hiked by two ponds, Cattail Pond and Lost Lake. At Cattail Pond we saw a huge beaver den. While looking around you can see how busy the beaver was cutting down the trees. We sat at a picnic table to rest at Cattail Pond, this was our halfway point of the hike (2 miles). After our rest we hiked on the pond's dam which was very nice and flat. The Lost Lake was a little farther down the trail Lost Lake had a lot of Lilly-pads and a group of Canadian Geese. I couldn't get a picture because they flew away. Both bodies of water had a pump house. Lost Lake had a very nice dam. When we got to Robbers Cave people were there enjoying the facility. Kids were climbing on the rocks and parents were supervising them. We didn't walk the short trail to Robbers Cave because we were tired and hot. We have been there a few times. 

Entrance to Robbers Cave nature trail 

Rough Canyon Trail terrain

Rough Canyon Creek 

Cattail Pond and beaver den

Lost Lake dam

Lost Lake

Wildflowers on the trail

One of the caves in the rocks where the Robbers Cave is

Robbers Cave from last years trip

There was a lady parked next to the motorcycle, she was originally from Tyler, Texas, now she lives in Oklahoma. Larry was talking to her for a few minutes before I got there. She was training for the Grand Canyon hike so her goal today was to hike 25 miles. The vehicle that was in the parking lot when we arrived was hers. She told Larry she had already hiked 8 miles. She said she wasn't sure if she was going to make the 25 miles. She also said she loved the hot temperatures better than cold. A couple of years ago she was here and was buddled up. Larry told her we loved it more when it was cold, that way you can take off the layers you are wearing when you get warm.

We had a super hike. The trail was well marked. It started with dark blue and green hiking signs and ended with light blue. They had a sign on a tree when the trail colors changed. The hike was challenging and at times very tough but the hike was fun. We hiked 4 miles for three and a half hours.

We spent the rest of the day relaxing. Larry continued reading the book he started yesterday and finished it. I played games and read a little. We took a shower.

I played the Daily Challenges of Solitaire and Mahjong. The event was Event: Medium Mayhem Mini of 5 games. It took me 20 minutes and 48 seconds, which put me in 23rd place in my group. I played Angry Birds Friends and Angry Birds 2.

After dinner I went for a 2 mile walk around the campground two loops (Whispering Pines and Old Circle), cabins and lodge. I only did the Old Circle once because it was too hot. By the end of the day I had done 19,500 steps. 

Tuesday 3-24-26 Camping, Hiking Mountain Trail Loop & More

 

Lake Carlton Dam

We had a wonderful day with a lot of sunshine. The morning temperature was 51 degrees and the high temperature was 73 degrees.

I woke up at 7:20 am and Larry was cutting new pads for his feet. The fan and heater were both running. I made mini waffles for breakfast. After breakfast we got ready to go on a hike. I got my little pouch out of the cabinet and put a couple of bottles of water in it.

Today we rode the motorcycle over to the trailhead in the day area, it is near the outdoors classroom. We parked the motorcycle and walked over the lake via a bridge to get to the trailhead. The trailhead was for the Mountain Trail, which is marked by blue hiking signs. But the actual trail name wasn't there. There is another entrance to the trail at the Cattail Pond. We shared the trail with the Cougar horse trail. We hiked the trail to Governor's Horse Trail, where it Ys. We went left and kept on the Mountain Trail. The trail went through the forest and up the mountainside. It was a steep climb to get up to the top. We had to hike on loose rocks, pine needles and leaves. We had to be careful but it was a great trail. We hiked to where there was a loop, which was about 1.5 miles. The loop was another 1.5 miles. The trail wasn't marked with a name but it did have Orange/White trail markers. It had two colors because it's multi-use trail. The loop trail went up and down small hills. While hiking a gentleman came behind us. We let him get around us because he was running. We hiked through dry creeks, along the ridge of the mountain, saw views of the lake and down an old logging road. When we were descending down the mountain by Cottontail Pond Campground we met up with a group of six kids hiking up the mountain bare feet. They had a small dog, which they carried to get around us. When we got to Cattails Pond we used a bridge3 to cross over the pond to the tent campground. It was a small campground but very nice. We rested in the shelter before taking the park road back to the day area. After our rest we hiked the road for about a half a mile to the day area. Then we walked around the day area.

Mountain Trail terrain

View of Lake Carlton from the trail

Larry resting on a rock chair

The rock chair

Cattail Pond

The bridge to Cattail Pond Campground

An old CCC water fountain

We walked through the nature center, which was a CCC building. It was small but very nice. It talked about the history of the area and wildlife in the area. One of the rangers was holding a snake and showed it to us. She said she caught the snake two years ago in August in the park. It was small and very friendly. It liked being handled. After walking through the Nature Center we continued our walk to the motorcycle. We walked to the amphitheater and through it. It was originally built by the CCC but the actual stage area was more modern. Then we walked to the motorcycle. As we were getting ready to go a couple came up to us and asked about the motorcycle. We visited with them for a little while, they're from Oklahoma. They were very nice.

Carlton Lake Dam

Yurt for rent

 

Nature Center exhibits entrance

The CCC exhibit and history

Black bear exhibit

Bobcat exhibit

By the end of the hike we had hiked 4 miles, it took us three hours.

When we got back to the Minnie we relaxed for a little bit. Then we had lunch.

Late yesterday Larry noticed a small amount of coolant under the Minnie. He crawled under the Minnie and found the leak was coming from a hose. He was unable to tighten the clamp with a screw driver so today he got his tool box out and using tools from it he was able to tightened the clamp. He hopes this will fix the leak.

Larry started a new book and relaxed outside in his chair. I played my games. I did the Daily Challenges of Solitaire and Mahjong. The daily event was Event: Two Game Tango of 20 games (10 Klondike and 10 Pyramid). It took me 1 hour, 10 minutes and 25 seconds, which put me in 17th place in my group. I played Angry Birds Friends and Angry Birds 2.

My fitness band hasn't been tracking my mileage correctly. When we go hiking Larry's fitness watch will say we went the correct mileage but mine will read less than his. Larry's watch has a built in GPS so his mileage is correct. My band doesn't have GPS. Last year he figured out how to get my band to work with the GPS from my phone so it would be accurate. A couple of months ago I got a new phone so this afternoon he once again had to figure out how to get the tracking to work via the GPS on the phone.

After dinner we went for a walk. Larry started his watch to clock the walk and I started my band. We walked to the cabins and back. We checked his watch and my band and they were exactly the same distance, which was 1.25 miles. Yesterday I used my band it was 1 mile. So I have been going farther then my band said. After Larry went back to the Minnie I continued walking, I walked the Old Circle Campground three times. I ended up walking for a little over an hour for 3 miles.

Walking Old Circle Campground

While I continued my walk Larry read in his chair. After doing my games I continued reading Project Hail Mary.



By the end of the day had gotten 19.500 steps. We had a great day of hiking and walking.