Tuesday 4-19 Camping, Hiking & Having Fun

 

Springtime

We had another gorgeous spring day with sunshine and no wind. We woke up to 40 degrees and it got to the low 60s. 

I woke up to fresh cinnamon rolls. After breakfast we got ready to go on a hike. Today's hike wasn't as long as yesterday's but we did go 4 miles. We revisited the three hikes from the campground but we did them in the opposite direction as yesterday. We started on the forest trail and from there we hiked the overlook trail. The sun was shining on the scenery, which made the colors come out prettier. After relaxing at the overlook we went to the trail head by the cabins. Next we hiked the campground trail, which took us back to the B Loop area. We hiked to the amphitheater, which is very nice with a beautiful rock wall behind the benches. We walked by the walk-in tent sites, which is C loop. We took a small trail that runs along side of the main road. It was a little wet at places so we had to be careful not to slip on the rocks. As we hiked we saw a lot of small butterflies, they really like the sun. We didn't see any wildlife. On the trail right before we got to the parking lot we met a park ranger, she was moving a fallen tree off the trail. We stopped occasionally to watch the butterflies and enjoy the scenery. We also saw a beautiful cardinal in a tree. We had a great hike and was back for lunch.

Buffalo River

 

One of the park cabins

 

A couple butterflies

Because it was such a beautiful day after lunch we went outside and read. 

While we were relaxing outside we were admiring what a magnificent job they did on making the park. They put a lot of work in laying stone walls through out the park and the sites. Each site had a step down to its picnic tables, fire ring and tent pad. Because the site steps down they put a retaining wall to protect from erosion. It makes the sites gorgeous. 

   

Campsite Stone Work

When it was time for dinner I barbecued some seasoned pork. After dinner I walked around for a half hour. I ended up doing 26,000 steps, which put me in 3rd place in my group.