I know, I still don’t post much but when I do I cram a bunch in! I had a bunch of photos this time, hence the slide show above.
For Easter weekend we decide to go camping at Village Creek State Park and visit Parkin Archaeological State Park while there. Village Creek is located on Crowley’s Ridge in eastern Arkansas, just outside the town of Wynne. It is the second-largest Arkansas State Park and currently has over 30 miles of trails including a lot of multi-use trails open to hikers, equestrians, and mountain bikers. I rode here last year to check out the trails and enjoyed them. This is me going through a stream there:
The park also has a fantastic horse camp, cabins, two small lakes, and an incredible golf course currently being constructed there.
We pulled into the park around 1 pm on Saturday and got our camp set up. I put up our new tent while Lisa and Mc made lunch of mac & cheese with spam. mmmmmm…… Then we went out geocaching for the rest of the afternoon finding 5 of them in the park and looking for a few elusive ones in a cemetery near the park. Back at the campsite, we played around on some of the downed logs, then it was time for dinner, hot dogs grilled over the fire. It really is all about the food. We sat around the picnic table playing UNO for a while then it was in the tent and watching a movie before bed.
The morning brought a drum solo of various species of woodpeckers. Nice to lay on the cot and listen to them for a little while. Lisa then made breakfast using tortillas with peanut butter, chocolate chips, and bananas, superb. We had to make a 10:00 am meeting with the park interpreter for a hike on the old Military road. This was a part of the trail of tears and is very interesting. We went down to the swinging bridge so Lisa and Mc could run across it and giggle. Then it was back to the car. Mc found some frog eggs in a marshy area along the way. We picked up some trash and thanked the interpreter and headed back to the campsite to pack up.
After getting our camp cleaned up and put away we left the park and went into Wynne, AR for a quick lunch then headed for Parkin Archaeological State Park. This park was first formed to protect and interpret a Mound Indian site. It is believed that this was the place where the first Christian service was held in the state by the Spanish explorer, Hernando DeSoto in 1541. We walked around the trail and checked out another old cemetery. Next, we went to the Northern Ohio School House. This was thought to be just an old residence that was on State Park property but before it was torn down some research was done and it was found to be an old one-room schoolhouse run by the logging company that was the primary business in Parkin, AR. The schoolhouse was restored with the help of the memories of some of the original students from the 1930s and 40s. It’s pretty cool and gives a glimpse of life back then.
After that, it was time to head home. No, the kayak in the photo never got wet on this trip. That would wait until the next weekend. That’s a whole other story.
