TEAM LINDSAY: FALL COLORS ROAD TRIP

While we've had this camping road trip planned for a while (we saw an article about an Arkansas fall colors driving route back in July), the extreme stress and disappointment of last week's election results really made this the perfect weekend to disconnect from the news (and most of "civilization") and just "get away from it all". Camping is our happy place (we really should do it more often... if only our schedules allowed!) and we were all wishing we could have stayed away longer (despite the cold nights).

We took the kids out of school Friday (really, Veterans Day should be a school holiday instead of Columbus Day), after making sure their teachers didn't mind (they just tested early on Thursday). We left as soon as I got off work Thursday (which was pretty late...) and drove a few hours up to Pine Bluff, staying in a hotel for the night since we were all exhausted and it was so late (and dark - who likes setting up camp in the dark?)

Our first stop on Friday was Hot Springs National Park, which was so much cooler than we expected. Admittedly, I did very little research (or planning) for this trip and we just winged it (seriously, we didn't even have camping reservations!), but I had figured we'd spend an hour in Hot Springs, then head out into the woods. Well, instead, we spent an hour taking the self-guided tour of the baths and the downtown promenade (Hot Springs NP is the only national park with a town running through it's center), another hour eating lunch and tasting beers at the old bathhouse that's been turned into a brewery, and another hour hiking up Hot Springs Mountain and riding the elevator up the lookout tower to see the incredible views. The kids were disappointed that I hadn't packed swimsuits, so we'll just have to come back sometime so we can all swim at one of the two operational bathhouses (or maybe just Jay and I will come so we can enjoy massages and other ammenities!)

The kids thought the bathhouse was awesome and got into everything they could! There were probably a hundred bathtubs/foot tubs, but also a few steam boxes and "needle showers" (which sounded like medieval torture devices to us...), "cooling rooms" (with cots lining the walls to relax on after your hot bath to prevent fainting), massage rooms (with historic "tools" available for viewing), parlors, rocking chairs (everywhere!), locker rooms, tiny overnight guest rooms (historic, not to stay in now), a gymnasium (complete with historical gym equipment that the kids were sorely disappointed they couldn't play on), and so much more. Lots to see, lots to learn. And lots of pretty statues and stained glass windows throughout!

(They both requested their photo solo on this rock. There were many stops on the way up the trail to pose for photos on rocks, at their request. I figured one each was enough to record the event here though...)

(Outside the gift shop at the base of the tower - another bathtub, of course!)

By the time we left Hot Springs, we were limited on time to get up into the mountains and find a camping spot for the night before it got dark. We took the scenic byway, stopped briefly at Mount Magazine (to confirm that they had no cancellations for campsites - they were booked completely for a yoga retreat), and discovered a great little USFS (that's US Forest Service for you non-government-acronym-loving folks) primitive campground at the base of the mountain called Cove Lake. There were only half a dozen other campers between the two loops, so it was easy to choose a spot on the lake. Which happened to be just across from one of the playgrounds (a swingset at a primitive campground? WINNING) and not too far from the bathrooms (pit toilets - which the kids found fascinating, of course).

I mean COME ON - Those colors! That view!

Supermoon rising and my happy photographer (who doesn't get out to do this as often as he'd like)

The reason we came!

Thankfully, this federal campground was exempt from the burn ban that the county was under, and the campground host had loads of firewood to sell, so we enjoyed a fun evening around the campfire, roasting hot dogs and marshmallows before bed.

It was a cold morning (43 degrees, we think - we didn't have cell phone reception to check the weather app), but the light coming through the leaves was incredible. We had another campfire with breakfast and took our time cleaning up camp before the long drive over to the Buffalo National River.

(This sequence cracks me up because he was sitting there cupping his hands around his warm mug, just breathing in the steam and chocolate scent, and I wanted to take a photo because it was so cute, but I ended up catching his first sip as well - a little bit hotter than he expected!)

We checked out the boat launch, bathhouse, and front lawn before leaving Cove Lake. This place is probably hopping in the summer time... the facilities were large and well equipped, and they have boat rentals and more. If it wasn't so far away (and off the beaten path), we'd plan to come back to check it out. A little bit of rock-skipping practice and we were off!

On the way to Jasper, we stopped at Artist Point to take in the view and purchase some little souvenirs for the kids (and sarsaparilla for us - hard to find that these days!)

A quick stop in Jasper at the Commerce Center led us to the local bakery cafe, which led us to a very nice lady who helped us find the local natural wildlife museum and ranger with camping information, who led us to another primitive campground (this time through the national park service) along the Buffalo National River. There was a long, steep gravel road leading down into the campground, but we found real bathrooms and two large Boy Scout Troops on site, so we happily set up camp just above the river (can't argue with a water view!), then quickly went back into Jasper (not a hopping metropolis) to grab fixings for another campfire dinner (hot dogs again? why not?) and settled in for card games and a campfire (again, loophole in the burn ban - YES!) It was even colder this night (we later found out it got down to 32 degrees) and we woke up to frost. Thankfully, I had randomly purchased snow boots for the kids (and remembered to pack them) and we'd put them to bed in 3-4 layers of thermal underwear and pajamas and microfleece, and they are now well versed in sleeping completely tucked into their mummy bags, so they were fine. And we were fine because we thankfully remembered to purchase new sleeping bags for ourselves before this adventure!

(Most stone-skipping practice on the Buffalo)

(Baby Aurora went everywhere with her this weekend)

(They ganged up on me and beat me 3 times... and yes, my wine helped keep me warm)

So, so cold in the morning, but SO BEAUTIFUL along the river with the mist...

Once we packed up camp, it was time to head home. We made one stop on the way (lunch with a view of the "Arkansas Grand Canyon"), then made a beeline for Mississippi. It was a long drive, but the kids were great as usual (they are such good travelers - obviously, or we wouldn't do these types of adventures! - and James actually slept for the first 2 hours - Cora napped the previous days).