Thanksgiving, Part 1

This year, we decided to go camping for Thanksgiving. We planned on staying in a cabin one night and then camp out the next three nights before returning home at the end of the weekend. We left early in the morning and stopped several times during our long 12 hour journey to White Rock Mountain in Arkansas. The actual amount of time to drive nonstop was about 8 hours. Still, it's closer than the closest mountains in my own state (which is also 12 hours away...we live in a big state, lol!)

On the way, we stopped at a Wal-Mart in Arkadelphia. We've stopped there before and loved playing on the 'hill' along side the parking lot. We live in a city/area/region of TX that is FLAT! So, we enjoy going to places with hills or mountains. The kiddos rolled up and down the hill. At the top of the hill was a McDonalds, but more incredibly, a very pretty colorful group of trees so I had to take some pictures. We also don't live in an area with a changing of the leaves, so to speak, and most trees stay green.

My toddler.


My kindergartener.


And the kiddos with my hubby.


We also stopped for lunch at a restaurant.


Finally, we arrived at our destination. The 17 mile drive up the mountain from the nearest town took about 45 minutes due to all the switchbacks and narrow mountain gravel roads. Definitely an adventure!!! Of course, due to a misreading of the map, we did at one point end up on some muddy road and had to back up our truck and rented uhaul trailer. That was a stressful 10 minutes. I had all confidence that we wouldn't get stuck but my kindergartener started crying at one point and said that he "wanted to be a rock star." I realized that he thought we'd never get out of it and he'd never grow up, thereby never becoming a rock star. If he weren't so serious, I would have laughed. But instead, I reassured him it'd all be fine. And it was.


There is also some trails at this National Forest Recreation Area. This was a very small campground with 8 places to camp, a lodge along with three cabins. It was an awesome place because it wasn't crowded but not completely in the woods by ourselves either. Beautiful and rustic.


This is the first place we have ever been that had the possibility of bears. Luckily, we didn't see any!


We stayed in this cabin.


Most of the furniture had been there since they were built in the 1930s by the CCC. I loved having a fireplace!


I could get used to just showing up somewhere and only having to provide your linens and food!


This is us behind the cabin (down the slope a little.) The place was full of high cliffs and bluffs. Right behind us is about a 60 foot drop. This is also the reason my kindergartener is not in the pic!


Walking back up to the cabin.


We loved staying in the cabin. We had a small visitor while there (think small, gray, long tail, thief of baby carrots.) Wish that we were able to stay in it longer but it was already reserved for the next several days. Since the weather got very cold, we planned to drive into town to stay in a motel the next night and then return to camp. More to follow...