Last weekend Nick planned a Valentine's Day excursion to
Petit Jean State Park. Petit Jean was the first state park in Arkansas, established in 1923. Nick packed a picnic, and we put on our hiking shoes & headed to the park. It was a bit on the chilly side - especially for the picnic, but we had a great time. Petit Jean is full of amazing things to explore. On our first trail we went down a big rocky hill & took a family portrait with the self timer.
The hillside is covered with mounds that look like giant turtles - you can see a good example to the right of Brandon. The patterns eroded into the rock surface by rainwater are similar to the patterns seen on turtle shells. These are actually called
Turtle Rocks.
Brandon remembered this trail from a daytrip he and Nick took to Petit Jean last spring. He was pretty excited to show me this narrow path between the rocks.
Our first destination was
Rock House Cave (click on the link for an AETN video) It has been used as shelter by many over the years, and is rather large, although not terribly deep.
Along the back wall are
pictographs. Some of them were a combination of
petroglyph and pictograph. A pictograph is a painting made with pigments. A petroglyph involves poking holes in the rock surface to create the image. According to the signs at Rock House Cave, most pictographs are red, although some are yellow or black. The ones we could find were red(ish) and I couldn't see any of the holes of a petroglyph.
Brandon and Laedyn sitting on a big boulder in Rock House Cave. Laedyn is reaching for her pacifier. She thought it was funny that Nick pulled it out of her mouth.
After Rock House Cave, we drove along a loop road that had several overlooks. The road was narrow and unpaved. At some points I couldn't look out the window. I was having some serious height anxiety! There were birds gliding at eye level all along the mountainside. When we got to the first overlook, I wasn't even sure I wanted to get out - or let the kids get out for that matter. But I managed to give it a try and was well rewarded by the view. It was pretty impressive.
Nick, not having any of the heigh anxiety I have, wandered over to the edge to get a better view. It was a sheer drop with no guard rails or anything. SCARY!
We found a nice picnic area for our picnic, and got everything set up. Apparently we were the only souls hardy enough to eat out in the elements that day. It was rather chilly. In fact, Nick and I didn't bother to sit down at all. It was more comfortable to keep moving.
Nick bought a few gourment cheeses (ala The Monk's cheeseboard...), triscuits, lunch meats, strawberries and a lovely
Markko Vinyard wine that Eric gave us at Christmas. It was fabulous!
Brandon was too cold to stay outside, so we cleared out the back of the Highlander and the kids had their very own tailgate picnic. With no wind blowing on them, they were very comfy and had a great time.
After the picnic, we headed to the
Cedar Falls overlook boardwalk. Brandon told me that the picture on the sign wasn't anything like the real waterfall.
This is the overlook of Cedar Falls. Nick thought the view was much better in winter with no leaves obstructing the view. He took Brandon to Petit Jean last spring, but this was my first trip. I can't believe, in the years we've lived in Arkansas,that this was the first time I made the trip! It was just over an hour drive from Little Rock.
Here's a zoom in on the falls. If you look closely there are two people down on the cliff to the left of the falls. It give a good perspective on how truly impressive the falls are. (If you look really really closely in the above picture, you can make out the blue of the peoples jackets too.)
Pictures never can quite convey the scope of what you experience in person. Here's a view of Cedar Falls from the far end of the overlook trail.
The texture and pattern in the rock along the top of the ridge was really interesting. It's sandstone - created from sand deposited millions of years ago when the area was an ocean. The sand compressed and became sandstone. Then, over time, water seeped into the stone depositing iron. As rain and wind have eroded the rock away, with the sandstone and the iron deposits eroding at different rates, patterns developed in the rock which are called
carpet rocks.
We checked out
"Bear Cave." Once upon a time a bear wintered in this little cave. It was along a fairly narrow trail on the side of mounain. Nick could barely stand up straight in there - especially with Laedyn in the backpack!
There wass a maze of huge rocky crevices to wander through. I'm glad I didn't start thinking about whether chunks fall off until after we were done exploring!
The rock formations were huge.
I even gave up my camera for awhile so I could climb around. This was a crevice Nick was precluded from exploring because he had Laedyn in the backpack and was off balance.
We finally had to call it a day when Nick and the kids were so cold their fingers were becoming numb. Besides it was getting too dark to take any more pictures...
The hillside is covered with mounds that look like giant turtles - you can see a good example to the right of Brandon. The patterns eroded into the rock surface by rainwater are similar to the patterns seen on turtle shells. These are actually called Turtle Rocks.
Brandon remembered this trail from a daytrip he and Nick took to Petit Jean last spring. He was pretty excited to show me this narrow path between the rocks.
Our first destination was Rock House Cave (click on the link for an AETN video) It has been used as shelter by many over the years, and is rather large, although not terribly deep.
Along the back wall are pictographs. Some of them were a combination of petroglyph and pictograph. A pictograph is a painting made with pigments. A petroglyph involves poking holes in the rock surface to create the image. According to the signs at Rock House Cave, most pictographs are red, although some are yellow or black. The ones we could find were red(ish) and I couldn't see any of the holes of a petroglyph.
Brandon and Laedyn sitting on a big boulder in Rock House Cave. Laedyn is reaching for her pacifier. She thought it was funny that Nick pulled it out of her mouth. 
After Rock House Cave, we drove along a loop road that had several overlooks. The road was narrow and unpaved. At some points I couldn't look out the window. I was having some serious height anxiety! There were birds gliding at eye level all along the mountainside. When we got to the first overlook, I wasn't even sure I wanted to get out - or let the kids get out for that matter. But I managed to give it a try and was well rewarded by the view. It was pretty impressive. 
Nick, not having any of the heigh anxiety I have, wandered over to the edge to get a better view. It was a sheer drop with no guard rails or anything. SCARY!
We found a nice picnic area for our picnic, and got everything set up. Apparently we were the only souls hardy enough to eat out in the elements that day. It was rather chilly. In fact, Nick and I didn't bother to sit down at all. It was more comfortable to keep moving. 
This is the overlook of Cedar Falls. Nick thought the view was much better in winter with no leaves obstructing the view. He took Brandon to Petit Jean last spring, but this was my first trip. I can't believe, in the years we've lived in Arkansas,that this was the first time I made the trip! It was just over an hour drive from Little Rock. 
Here's a zoom in on the falls. If you look closely there are two people down on the cliff to the left of the falls. It give a good perspective on how truly impressive the falls are. (If you look really really closely in the above picture, you can make out the blue of the peoples jackets too.)
Pictures never can quite convey the scope of what you experience in person. Here's a view of Cedar Falls from the far end of the overlook trail.
The texture and pattern in the rock along the top of the ridge was really interesting. It's sandstone - created from sand deposited millions of years ago when the area was an ocean. The sand compressed and became sandstone. Then, over time, water seeped into the stone depositing iron. As rain and wind have eroded the rock away, with the sandstone and the iron deposits eroding at different rates, patterns developed in the rock which are called carpet rocks.
We checked out "Bear Cave." Once upon a time a bear wintered in this little cave. It was along a fairly narrow trail on the side of mounain. Nick could barely stand up straight in there - especially with Laedyn in the backpack!
There wass a maze of huge rocky crevices to wander through. I'm glad I didn't start thinking about whether chunks fall off until after we were done exploring! 
The rock formations were huge. 
I even gave up my camera for awhile so I could climb around. This was a crevice Nick was precluded from exploring because he had Laedyn in the backpack and was off balance.
We finally had to call it a day when Nick and the kids were so cold their fingers were becoming numb. Besides it was getting too dark to take any more pictures...
