Sunday March 22 - Memphis TN to Petit Jean State Park Arkansas - 2 miles hike
We got out of Memphis pretty early. We headed down US-61 through Tunica and over into Arkansas at West Helena. I had hoped to hike Arkansas Post National Monument. I actually knew almost nothing about that park but I had for some reason, years ago, printed out the trail guide from the dearly departed website trails.com and when I looked through the big basket of hike guides I saw that one there and it was reasonably to swing through on a non-Interstate route between Memphis and our 2 night cabin at Petit Jean.
When we got to Petit Jean it was cool and rainy. The visitors center said no more than 10 visitors allowed at once but since we were the only car in the entire lot I was pretty sure we'd be ok. As with most of the places we've talked to people (the TN state parks both had visitor's centers), they seem really pleased to have some face to face interaction during this nearly post apocalyptic level of isolation we are going through. We watched a reasonably well produced but still somewhat corny film about Arkansas Post. I was still really hopeful for the 4 miles of looping walkways at the park but it was drizzly and barely 50 when we got out of the visitors center so we got back in the car which in hindsight was fine.
There was a lot of poverty stricken Delta lands between Memphis and the remote Arkansas Post monument. It reminded me of much of the trip home from New Orleans (also through AR) a few years ago. Stuttgart Arkansas was a little gem in the middle of a tough area. That little town (~8500 people) for some reason has everything. Many dining choices (we awkwardly ate Popeye's in the parking lot) and for reasons beyond me, a Hilton Tru hotel. Tru is Hilton's newest brand aimed at their newest customers, Millennials. We stayed at a Tru on the NOLA trip in Meridian Mississippi, another outpost of livability surrounded by miles of nothing.
Thankfully, once we got North of I-40 and near Little Rock, the demographics and scenery both improved. Petit Jean state park is gorgeous. The last 20 miles of the drive in were fun and curvy and through lakes and forest areas. The park has a good sized lodge, over 30 cabins (ours is oddly a duplex cabin) and about 20 miles of hiking trails. We did a little walking around near the lodge once we arrived. Even the trails that are immediately adjacent to the Lodge are very rocky and interesting so it seemed a good omen for the next day.
When we got to Petit Jean it was cool and rainy. The visitors center said no more than 10 visitors allowed at once but since we were the only car in the entire lot I was pretty sure we'd be ok. As with most of the places we've talked to people (the TN state parks both had visitor's centers), they seem really pleased to have some face to face interaction during this nearly post apocalyptic level of isolation we are going through. We watched a reasonably well produced but still somewhat corny film about Arkansas Post. I was still really hopeful for the 4 miles of looping walkways at the park but it was drizzly and barely 50 when we got out of the visitors center so we got back in the car which in hindsight was fine.
There was a lot of poverty stricken Delta lands between Memphis and the remote Arkansas Post monument. It reminded me of much of the trip home from New Orleans (also through AR) a few years ago. Stuttgart Arkansas was a little gem in the middle of a tough area. That little town (~8500 people) for some reason has everything. Many dining choices (we awkwardly ate Popeye's in the parking lot) and for reasons beyond me, a Hilton Tru hotel. Tru is Hilton's newest brand aimed at their newest customers, Millennials. We stayed at a Tru on the NOLA trip in Meridian Mississippi, another outpost of livability surrounded by miles of nothing.
Thankfully, once we got North of I-40 and near Little Rock, the demographics and scenery both improved. Petit Jean state park is gorgeous. The last 20 miles of the drive in were fun and curvy and through lakes and forest areas. The park has a good sized lodge, over 30 cabins (ours is oddly a duplex cabin) and about 20 miles of hiking trails. We did a little walking around near the lodge once we arrived. Even the trails that are immediately adjacent to the Lodge are very rocky and interesting so it seemed a good omen for the next day.
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