Mountain Top

The weather has once again warmed up considerably. What I had hoped to be a cool, fall week has turned out to be more like summer. The Arkansas mountains were still beautiful and the mornings were in the 60's, so coffee on the back porch was still something to look forward to. The drought conditions, though not as severe as here in North Louisiana, were evident in the lack of water in Cedar Creek and as you can see in the picture, the Cedar Creek Falls were more like Cedar Creek trickles. The hike down to the canyon floor to get to the falls is about an 8 on a scale of 1-10 in difficulty. Every year we go, I can't help but wonder if this is the last time I will make it back up the side of the mountain! It is always worth the effort and hopefully, we can make it a few more years. We were about 3 weeks too early for the fall color but sunset at the lodge every evening is breathtaking any time of the year. The sun seems to hang in the sky between the two mountains forever and then starts to slide down behind the horizon. Another one of my favorite things! More favorite things: flowers and berries along with rustic cabins, quiet evenings and misty mornings. I was disappointed to see a television in our cabin on this trip. Of course, we didn't have to turn it on, but just having it there left something to be desired with the whole idea of getting away from it all. The time passed too quickly and we weren't ready to leave the mountain and come back to the real world of hurry up and schedules to keep. But the mountains have been there for ages and there will be more vacations to take and trails to hike. Something to look forward to.