BREAKING CLEAR AWAY

Keep close to Nature's heart... and break clear away,

 once in awhile, and climb a mountain

 or spend a week in the woods.

Wash your spirit clean.
 John Muir

I think John Muir and I are kindred spirits.

Every so often, I am drawn to the mountains.

This time it wasn't the Grand Tetons, or the Rockies.

Dear hubbie and I decided to break away and spend

a week one of our favorite places, the Ozarks.

This was our first visit to Devil's Den State Park

in Arkansas. We found wonderful hiking trails and

stayed in a cabin built by the CCC boys in the 1930's.

These rock houses can be found all

around the Ozarks. I fell in love with

the first one I saw when I was a child and 

have loved them ever since.  

Here is the fireplace from one of the old

kitchens originally built on this site at the park.

 It was huge! I imagine many a dinner had been

cooked here and it surely warmed the room

nicely in the winter.

We decided to drive to War Eagle Mill one

day for lunch. It is still a working grist mill

and you can watch as the miller grinds corn

and the big water wheel turns.

I had a cup of pinto beans and cornbread

with blackberry cobbler for dessert.

Good home cookin'!



We traveled the back roads and came across

this covered bridge and little cabin decorated for fall.

I am pretty sure in the past someone lived a good life

 here in this peaceful spot beside this little creek.

The trees were just beginning to change color.

The temperature dipped into the low 30's 

while we were there, so I imagine this next

week will be spectacular! 

We had a wonderful time, wandering around

the northern part of Arkansas. We climbed a

few mountains, spent some time in the woods,

ate some good home cookin' and came home

with our spirits refreshed.

That John Muir was a wise man!