Thursday afternoon I had an appointment in Little Rock and later that night there was a seminar I wanted to attend at Petit Jean Mountain. The trip down and back held some scenic possibilities, so I left early Thursday morning so I could take some backroads.
I left Rogers before first light and caught a good omen at Pinnacle Hills where I saw a meteor from the Perseids shower as I was looking west past I-540. I headed to the Buffalo River Valley at Ponca and watched the elk for a few minutes. Before descending into foggy Boxley Valley I enjoyed riding the ridge and watching the sunrise. From Boxley I headed south on Hwy. 21 and turned east on Hwy. 16 to the Limestone cuttoff. The gravel road goes down into the Limestone Valley where the headwaters of Big Piney Creek start. This valley is about 1,000 feet deep from the rim and is one of the deeper valleys in the Boston Mountains. It is extremely rugged terrain although the forest service road is good for the most part.
Just west of the junction of highways 21 and 16 are found the headwaters of the White, the War Eagle, the Kings, and the Buffalo, which all flow north and east into a much larger White River further downstream. To the south are the beginnings of the Mulberry River and the Piney Creeks which flow south into the Arkansas River.
The largest stand of cane I have ever encountered I saw in the valley around Limestone. The cane was about 30 feet high and bending over the road. A cut-through had been hacked out for a driveway back to a cabin. Coming up out the other side of the valley the road heads to Ozone where it meets Hwy. 21. This part of the national forest is heavily logged.
From Clarksville I hightailed it to Little Rock for an afternoon meeting at the federal building. Before my meeting I visited Murray Lock and Dam and the “Big Dam Bridge”—a pedestrian bridge built across the Arkansas River on top of the dam structure. This was a cooperative project between the county and the Corps of Engineers and has become a very popular place for walkers and cyclists.
After an afternoon meeting with the Corps of Engineers, I drove to Petit Jean State Park for an archeology seminar and stayed in one of the cabins at the state park. The next morning I ate breakfast in the lodge and visited a few of the overlooks.
On the return trip, I headed to Mt. Magazine and drove the park road from Havana to Paris over the mountain which is the highest point in Arkansas. The visitor’s center has some unique presentations on animal tracks and the butterfly displays are worth noting. I enjoyed several of the overlooks and scenery and even happended upon a wedding on the north rim. From there I headed west on Hwy. 22 to Fort Chaffee and drove past the old barricks. I turned north on highway 59 and drove over the James W. Trimble Lock and Dam on the Arkansas River. Taking old 71 north I stopped off at the new Lake Fort Smith visitor’s center north of Mountainburg.
A whirlwind tour of some great scenery and history.
Here are the photos.
© 2009, Scott Branyan