Autumn in Arkansas

Even though we've had a few cold days and even some snow, according to the calender it's still Autumn. Before winter is here to stay I wanted to share a few pictures of Autumn in Arkansas.

My sister, sister-in-law, and I took a day trip to Petit Jean State Park. Petit Jean is Arkansas' first state park. The land was set aside in 1923 before the Arkansas State Park System was even started!

There's a legend associated with the park. A young French nobleman named Chavet asked the King of France for permission to explore the New World. The King agreed to his request. Chavet was engaged to a young girl who asked that they be married so she could accompany him on the journey. Chavet refused her request. The young girl however didn't accept his denial. She disguised herself as a boy and applied to the captain of Chavet's ship to serve as a cabin boy, calling herself Jean. The sailor's called her Petit Jean. I can't imagine during all the time she was on board that her fiance didn't realize who she was. Either she had an amazing disguise or he never looked at her very closely!!

As they traveled down the Arkansas River they came upon a beautiful mountain where they stayed for awhile. The night they were scheduled to leave Petit Jean became very ill. Of course, during her illness her identity was discovered. She asked to be carried back to the mountain top to spend her last days and to be buried there. Legend has it that Petit Jean hovers over the mountain, giving it an air of strange enchantment.

Petit Jean is a beautiful park with hiking trails, lakes, and waterfalls. As we ate our lunch we listened to the sound of rushing water. We walked beside the lake until we found the source.

One of the treasures of Petit Jean is a 94-foot waterfall. There are trails that lead to the bottom of the falls, but it's a pretty tough hike so we choose to see it from the top where you only have to walk down a nice boardwalk!

The rock formations are massive. The area above is called Bear Cave. Although it's not really a cave it was named by a mountain resident who shot a bear in one of these small bluff shelters in the 1920's.

Stopping between the rocks and looking up made me feel very small and insignificant.

This was one of the prettiest autumn's we have had in a while. The moisture and temperatures seem to be just right to create gorgeous color. Looking across the Arkansas River Valley left me breathless and once again in awe of this world we've been given to enjoy!