Road Trip!

Have you ever been to Paris? Paris, Arkansas that is. That is where we went on our recent road trip-to Mount Magazine State Park. This is the lodge where we stayed. It is on top of Mount Magazine, which is the highest peak in Arkansas.

It is pretty, rustic, and very scenic.
All of the rooms off of hallways like this face the beautiful Petite Jean Valley.

The lobby is made with huge logs, and has high ceilings and rustic lights.

There is also a massive stone fireplace, which we enjoyed each evening.

We saw beautiful sunsets..

..and a bright, colorful sun rise.
Our hikes took us down shady paths through the woods,
into bright clearings with blue skies.

The panoramic views were spectacular..

..and although not yet peaked, the fall colors were sure pretty to this Texas couple!

There were lots of patios. Off of this one I found a very special garden..
As you can see, it was created by Master Gardeners.
The Pineapple Sage was sooo pretty! (wish mine looked this good!)

I loved the way they marked each plant..with rocks! And believe me-there are enough rocks up there to mark plants for a very long time!

I would have never know what this grass was without that plant marker. It was so unusual!
The night before we left there was a big storm. We woke up to FOG! The usual gorgeous view from our balcony looked like pea soup!
The fog did however make for a really pretty drive down the mountain side.
This deer didn't seem to mind our stopping to take a picture. I would go back to this area anytime. The fall colors (even though the area was seeing some drought conditions) were really pretty. The spring wildflowers are suppose to be amazing. The temperature is always 10 degrees cooler, so summer wouldn't be a bad time to go. And the pictures of winter are simply beautiful. (not sure how one gets up those windy roads in winter though!). I put this area on my "return to" list!