Arkansas was definitely a fun adventure. We’re so excited to tell you about a very special friend we met while we were there. 

Our plan while in Arkansas was to spend one day hiking in the Ozark National Forest and one day exploring Lake Ouachita. We decided to go hiking in the Ozarks on the first day so we got in the car to drive the 60 minutes to the hiking trail.

Driving in Arkansas was fun because the roads we encountered were mostly straight but had a lot of ups and downs, making it feel as though we were on a roller coaster. There were also very few cars so traffic was not an issue.

As we were driving along, we came over one of the many little hills of the road and spotted a Great Pyrenees dog in the road. I immediately slowed down to ensure that we would not hit him in case he jumped in front of us, which he did! Luckily, we were able to stop far enough away that it wasn’t even a close call.

But now that we were stopped in the road, the dog was just standing in front of our truck and wouldn’t move so we couldn’t go anywhere. We were just stuck sitting in the road. At least no other cars were around.

After a moment or so of sitting there, the dog ran to the side of the truck. He had so much energy, he just kept running around us, waiting for the doors to open so he could get in. When he was really close to the truck, it was challenging to see him. We didn’t want to try driving away even at a slow speed because we were afraid that we might run him over. 

We were hesitant to get out of the truck to see where he was because at this point we weren’t sure if he was approachable. He was so energetic that we didn’t know if he was friendly and wanted to play or if he was dangerous and would hurt us.

We tried honking at him to scare him away from the truck, but he just barked at us like we were playing a game. After about 10 minutes, we could see that he was rather friendly and just wanted to play. 

Ryan tried to coerce him out of the road by throwing a peanut butter cracker out the window, which would have worked. The dog ran to the side of the road to get the cracker, which gave us the opportunity to drive away, but I didn’t want to leave him there. I was afraid that someone else would end up hitting him after we left.

Ryan and I assumed he probably belonged to someone in the area, but the houses were so far apart, we couldn’t tell where his home might have been. There were just fields completely surrounding us with very little civilization around. We didn’t know how far he might have wandered.

Ryan and I tried to figure out what to do with him. Ryan agreed that if we left him, he would likely get hit by the next car that drives by because the dog is too friendly for his own good and would likely run out into the road trying to track down a new friend.

We were talking about our options when Ryan noticed a collar around the dog’s neck. We couldn’t see it before because he wouldn’t keep still for 2 seconds and he has long fur that covered it. Ryan tried to get a look at the tag on the collar by opening the door slightly. 

Apparently, that’s all it took for the dog. The second the door cracked open, he wedged his way into the truck right at Ryan’s feet and laid down. Ryan looked at me and said, “Apparently, we have a dog now!” 

Or at least we hoped.

His tag said his name is Happy and I tell you, that name could not be more fitting for this friendly, outgoing lovebug. Just as Happy was making himself comfortable in our truck, another car drove by and asked if we needed help.

I told her the situation and she said she thought a white dog belonged to a house down the road, but she had never seen it before. She made a call and once it was confirmed, she gave us directions to his house so we could bring Happy home to his owner.

At this point, Happy was really happy with Ryan. He was laying in his arms like a baby. He must think he’s a lot smaller than he actually is because he just moves around however he pleases and doesn’t seem to realize the amount of space he requires.

With reluctance, we drove him home. We were sad we had to return him to his owners. We would have loved to adopt him, but we knew we had to give him back. We were happy for the time we got to spend with Happy.

After we dropped Happy off, we continued our drive to the Ozarks. We were doing 2 hikes there, both were short trails with a moderate difficulty rating.

The first trail we went on was Pedestal Rocks. It was a fairly easy trail with a nice view. We saw some interesting rock formations along the way.

The second trail was King’s Bluff, which in our opinion was a much more interesting hike. It had really amazing views of the Ozarks with a couple of waterfalls along the trail. We were able to stand on the rock formations on the edge of a cliff, staring out at the surrounding forest. Many of the rock formations that were on the edge of the cliff reminded me of Pride Rock. I told Ryan that we should have brought our cats to hold them up and present them to all the forest animals.

The sky was gray and cloudy the day were there, and because of the approaching winter season, the trees below were all dead so there was very little color in the nature surrounding us. Even with the browns and yellows of the nature, it was quite a beautiful scenery. It was peaceful how far removed we were from everyone and everything surrounding us. It felt like we were the only 2 people in the forest.

We only wished that we had a dog like Happy with whom we could enjoy the trail.

Later that night after returning home we started making dinner. We were having fish and Ryan thought it would be a good idea to cook it outside. He now realizes it was a bad idea and he shouldn’t do that again. I will let Ryan share his tale with you…

Ryan's Story

This night was the first time it would actually be warm enough outside at dinnertime in a while, so I thought I would take the opportunity to cook the fish on the grill outside. I got the fish prepared and seasoned and stepped out the door, but I didn’t even make it past the steps before I started hearing noises all around me.

It turns out, there were a bunch of cats that live somewhere near this campsite. All I heard was meowing coming from the woods around us when suddenly an adorable little kitten jumped out of the compartment of our RV that I had left open. He immediately ran up to me and started rubbing my leg and purring. 

The little guy was so energetic and was just loving being patted. He was probably trying to butter me up to get my fish, but he was so cute I couldn’t resist. I checked him out just to make sure I wasn’t bringing any fleas or anything back in with me and he was actually very clean and healthy looking. They must either have owners nearby or they just take good care of themselves.

While the kitten was climbing all over me, I could see 3 other pairs of eyes lurking out in the distance. They were hiding in the woods, staring at me. They kept their distance, but it was creepy seeing all the eyes glowering through the darkness.

While I was patting the kitten, Leah walked up to the screen door from inside the RV. She apparently smelled the fish, too, because she was sniffing the air in the direction of the food, but she didn’t even notice the kitten who was staring at her on the other side of the screen. She was quite oblivious. 

Sammie also came over to the screen door and saw the kitten, but she was completely pissed off. I felt bad that she was so upset and went back in. It was really hard to get the kitten off me and I thought it was going to run right into the RV when I opened the door, but I had to get dinner going so I had no choice but to try to get back inside. 

It was just really funny that both of these animal incidents happened on the same day.

Ryan's Birthday

The following day was Ryan’s birthday. He took the day off from work so we could spend more time hiking. We wanted to go to Lake Ouachita State Park as we had read reviews that it was worth seeing.

We drove 2 hours each way to get there, which probably sounds crazy, but it was worth it. We enjoyed our time together and the hike was fun.

We went on the Caddo Bend Trail, which was interesting. It was only about 4 miles, but along the way the trail grounds kept changing. We hiked through a forested area that was followed by a beach like area with tall grass surrounding us. Next, we came across an area of large rocks that we had to negotiate. Finally, we made it back to a forested setting. 

The trail was labeled moderate difficulty, but I noticed how much easier I was finding the moderate trails to be. It has been a while since we have gone hiking and even longer since we have worked out. We have not kept in shape during this pandemic. 

The first week of hiking, I was extremely tired. I needed to take a lot of breaks to catch my breath. I blame my grandparents for all the Burger King outings we went on while in NY!

Now after even just 1 week of eating better and exercising, I feel a huge improvement with my stamina during the hikes. It has allowed me to enjoy hiking even more since I don’t feel like I am holding Ryan back.

Along our hike, we had the enjoyable view of the lake. The water glistened in the bright sun, creating unforgettable sights. Many times, we stopped just to admire the beauty of the lake and its surroundings. The hike was estimated to take 2 hours, but we spent 3 hours there taking our time to appreciate the wonderous places the world has to offer. 

Arkansas is very different than the other places we have seen within the US. It is a rural area with limited colors, establishing an almost boring effect. It is not the most outstanding place we have visited, but I think that’s what I enjoyed most about it. It’s not a location that everyone flocks to, which allows peace and tranquility. You have to search for the beauty and learn to appreciate even the most muted of places because even the most subdued nature can bring about the best serenity.