Welcome to JOYFUL REFLECTIONS. Also welcome to MARCH!!!! My header picture this month is a photo I took of the pretty Crocus blooms in our yard... The Crocuses and Daffodils are the first signs of spring here in Tennessee. I am definitely ready for SPRING...

Thursday, March 3, 2016

Awesome Arkansas Vacation -Feb. 2016

Hi Blog Friends,  Is there a special place where you visit once a year or so --and love it even more every time you go back?  For me ---that place is our little cabin on the mountain at Mt Nebo, Arkansas.  George and I have been going to Arkansas in February or March for about 10+ years now.   I absolutely love everything about being there--even though we mostly  do the same things from one year to the next...

However,  to me,  each year just seems to get better and better.  AND---each year,  Mother Nature provides lots of differences for us..  Some years,  we have lots of rain or ice.  Other years,  it is very warm--or very cold... Some years the sky is prettier than other years,  etc. etc. etc.   You get the idea!!!!!  It's the same yet different.  I LOVE it no matter what.

This year --we visited from the 21st-26th of February.   Except for one day,  the weather was perfect (sunny and seasonably cold)...  This year,  the skies around us all day long put on a SHOW 'just' for us!!!!  We saw three of the most beautiful sunsets that week that I can remember.  My sky and sunset pictures from this year will be a blog post soon I hope.

We love hiking ---so we got to do some of that.  AND---as you know,  we love waterfalls --and enjoyed seeing several this year.  There are three state parks fairly close together in that area of Arkansas.  We stay at Mt. Nebo--but we always visit Petit Jean State Park and Mt. Magazine State Park during our stay...  This year was no exception.

Today I will give you a few highlights of our stay at Mt. Nebo.... The picture above is of us sitting on the top of our picnic table on our back patio --enjoying the view of the valley below --and patiently waiting for the late afternoon sun to brighten up the area followed by a sunset...  What an awesome setting!



This is the back of our little cabin --with the late afternoon sun hitting the area.





Our fabulous wood-burning fireplace in the cabin which we enjoyed the entire week while there



They have had a very mild winter in Arkansas this year --so they definitely were having a very early spring!  I love Daffodils...



Our favorite hike and waterfall of the week was at Petit Jean State Park,  when we hiked to CEDAR FALLS.  I hopefully will do an entire blog post on this area/hike soon.  What a gorgeous waterfall!!!



We love seeing the deer when we go to Mt Nebo.  This little lady was in a group of about four I think--but I chose this picture because she was posing nicely for me in the late afternoon sunlight.



Tuesday, the 23rd, was our rainy day--so on Wednesday, the 24th,  we took off for Mt. Magazine.  The high mountain cascades/waterfalls were really pretty this year.  This beauty is Hardy Falls--on the road up toward Mt. Magazine.



This waterfall/cascade is near Hardy Falls --and its name is JESTICE CREEK Falls.  Oh how these two people LOVE waterfalls--and each other... 



Here's another picture of our cute little cabin on the mountain.  What a wonderful view we have when we are there.



On our last day in Arkansas,  we headed north on Scenic Highway 7 to check out some more waterfalls... This little cascade is named Bowman Hollow Falls.. We loved this area and the creek... Even though it was quite cold that day,  I sat on a big rock and just enjoyed being in this gorgeous place.



The biggest surprise of the week (and such a huge JOY for me) was finding lots of SNOW on the top of Mt. Magazine on the 24th... This was one of the prettiest snows I have seen in years and years.  And even George liked it --since he didn't have to clean it up!!!!! ha.... I'll do a blog post with many more pictures soon.  It was the kind of snow that clings to everything... BEAUTIFUL.



Sunset --2/24/16
Finally,  besides seeing the snow at Mt. Magazine and hiking to Cedar Falls,  the other highlight of our week was being able to see 3 beautiful and unique and very different sunsets while there.  In fact,  we got many sky pictures that week with lots of colors,  sunbeams,  etc...   Don't forget to check out my big header post at the top --and also a couple of pictures from this trip on my Photo Blog.  Click HERE.

Hope you enjoyed seeing more from our wonderful little vacation to Arkansas.  As I said,  there will be at least 3 more blog posts coming, featuring more from this gorgeous area.  IF you ever get to Arkansas,  check out Mt. Nebo... We LOVE it.

Hugs,

42 comments:

Rose said...

Neal told me just the other night that you had been there...

Oh, Betsy, I so love the way the evening light is hitting your cabin in that one shot. And I always enjoy seeing how happy you and George are.

linda m said...

Those are some awesome pictures. What a beautiful place. I could just sit and stare at the view all day.

happyone said...

What a lovely cabin.
We don't have to travel far for our cabin in the woods. : ) Hope to finish the cabin at HT this summer.

Gail said...

I'm glad you enjoyed your vacation.

DeniseinVA said...

Loved the post Betsy, with many beautiful photos and loved seeing the ones of you and George so happy together. I'd like to check this area out one day. Will have to keep it in mind for our next road trip. Fabulous header photo too. I'm going over to check out your other blog now. Have a great weekend :)

Marcia said...

Such a lovely spot for February. Is it a cabin you rent through the park system there in Arkansas?

The Furry Gnome said...

Sounds absolutely wonderful! And it looks like a great place! Looking forward to more.

LV said...

HOW WONDERFUL IT WOULD BE IF THE WORLD HAD MORE PEOPLE LIKE YOU TWO. YOU PROBABLY HAVE SAID, BUT I TEND TO FORGET SOMETIMES, IS THE CABIN YOURS?

Chatty Crone said...

What beautiful photos as usual. The daffodils are just gorgeous - a sure sign of spring - so that is your two favorite place? Love the water and the lakes. Hope you are doing well. sandie

David said...

Betsy, Great pictures and just a beautiful stone cabin! What a view! Laurie and I passed just north of Mt. Nebo on I-40 a couple of years ago on I-40 on our way to Bentonville. Then on the way home we passed just south of Mt. Magazine on AR Hwy. 40 on our way to Hot Springs. It is beautiful country, that's for sure. Sounds like you two had a great trip! Take Care, Big Daddy Dave

Jeanne said...

Glad to see your beautiful pictures and looking forward to seeing the rest of them. I too love the mountains in Arkansas! One of these days I hope to get back to blogging!

Jeanne said...

Glad to see your beautiful pictures and looking forward to seeing the rest of them. I too love the mountains in Arkansas! One of these days I hope to get back to blogging!

Ruth Hiebert said...

You have certainly shown us much beauty.I love seeing all the sights you share,but what delights me more than anything else are the big smiles on your faces.

Kay said...

Looks like you guys had a great time. I think it is always so cute how you always dress alike. Beautiful photos.

Dr. Kathy McCoy said...

What a wonderful getaway! You guys find absolutely the best places!! Beautiful!!!

Pat @ Mille Fiori Favoriti said...

O know how much you and George love going here, Betsy. I was telling my husband the other night how you both return often to Mt Nebo and also to the beach, each year. It's so nice to have theses special places that bring you joy! We are still learning a lot about Colorado and want to visit many more places here, so I can't say we have one favorite place as yet ...maybe someday!

Pat @ Mille Fiori Favoriti said...

O know how much you and George love going here, Betsy. I was telling my husband the other night how you both return often to Mt Nebo and also to the beach, each year. It's so nice to have theses special places that bring you joy! We are still learning a lot about Colorado and want to visit many more places here, so I can't say we have one favorite place as yet ...maybe someday!

Betsy said...

Such beautiful pictures Betsy. Your cabin looks so sweet and a place I would love to visit. But my favorites are the pictures of you and George. The love you too have for each other just shines from your faces. Thank you for sharing with us.
Blessings, Betsy

Ms. A said...

I have seen several years of your trips to Mt. Nebo, that I hope to eventually get there for myself. Someday. Loves shots, all.

Jeevan said...

Things perhaps the same many times, but the difference lies in observation.
I really love your little cabin and the location where it built overlooking a valley was awesome… Looks like the place provide you the opportunity what u enjoys the most – waterfalls, hiking and snowfall on mountain top! Absolutely it’s a very pretty capture with snow clings to shrubs. Hope to see more fabulous photos on sunset.

Andrea said...

Hello Betsy, i am back to commenting on your posts, and i am glad you are still so very strong in visiting these places, hiking and walking to reach the waterfalls. I wish you too the best. I am also glad seeing you again in uniform.

Devilish Angel said...

Lovely pics...

eileeninmd said...

Hello Betsy, looks like a wonderful getaway. The cabin is cute and I love the sunset and waterfalls. Beautiful photos.
Happy Friday, enjoy your weekend!

Linda Kay said...

Betsy, it looks like a lovely place to return to. We had such a wonderful month in Maine last year, and plan to go back to the same place again next year. I do like variety, so going West this year.

Linda G. said...

I love that little cabin on the mountain. We have a few places that we return to often. It seems I always see something different.

George said...

You did a wonderful job of summarizing our trip to Arkansas -- the pictures are gorgeous. Why do I suspect we'll be going back next year?

Arkansas Patti said...

They really ought to let you stay there for free with all the great advertising you do for them.
The view is incredible and you had me at fireplace and snow. That is what I call a perfect snow. We had nada at the lower levels. Sigh.

Lisa @ Two Bears Farm said...

What a great winter escape. Glad you had a fun trip.

Ann said...

wonderful pictures. It's easy to see why you love going there so much.

Sally Wessely said...

You certainly had a wonderful trip. I loved the snow picture, and of course the waterfall photos are always fabulous. You should do a post showing the two of you at Mt. Nebo year by year. I love that you have the tradition of going there each year.

Linda P said...

What a lovely post. All your favourites here, hiking, mountains, waterfalls, nature, snow and of course your dear husband for company. That photo of the cabin and the trees looks like a beautiful poster and the deer posing is delightful. You certainly had another special time in your cabin in the mountains.

Linda at To Behold The Beauty said...

Your joy is infectious, Betsy. Gorgeous photos of a gorgeous place!

Connie said...

Your photos are beautiful, Betsy! Your cabin at Mt. Nebo seems so charming and peaceful. It looks like a lovely place to stay.

D said...

Betsy! absolutely breathless! wonderful place, amazing views, photos... and a lovely couple to enjoy all of that. Happy Spring! :)

Brenda Kay Ledford said...

Those are awesome photos. Arkansas is a beautiful place. I sure would love to visit this lovely land sometime. What breathless photos of nature.

Beth said...

Beautiful, Betsy! I love that little cabin and the sunset was incredible. All the pictures are wonderful. I think it's great you were able to go back.
I'm going to try and post more. Posting on Facebook isn't as much fun as is writing on a blog.

Lady Di Tn said...

I do not leave comments often but I have to tell you how beautiful all your photos are on your blogs. I am a true Kitty Justice and come in and out on my soft paws. I thought I was looking at one of my sun rise photos in that last photo. Hope you and George are having a great weekend. Peace

Gardener on Sherlock Street said...

You really had a great trip. A beautiful place. Good to go there no and not when it's so humid.

Grandma Bonnie said...

That is an beautiful sunset. I sure wish Springs was here. For now I am just hoping for no snow on our day off.

Linda said...

Looks like a wonderful vacation! You two lovebirds make me jealous! So sweet!

Kay said...

You always make me want to go to the mainland after seeing your beautiful photos and your happy smiles.

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