February Stop: Fayetteville, AR

*Looking out over the Ozark National Forest from Hawksbill Crag*

“Why Arkansas?”

I cannot count the amount of times Connor and I got that question. I’m not sure if it’s because neither of us have connections to Arkansas or if it just seemed like a random state for us to visit, but regardless, I do have an answer to the question. I drove across the country by myself years ago, and when I drove through Arkansas, I thought it was so beautiful. It was sunny and everything was green. I also picked up a little booklet at one of the visitor centers that told me all about the 52 state parks there. 52! I had no idea, and I didn’t know anything else about Arkansas other than that. The pretty drive and small booklet was enough to plant the seed for my return visit.

The one thing I didn’t factor in was how the drive in my past was during summer, our current route took us through Arkansas during the winter. Arkansas during winter is understandably different than it is during the summer. Spring peeked its head up at the end of February, but we dealt with winter for most of the month. The main difference was the absence of green. The trees were bare and the grass was dead, sadly. Of course it was also much colder than I was expecting. We got snow a few times! I love snow.

All of that being said, we didn’t let the circumstances stop us from enjoying our time there. Fayetteville is in Northwest Arkansas. NWA is very college oriented since the University of Arkansas is there. The surrounding areas of Bentonville and Eureka Springs were very artsy, and I’m bummed I didn’t get to spend more time there.

Fayetteville was a blast though. I loved the area! The college town had tons of options for food, coffee, boutiques, and hiking. Also, I feel like Arkansas has to be one of the biggest biking places I’ve ever been to. There were bike trails and racks everywhere. I loved all of the hiking though. There was no way for us to visit all 52 state parks of course, but we did go to two of them and hiked some of the iconic trails in the area. Even though it was chilly, the hikes were so cool and unique.

The first one we did was Whitaker Point Trail. I had seen photos of it and knew I wanted to check it out! We drove out about an hour, and the paved road eventually turns into dirt. This is an extremely popular hike, so the map directions took us right to the trailhead, but I’m so happy Connor had looked up some reviews of the hike prior to going. We almost took his BMW which would’ve hated the dirt road and potholes. My Chevy got us there just fine though.

At first, we started hiking right from the trail head signs into the Ozark National Forest. For a popular trail, it looked pretty unused which confused us, but it was off season and cold so maybe people just hadn’t been on the trail for awhile. Turns out we hiked in the wrong direction on small foot trails for a half hour and had to track back another half hour to get to the car. The actual trail started on the other side of the road, opposite from the trailhead signs. Once we were on the right trail, the markers and footpath were extremely obvious. It was very well-kept and well-traveled. The hike itself was also pretty simple. It wasn’t super long or really challenging. I was still loving being out in nature though.

The trail got really pretty when it started to follow along the cliffs. The cliffs opened up the trees to show us a 180 degree view of the canyon below. All you could see was trees and trees and trees. Sadly, all the trees were grey with their bare branches, but during the summer it would be a blanket of green. The view was gorgeous regardless.

It felt so expansive when we were actually on the Hawksbill Crag, staring out over everything. The photo of my that starts this post is of me on the crag.
You could see the huge lines in the rock faces and the path the river took when it split the land, we loved it. After breathing in the clear air and taking plenty of photos, we hiked back to the car and headed home.
I know it is one of the most popular hikes in this area, but I would still definitely recommend it. This photo was from a smaller crag as we hiked along the cliff side. Be careful if you have young children.

Thankfully with the weather and off season, we only ran into a couple people. Hopefully getting there early during peak season would help avoid crowds.

The second hike we did took us completely by surprise. Whereas with the Whitaker Point Trail, I knew what to expect because I was so excited and had been wanting to do it since we got to Arkansas, but Devil’s Den State Park was a spur of the moment decision. I had it on my list to hopefully get to, but neither of us had researched it too much.

The main park entrance was only 30 minutes away which made it easily accessible, and we chose to do the Devil’s Den Trail. There were tons of trails to choose from in the park, but we only did the one because we needed a quick hike. There were only a couple hours of daylight left in the day.

This trail had so much going for it! Like I said, this was all an amazing surprise and I highly recommend this trail. It packs in a lot of interesting features while still being a small trail loop.

The first thing we came across were cool rock and tree features of course, but these quickly led into huge fissures in the rock below us revealing networks of caves! We saw at least three different caves entrances.
The caves have been barred off and permanently closed though because people were catching bats and giving them diseases. So, the park is protecting the bats by closing the caves. They were still super cool to peek into though. I wonder how far and deep the cave networks go, spooky.

As we hiked, we started seeing massive icicles hanging from the rocks and foliage off the hillside to our right. It made me feel like we were on a quest in a fantasy novel and hiking through a magical glen.
The icicles just kept getting bigger though! We would think we saw the biggest ones, and then turn the corner to see even larger icicles.

Eventually, we actually came across a small waterfall! The water run off carved out a bowl where the water flows over from the lip, but hikers can still hike behind the falls protected by the carved out earth. The sprinkling water was so pretty, surrounded by ice and sparkling against the rock. Walking behind any waterfall is also just such a cool experience.

You might think the caves, icicles, and bowl falls were the extent of the surprises, but there was one more waiting for us. Crossing through the first falls section was pretty precarious since some of the rocks were encased in inches of ice and very easy to slip on. There was also the case of looking up to see icicles, as big as my body, hanging above us. We definitely had to keep our eye out for falling icicles since they could’ve probably completely impaled us.

Once we made it across and turned the corner, there was another waterfall! This one was moving quickly and rushing down the rocks under a sturdy bridge. It was so cool to see because neither of us had even known the falls would be here. The trail looped around right here and took us down to the ground where we could look up at both falls and the icicles. It was amazing.

We hiked back and drove to a larger parking lot next to a big rock dam blocking off Lee Creek. We played around there for awhile, enjoying the pretty water rushing over the dam.

We loved the surprising hike, and I wish we could’ve seen the area in the summer too, but we wouldn’t have seen the icicles in the summer probably. I loved the whole experience!

Outside of hiking, the university and downtown area were adorable. I explored the campus a few times either on runs or just walking around with Connor, and I liked it! I liked it more than Harvard from last month. Of course, nothing compares to SDSU because I’m biased about my alma mater.
What is super cool about UArk is that they stamp graduates names into cement on and around campus. One of my close friends went to UArk, and we got to find his name in the sidewalk!
We Facetimed him to show him, it was so fun.

I went into a ton of the shops downtown, and they were all really cute. I loved all of the fun campus merch in the area too. Thank goodness SDSU didn’t have a cute downtown area next to campus like UArk does because I would’ve spent all my money in the boutiques in college.

Also, the amount of coffee shops in the area is awesome. I went to as many as I could and I feel like I didn’t even scratch the surface on how many of them are here.
My favorite out of the six I tried was Puritan Coffee & Beer because I enjoyed my tea and loved the size of the shop. They had the cutest Valentine’s Day menu too.

However, we popped over to Bentonville one day, and went to Airship Coffee which was my favorite overall. Puritan was in Fayetteville, but Airship was in a perfect location with such interesting construction.
People can only walk or bike to it because it is out on the Applegate Trail. Connor and I walked roughly 15 minutes through the beautiful park to get to it.
It was a sunny day with tons of people on the trail and in the park which was really fun. Once we got there, the line was super long, but the building was awesome.

The brutalist style blended into the rocky hillside, and one whole side was opened up to the park with swings people could sit on. There was also a deck above the shop where Connor and I enjoyed the sun as we sipped our drinks. I loved this place!

Coming back around to Valentine’s Day though, the local winery held a dinner and date night people could buy tickets to to attend. Connor and I got all dressed up and went out.
The steak dinner and open bar was delightful. I especially loved our table for two with candles, roses, and place settings. Walking through the door, we were greeted with a big open space with twinkle lights full of pretty valentines tables.

Some couples were sat solo, and others were sat in groups, but Connor and I had the perfect spot in the middle surrounded by happy couples chatting away.
After the dinner and wine, there was a 17 piece jazz band for the dance portion of the evening. They were so amazing, I could’ve watched them all night and just enjoyed sitting back listening to them.

However, we did dance to almost all of the songs. I loved when they played Fly Me to the Moon and Beauty and the Beast. Most of the couples in attendance danced which was so fun. It was the perfect date night for Valentine’s Day. Sassafras Springs Vineyard and Winery was beautiful too, I wish we could’ve explored the old chapel and the grounds during the daylight.

Make it stand outI’m so lucky this month because I got to also take two trips to see close friends! My first trip was to Tennessee to see one of my childhood friends. Her and I talk all the time, but we hadn’t spent quality time together in over ten years. Not only did I get to see her and hug her in person, but I got to meet her husband and son as well!

It was so special getting to see the family she has made and to spend time with her. It felt like we were right back in high school. I had the best time, and I’m so thankful they drove to meet us halfway even though it was just for the weekend. I love her and am so happy I got to see them!

My second trip was to Huntington Beach to see my best friends for almost a week! It was the perfect girls trip. We try to do one annually, but we had skipped a year, so it was amazing to be reunited.
I love them so much. We did yoga, dinner, painting, coffee, pilates, breakfast, and all those fun things.

The best was getting to talk and listen for hours and hours while spending quality time with each other.

The couple trips shortened my time in Arkansas during an already short month, but I think I’m going to plan a trip to come back during the summer so I can see all the pretty green trees again.

No matter where we are, Connor and I can never fit in everything we want to do in just a month.
I just feel so lucky I was able to experience what I could in Arkansas, and make lifetime memories with friends on my trips this month.
A couple noteworthy food places to mention other than the winery was Fossil Cove Brewing Co. and the Little Bread Company. Fossil Cove had such a funky, fun interior with psychedelic colors and Yeti inspired art.

There were of course dinos and skeletons around too. It was so fun, I highly recommend.
Little Bread Company is also a coffee shop, but their breads and snacks looked amazing.
I can only have gluten-free, dairy-free pastries which limits my options, but I would still recommend going. It was cute!

If you are a bookwork like me, the must visit place is Dickson Street Bookshop.
It is a used bookstore right next to the university campus.
I was in heaven when I went in.

Floor to ceiling books, multiple rooms, detailed organization and cataloging, high quality books, I absolutely loved it.
I could’ve gotten lost in there.
Even though my time was limited this month, I wrote two agriculture articles about farmers and their businesses.
I had the best time doing it too!
Speaking to farmers and learning new knowledge about all things ag is so fun for me.
The first farm I featured is a family-run blueberry farm called the Neal Family Farm.

They run the whole operation themselves even while juggling full time jobs and raising kids. I loved learning about their passion for farming and their practices for producing high quality blueberries and blackberries. The second farm I featured is also a local farm ran solely by a couple, and they farm completely chemical free. They have four cows producing raw milk which they sell on the farm. I’m stoked I got to learn about producing blueberries and raw milk this month!

I will continue to keep you all updated on any more publications and future travels. Thank you for following along!

March Stop: Austin, TX (SPECIAL EDITION)

January Stop: Revere, MA