As I noted in my September 2024 recap, I was able to make a trip to Petit Jean State Park right at the end of the month. It was a perfect morning – temperatures in the low-70s, almost no humidity, no wind, and cloudy skies. Great conditions, for me, to be outside!
My first stop was the Cedar Creek Trail. A sign at the trailhead warned that the bridge that crosses Cedar Creek was out, but I decided to go as far as I could anyway and just see what I might find. After all, it was possible the bridge had been rebuilt and maybe, just maybe, someone had simply forgotten to remove the sign.
After about 20 minutes of hiking, I arrived at the crossing and found the bridge. . .to be just as the sign had said. I was certainly a bit disappointed until I had another realization: the creek had dried up from the lack of rain. What an opportunity to see things that couldn’t have been seen if the creek was running!
Walking along the rocks of the creek bed, it wasn’t too long before I spotted this composition. As I noted in my recap, the contrasting layers are what caught my attention with a small twig of yellow-green leaves lying atop a darker layer of red-orange leaves lying on top of a dark moss-covered rock. A wonderful indication that we are on the cusp of Autumn!
Fallen leaves signalling the coming arrival of Autumn, Petit Jean State Park, Arkansas
After spending some more time checking out the dried up creek and not finding much that really interested me, I walked back to my truck and headed to the park’s Turtle Rocks area and headed along a small trail that I had found a couple of years ago but hadn’t been down since then. There is a small rock ledge that looks out over the Cedar Falls trail and the tree covered side of the canyon that is home to Cedar Falls. From that ledge, I spotted this lone tree that seemed to be embraced in early fall foliage.
A tree surrounded by early fall foliage, Petit Jean State Park, Arkansas
By this time, more and more people were coming out, and the peaceful quietness was quickly becoming less peaceful and less quiet signaling to me that it was time to go home and prepare for my next adventure wherever that may be.