Typing with Speed Here about Arkansas
Quick posting here. The kiddos are playing Battleship and the little one is running around the house with her sticky honey covered toast which means I have a moment to spare.
Sorry for the slide shows on the previous post which need to be cut down a little. I went ahead and threw them up there after spending way too much time on flickr.
The vacation was a blast. It was only a 7 hour drive to DeGray Lake State Park. The yurt we stayed in was fantastic. I don't recommend the hiking trails there, but there are plenty of different boats to rent with good fishing. We also went horseback riding and really enjoyed the campfire at the yurt at night roasting marshmallows and hotdogs. (The baby is no longer content but I'll keep typing.) There was a small drive to the Crater of Diamonds mine. The kids and John had fun, but the baby was rather unpleasant. I can't attest to the amount of fun, because I spent my time with a discontent baby.
Then on we went to Petit Jean State Park via a designated scenic drive where we really enjoyed the hiking trails. The Cedar Falls Trail down to the waterfall was a lot of fun and the waterfall was a little piece of heaven. If you ever go to Petit Jean, DO NOT stay in the teepees. The poorly constructed teepees are an insult to native Americans. The large hole in the top and some openings in the sides would not have protected us from the 5 inches of rain expected one night. We moved to a cabin instead and longed for our yurt.
The next two nights we spent in Hot Springs. We had a kitchenette and a great view of Lake Hamilton. Not far from Hot Springs are some crystal mines. Of course we like dirt, so we had to go. The kids came home with tons of crystals. My husband and I did too... :). Hot Springs was fun to walk around, fill up our water bottles, see the hot spring (most are capped now), and ride the Duck Tour. I'd really recommend the Duck Tour if you get the same tour guide we got. He was a little white haired hilarious former Coast Guard captain that really seen and heard it all and knew how to have fun with that. (Baby is really pressing me.)
This will have to do.
Sorry for the slide shows on the previous post which need to be cut down a little. I went ahead and threw them up there after spending way too much time on flickr.
The vacation was a blast. It was only a 7 hour drive to DeGray Lake State Park. The yurt we stayed in was fantastic. I don't recommend the hiking trails there, but there are plenty of different boats to rent with good fishing. We also went horseback riding and really enjoyed the campfire at the yurt at night roasting marshmallows and hotdogs. (The baby is no longer content but I'll keep typing.) There was a small drive to the Crater of Diamonds mine. The kids and John had fun, but the baby was rather unpleasant. I can't attest to the amount of fun, because I spent my time with a discontent baby.
Then on we went to Petit Jean State Park via a designated scenic drive where we really enjoyed the hiking trails. The Cedar Falls Trail down to the waterfall was a lot of fun and the waterfall was a little piece of heaven. If you ever go to Petit Jean, DO NOT stay in the teepees. The poorly constructed teepees are an insult to native Americans. The large hole in the top and some openings in the sides would not have protected us from the 5 inches of rain expected one night. We moved to a cabin instead and longed for our yurt.
The next two nights we spent in Hot Springs. We had a kitchenette and a great view of Lake Hamilton. Not far from Hot Springs are some crystal mines. Of course we like dirt, so we had to go. The kids came home with tons of crystals. My husband and I did too... :). Hot Springs was fun to walk around, fill up our water bottles, see the hot spring (most are capped now), and ride the Duck Tour. I'd really recommend the Duck Tour if you get the same tour guide we got. He was a little white haired hilarious former Coast Guard captain that really seen and heard it all and knew how to have fun with that. (Baby is really pressing me.)
This will have to do.
posted by Tiffane | 10:02 AM
3 Comments:
I'm glad you had a good time. I'm sure you all needed some time away together.
Hi,
I just stumbled onto your blog ...while researching the yurts at Lake Degray.
My friend and I are going to go stay there soon..in the same one you had, I think . They told me it was the closest one to the water.
Looks like you guys were pretty close to the water.
I would sooo appreciate it ..if you could tell me what it's like ? what should we bring? was it scary at night? can we bring fans? can you swim in the lake right there?
Any thing you can tell me:)
Thanks! Smocha
what it's like ? ...
The yurt has three bunk beds (six cots total) (I believe there exists a yurt that has 4 bunk beds.), one outlet with a lamp, a cooler, a table and six fold up chairs. The yurt is situated on a deck next to the lake with a campfire area, a propane stove, a grill, and a wooden picnic table with benches. There is a water spicket off of the deck near the yurt.
You can also get another lamp at the visitor's center, and the bathhouse really isn't very far away.
what should we bring?
bring bug spray... the ticks are bad this year
sunscreen
bring hotdogs and marshmallows to cook over the campfire
lots of food and drinks
refillable water bottles
paper plates/napkins/plastic
utensils
cooking pan for the stove
cooking utensils
maybe a small hatchet
a can opener
enviromentally friendly dish soap
something to scrub your cooking pan
trash bags
bring a good size container to hold the water to douse the campfire
bring sheets/blankets or sleeping bags for the cots
pillows
towels
ice
possibly another cooler
back pack
camera of course
deck of cards
was it scary at night?
No. In the middle of the night I could hear the chattering wildlife out on the deck. In fact they had a party and ate all of my grapes I accidentally left on the picnic table!!! It was really cool laying safely inside my yurt taking in the sounds of the night.
can we bring fans?...
I think so, but you only have one outlet. It did get kind of cold at night for us.
can you swim in the lake right there?
I don't know. There is a designated swim area in the park, but we didn't swim. The water was a little cold for me.
The boats are fun. We were cheap and rented a canoe and had a great time. The canoes are pretty cheap, but the park certainly has other more pricey options to rent that look like a lot of fun!!!
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