A Short Hike Wonderful weather! The weather is just perfect for camping with lows in the 60s and highs in the low 80s. For some reason, Kay and I always sleep well in DunnGone. Kay says it’s because it’s so dark. After instant cappuccino (Kay)and strong French press for me, we headed to a trailhead for a ranger-led hike over some unique geologic formations known as turtle back rocks Turtleback Rocks to Rock House Cave  to view ancient Native American pictographs. We learned that pictographs are painted on the surface of the rocks while petrogliphs are carved or scratched into the rock. We also drove on Red Bluff Road to get to the cave and there are two really neat overlooks on this dirt road drive. Kay didn’t remember them but she did remember the cave.
We also drove around Winrock Institute/U of A. This used to be the old Winrock Farms area. The show barns have been converted into a new Visitors Center, The Rock Restaurant and Conference Center. The horse stables are now a lodge. Several other buildings have been converted into lodge/motel types, and even some cottages are available for rent. The grounds are beautiful; the farm is still a working farm with Santa Gertrudis cows; and the lake that our youth group from church came to each summer is still there and the boat house looks very much the same. Several of the Winrock’s private buildings have been opened for the public, but their private home and drive is still private. I think when Win died, they moved Winrock International Headquarters off the mountain and Winrock Farms is now managed by Winrock Trust and is leased to the U of A for meetings, large groups, or individuals to enjoy a respite and/or rest. Kay knew several of the private homes as she had friends she went to high school with her whose parents lived on the compound and worked for the Rockerfellers.
Loved Ones, Gone but not Forgotten After the short hike, we drove to Russellville for lunch at the Old South Restaurant, one of our favorites from college. We both attended Arkansas Tech in Russellville in the 1960s, but at different times. The Old South was a preferred haunt for college students for late night eating and studying (more eating and less studying). Their famous Old South salad dressing is to die for, seemingly made from fresh mayonnaise with a strong garlic flavor. We always have the open face steak or roast beef sandwich with a small salad. Gosh, it was wonderful, and one of the few things in life that remains the same, regardless of how long it’s been since we last visited. After a filling lunch, we stopped for gasoline and a car wash, then searched out the cemetery where Kay’s parents, infant brother, and other family members are buried.

Our culture is changing so much that we don’t often visit cemeteries holding the earthly remains of our loved ones. Memories flooded back to Kay, as this was a sad, but good experience. She clipped grass around headstones and we took photos. She then discovered the headstone of John Franklin Harkey, who had been her last living cousin on her mother’s side. This came as quite a shock because none of the family had been notified. We were unable to find her grandparents tombstones (on her mother’s side: Bryron Charles Fowles and Maggie Baker Darnell Fowles. They are in the same cemetery, Oakland Cemetery, but we will have to search for them another time.
Football Saturday Leaving the cemetery, we were off to Wal-Mart, then back to Petit Jean State Park as this was Football Saturday. We tidied up the camp site, raking and sweeping the debris left over from Gustav’s passing. Apparently there was high wind as several trees were down, and green pine needles were everywhere. Petit Jean State Park has 4 campground loops. Loop “A” is separate from the other three and has recently been updated with several pull-thru sites, 50 amp electrical hookups, and sewer. Loops “B, C, and D” are OK, but lack the neatness and refinement of Loop “A”. We walked all of the campgrounds. Kay spent the remaining afternoon studying for her online “computer” class while I watched football. We both hit the sack early; must be the great outdoors. I watched the last of Florida vs. Miami, and waited for the Razorbacks to pull out another squeaker from a greatly over-matched team; it’s going to be a very long season. Oh, yes, we have a new “Lafuma” lawn chair recliner that is ‘heavenly’ to sit in and recline too! Kay has been busy ‘breaking it in’, just sitting, some reading, some napping, and just enjoying being outside and enjoying the breeze, fresh air, and creatures in the woods.