This year we decided to do things a little different. We decided to go with my parents for a much needed vacation. Our destination...Arkansas. We loaded up the Durango and my dad's truck early Monday morning and hit the road for an 8 hour (okay maybe a little longer because of potty breaks) car ride ride to Mena, Arkansas. The scenery was spectacular. This was one of the most beautiful areas I have been in for awhile. As we pulled into our campgrounds and crossed the "troll bridge" I knew it was going to be a great week. Monday was filled with unloading the cars, getting settled into our small cottage and stretching our legs as we took in the fresh air and surroundings.
Tuesday came and started off with little sleep and a killer backache thanks to paper thin mattresses. After some much needed caffeine we loaded up in the ATV with our picnic lunch and hit the road.. I mean trail. We had a mission and we were off to find Little Missouri Falls. After what felt like eternity on the rumble seat a.k.a. Ab Ripper, we finally made it to the falls. It was a beautiful sight and the kids immediately wanted to jump in and swim. The water felt like heaven on our hot and dust covered skin. The girls loved every minute and did not want to get out for lunch.
After lunch we loaded back up for the long drive back to the cabin. As we hung out feet out the back of the ATV to dry out our water shoes we talked about what we were going to do that evening and where we would have dinner. Little did we know a huge rock was about to slow down our plans. My dad tried to avoid the rock but did not want to get to close to the edge of the path (it was a LONG way down) the above mentioned "rock" put a nice hole in the side wall of our tire. That meant everyone except my dad and Natalie had to get off and start walking while my dad eased the ATV back towards camp. I told my mom we would laugh about this later as we struggled to go up and down the rough terrain and hills making our way back to camp. But when you are about 5 or miles from camp, in the mountains, wearing water shoes and it is a cool 95 degrees outside you don't think anything will be funny. Finally after walking for about 15 minutes we came across some neighbors from camp. They helped us out and the guy took my dad back to camp on his 4 wheeler to get the truck and trailer so we could load it up once we got to a point where we could get the truck. They were such great people to help us out even though they were on their honeymoon.
That night we grilled hamburgers and sat around talking and enjoying some down time.
Wednesday started off the same as the other days, waking up early with a back ache and need for caffeine. Today we decided to make the trek to Hot Springs to take the kiddos to Magic Springs.I wish we had known ahead of time Olivia was going to get motion sick from all the winding roads because we would have prepared better, but we made it and the kids had a blast.
Natalie rode her first "roller coaster" and Olivia was actually "to tall" to ride some of the kid rides. She was however tall enough for me to pay adult admission. All in all it was a fun filled morning and we soon headed back to meet my mom and dad at the cabin. Dad decided to take Bobby, Olivia and myself up to the ranger station they had found earlier in the day to show us the view now that the tire on the ATV was fixed. After riding 20 miles we found the steps that led the way. The view was breathtaking and pictures do not do it justice.
This little place was amazing and I couldn't believe rangers used to stay up here for long periods of time just to watch the forests and the weather.As we made our way back down to the ATV Olivia noticed the same tire had a small leak. We loaded up and raced against time to get back to the cabin. There was NO way I was going to be walking through the mountains again!! We made it back to the cabin before the air was gone out of the tire and decided that it was time to load it on the trailer. Our trail riding had come to an end.
That night we decided to try out a place for dinner called Papa's Mexican Food. It was a choice we would since second guess once we got our food. We decided since we live closer to the border our expectations were a little higher than this place could meet. We headed back to camp to make the messiest s'mores I have ever eaten.Then it was back to bed to rest up for a long day on Thursday.
Thursday was our last day in Arkansas and we decided to cross the creek one more time to see what we could find.
We headed up yet another mountain to th e Wilhellmina State Park and hotel at the top of the mountain. It was a "scenic drive" that had some amazing views. We stopped at every little spot along the way to take our picture with the mountains in the background. We thought we would never reach the top but once we did it was spectacular. The hotel was beautiful inside and out and we stopped at the gift shop for a little shopping. Right down the road we stopped and let the girls ride the miniature train and have an ice cream come and we looked at pictures of bears and other wildlife that have been spotted in the area. Then it was time to head back down the mountain and back to the cabin. We needed to start getting things ready to load in the car and look for a "good" place to have dinner one last time. If you want to know the best place to eat you definietly need to ask the locals. We asked the guy who ran the campgrounds if he had any place he would recommend for dinner and he did not disappoint. Mena Cafe is a little piece of heaven in the mountains. We were so full when we left we did not get to pack the cars up that evening. We just sat outside on the swings and watched the girls dance around and catch fireflies (Natalie's first time). It was so good to see that and get to share it with my parents.
Friday came and it was a day the girls had been waiting for. We were headed to Grapevine to stay at the Great Wolf Lodge. I must say this place is unreal. I was a stunned as the kids to see such a beautiful hotel. I was ready to put my stuff in a room and get my swimsuit on and join the kids in the waterpark. We spent a couple of hours just playing at the inddor waterpark and riding the water slides. Natalie cried saturday morning beacuse she did not want to leave the hotel. As soon as the flat tire (yes, i said FLAT TIRE) on my Durango was fixed we said good bye to my parents (they were heading back to Alvin) and we set off for Dublin. We had not been here in 2 years and did not know we were about to show up to the 120th birthday celebration. This small town was packed and ready to party. We had fun walking around for a little bit and enjoying everything they had to offer.
It was soon time for us to hed back home. Vacation with family is such a fun and exciting time and as much as you don't want it to end it is eventually time to get back to reality and that evil thing called work. I hope we can do more things throughout the summer and make many more memories for the kids.
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