It was another sunny and warm weekend, and even in February I’m impatient for spring, for all of these trees to have leaves on them again. I headed about half an hour south to Devil’s Den State Park two times — first on Saturday evening.

It was practically hot, but ice still clung to the teal water.

A group of non-English speakers — I’d hazard a guess at Arabic, perhaps students or instructors at the university — were chatting and laughing at a rocky dam. Despite the dimming light, one insisted on taking a group picture from across the water.

I went back this afternoon with a local to guide me. Our goal: the overlook, a bluff that faces eastward over silver and white trees to the horizon. A good hour’s hike came before that, and Arkansas is nothing if not a bit rugged.

We came to a rocky streambed that’s something of a community garden, not of food, but of hundreds of small rocky monuments that I imagine will only continue growing.

A few more hills and unstable shortcuts later, the ground suddenly fell away — the overlook. We and a few others watched the daylight dim as the sun sank behind us.

A trip well worth the hike.

Thanks for looking,

Dan