Blanchard Springs & Ponca

To say we love Arkansas and all that the Natural State has to offer is an understatement. This nature’s playland has become a favorite “stopping point” for us as we continue to move west with our travels.

We are somewhat limited with how far west we can actually go with elderly parents both in Florida and New York, where we don’t want to be more than a 24-hour drive away.

Arkansas would be a brief visit for us this year, just a little more than two weeks to experience the solar eclipse and a float down the National & Scenic Buffalo River.

First stop leaving our brief stay in Georgia was Denton Ferry RV Park in Cotter just outside Mountain Home with sites on the famed White River. This is a quaint family run campground in a convenient location just off the main Highway leaving Mountain Home where you have all the shopping conveniences as well as restaurants and a local brewery.

It was while camped here that we took the twisty mountain drive to Blanchard Springs Caverns and Recreation Area where you can explore an underground cave more than 305 million years in the making, take a hike on easy to challenging trails, fish in Mirror Lake or simply relax.

While visiting Mountain View in 2021, the Caverns were closed due to….COVID! This year, we were able to take the affordable and entertaining tour. What Mike loved most was our guide was patient and provided enough time for photographs. She was knowledgeable and engaged the crowd. Although not as grand a Cavern as … say… Mammoth or Luray, overall, it has one of our favorites for those reasons mentioned.

And don’t forget to visit the quaint town of Mountain View, famous for the preservation of folkways and traditional music, while in the area. On Fridays and Saturdays you will find the downtown full of local musicians for your listening pleasure as well as headlining entertainment at the courthouse. Don’t forget to visit PJ Rainbow Cafe where they don’t take credit cards and where all the locals hang.

Notables in Mountain Home Area:

Bull Shoals State Park. We only had a 2-night stay so we didn’t get to experience this amazing park so we will definately be back! From river side camping spots, to a state-of-the-art 15,744-square-foot visitor center set high above the Bull Shoals Dam, the riverside marina and store offer boat rentals, bait, tackle, and supplies. Besides being the state’s premier park for trout fishing, the park also offers great hiking and mountain biking. Interpretive programs include campfire-cooking demonstrations, trout fishing workshops, and nature walks.

Rapp’s Barren Brewing. Always game for a local brewery, we found Rapp’s to be a great example of marrying great brews with local cuisine in a friendly setting. We enjoyed the beer and the food and the staff was excellent! Highly recommend

I’m sure we will find more to love about the area once we return in a few years.

Ponca

Our next move would be to Ponca’s Buffalo Outdoor Center RV Park. We have many favorites in Arkansas but by far we love this area for the call of the National Wild & Scenic Buffalo River. Ponca is a teeny town mostly made up of the oldest General Store in Arkansas, Lost Valley and the Buffalo Outdoor Center both of which cater to the floating needs of the Buffalo River with canoe and kayak rentals, both offer various lodging accommodations and both have well stocked stores for the basic necessities because traveling to the nearest town is a 30-minute drive for groceries.

Well, back to our campsite. What we love about this small 20’ish RV Park is that all the sites are:

• Mountain top location with beautiful views
• Spacious sites that are all Pull-Thru and 60ft level concrete pads
• Full Hook-Ups including Water, Sewer and 50 amp Electric
• Beautiful bathroom facilities
• Adequate laundry facilities
• Easy access to the Buffalo River and supreme hiking for every level
• OH… and a herd of elk down the road in Boxley if you are lucky enough to see them out.

2024 Total Solar Eclipse

In April 2023, Mike was making our 14-day reservation for our stay at the BOC for April 2024 (he does everything 1-year in advance), which is how we learned of the Solar Eclipse and that Ponca would be in the path. We were sold even for the steep price the site costs compared to the normal seasonal rate.

We arrived on April 7 and set up camp and on THE day, we stayed close to camp with the other 20 campers in the park and eagerly awaited the event. It was very exciting to experience, what will likely be our only Total Eclipse in our lifetime, in such a magnificent setting.

National Wild & Scenic Buffalo River

The tricky thing with the Buffalo River is that it is all natural so it requires just the right amount of rain to make it navigable which is Springtime when the weather is unpredictable.

Compared to 2021, 2024 was a completely different experience. In our first week we found ourselves without enough water to float the trip from Ponca to Carver.

A week into our stay we finally managed to have enough rainfall that allowed us to put our trusty Wenonah Kevlar Canoe in at Steel Creek for a 3-day / 2-night float to Carver. This would entail a total of 32 miles and 2 campsites plus the short hike to Hemmed-In-Hollow Falls!

About 5-miles into the paddle you will come to the coveted hike to Hemmed-In-Hollow Falls. When done from the land side, it is considered a challenging hike for the climb out. When done from the River side it is a very pleasant .75 walk. Either way, we highly suggest you make the effort to experience this humdinger of a waterfall. At 200-ft  it’s the tallest  waterfall  between The Rockies and Appalachians.

During our float, we found sections of the river to be low and sometimes found ourselves walking our canoe over the shallower parts but definitely worth the effort.

We found incredible campsites both nights with our tent. On this particular trip we would have been able to use our hammocks with lots of choices, as well. [In 2021 we had a hard time finding adequate sites for hammocking, we believe because of the high water and the damage from the previous flood. This time, with lower water and the recovery of some of the terrain there were lots of choices for hammocking.

The Buffalo is truly a magical experience. Once you arrive, you will go from running rapids to quiet pools all the while surrounded by massive bluffs as you cruise through the Ozark Mountains.

Be prepared for lots of wildlife (we saw deer crossing the river, lots of turtles, abundant bird life including the American Bald Eagle) and solitude!

This isn’t our last paddle down the Buffalo, for sure!

Hiking

During our 2-week stay we encountered lots of weather patterns (to be expected during the spring months) so the opportunity for hiking wasn’t ideal but we did hit a few. Some new and some favorites from previous visits.

Centerpoint to Goats Bluff

If you’re looking for a big view of the Buffalo River combined with a world-class geologic experience, then this is your hike! It is one of the most popular in the area and for good reason and it’s just a stone throw away from the BOC’s RV Park,.

Most of the 3’ish mile hike to the bluff is on the Centerpoint Trail which is broad and easy to walk. When you make it to the spur trail / Goat Trail, you have about 1/4 mile to the start of Big Bluff which then opens up into a large rounded flat area with spectacular views.

This is categorized as a moderate to hard hike but because of the 3’ish mile climb up out of the Bluff area. The sign at the trailhead says it like walking the Golden Gate Bridge so be prepared for the climb out and have plenty of water!

The trailhead has limited parking and can get full especially during busy seasons so keep that in mind as well. We recommend an early morning (before dawn) hike to see the mist lifting out of the canyon for a spectacular start to the day.

Kings Bluff and Pedestal Rocks

This mostly flat and easy-to-navigate route is great for the whole family. Beautiful overlooks are located along the way to admire the rolling hills and lush forests. The interesting rock formations are what caught our attention! We arrived later in the day and were the only ones at the trailhead and we had the entire trail to ourselves. It was magnificent and the rock formations make you feel like you are in another universe, especially with the colorful lichens growing on them.

Sweden Creek Falls

This was a great hike. Short at 1.5 miles out-and-back and flat until you reach the waterfall

The 81-foot drop falls were beautiful and we had the place to ourselves.

Magnolia Falls

This is an easy 2’ish mile out-and-back walk in the woods. Nothing difficult about it until you reach the down to the bottom of the falls, with rocks that require some attention to the trail. I appreciated that I had my hiking sticks so I didn’t trip myself up on the loose rocks.

Villines Homestead near Ponca

We took the short walk up to Villines homestead near Ponca. James A. Villines, born in 1854, grew up to be a fur trapper known as “Beaver Jim”. He married Sarah Arbaugh and built this homestead in 1882. The cabin and a variety of outbuildings remain, built by Beaver Jim. 

RV Life

We are traveling most-timers and what I mean by that is during the months of April – October, we move approximately every 2-weeks to a predetermined destination to enjoy biking, hiking, canoeing/kayaking, waterfalls, and anything else we can find along the way. Mike documents with his photography during these months.

Mike spends planning the next years “tour” and making reservations a year in advance. For instance, we already have 2025 mapped and planned and he is making reservations now for those dates.

During the winter months November – March, we return to Central Florida to work, spend time with family and catch up on repairs and upgrades to our home, a 2011 Monaco Diplomat.

Expect the unexpected…..

Well….During our stay in Ponca, a week or so into our 2024 Travels, just to make RV life interesting, we had two significant issues:

#1 Mike’s camera bit the dust….. another one was quickly ordered and sent to us but he lost a great friend that day.

#2 We had a repair issue with a slide topper and we weren’t able to coax a mobile mechanic up to Ponca. We opted to meet a highly recommended mobile repair operation in Branson on our way to our next destination. Mike, being handy with such things, was able to diagnose it and have the part ordered, the mobile mechanic in Branson had it fixed in a short time and we were on our way to our next destination… Missouri to spend 6+ weeks exploring on our way to Wisconsin.

In Closing

This years short stay in Arkansas only left us hungry to return another day.

If you’ve enjoyed these adventures, please tune in for more as our 2024 season will encompass Wisconsin, Minnesota, North and South Dakota, Missouri and more!

Dream Big….Travel Far….Live Well

Photography

Many of these highlighted photographs will be featured and purchased through our website and made into wall art, tapestries, t-shirts and more. If you see something you like without a link, please go here to our website page Nspired Eye Photography

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