Hi From Syracuse: Hardy Waterfall-- Or The Fall That Wasn't!

Sunday, September 17, 2023

Hardy Waterfall-- Or The Fall That Wasn't!

We had decided on Friday afternoon to do some sightseeing in the area after Jena and I got our haircut. We had to drop something to the missionaries in Clarksville and Gary had done some research and found "Hardy Falls" along a southern route between Ft. Smith and Clarksville. Not ever the way you would go between Ft. Smith and Clarksville in a normal situation but we are living a "not normal" life. We had a free afternoon with one task to do in it so off we went.

We headed down to Greenwood, then east to Havana (Arkansas), north through Mt. Magazine State Park, and then further north and a bit east to Clarksville and then home again. That is the short version if you just want to check your maps and figure out where we went.

Here is the long version--

We stopped first in Greenwood at the South Sebastian County Historical Sites Park. There is basically two sections....

A monument dedicated to coal miners who have worked and died in the area over the past 100+ years. For many years, coal mining was very important to the economy of the area.

(words on the slab)

This memorial is dedicated to honor the coal miners of

Sebastian County, Arkansas. Coal miners were the heart of our

heritage that we enjoy today. These walls of memories include names of the men

who mined the coal that fueled the industrial might of America.

Miners, mine bosses, and mine owners together applied skills, financing,

and know-how to an industry that demanded unusual

dedication. Many of these men and boys gave their lives

in explosions, floods, cave-ins and accidents.

Others were injured or died of black lung disease.

Many of the miners were immigrants from Europe.

They are a part of the ethnic and cultural mix that enriches our culture today.

From early 1870 to 1965, coal mining and coal miners

were a dominate force in Sebastian County, Arkansas.

They have listed all of the coal miners that died doing this work--either in accidents or illnesses caused by the work. The last few names were posted in 2007. There were two large slabs with row after row of names of men and boys who died in mine related ways.

It was another beautiful day in "our" neighborhood.

In another part of the park, they had collected and restored old buildings and refitted them for people to get a look at how people lived back in the 1800s. There is a home, a school house, a jail....

and, of course, the classic outhouse! Why were stars and crescent moons so frequently put in the doors of outhouses?

On the road again east of Boonville, we got this pretty flag flying and a large one painted on their fence. People here do not hesitate (in many cases) to share their love of our country.

This one required circling back to get a picture of. They had a number of Halloween decorations throughout their yard---but a skeleton mowing the lawn?/ Who thinks of these things?

On a car wash wall---

Although there are some leaves which are beginning to turn, it is still very green as we started north up Mt. Magazine road to find Hardy Falls....which we missed on our first pass! There was no sign nor any falls. The only reason I knew we had passed it was I checked my phone and it dinged "You have arrived" as we made a steep turn in the road. We circled back...

...and here it is....dry as a bone. The travel site on Gary's research had neglected to mention that it was not marked and it only runs during the spring run offs. We will have to make a trip next spring.

That was disappointing, but the rest of the afternoon in Mt. Magazine State Park was great. Mt. Magazine is the tallest mountain in Arkansas at 2753 feet. It was a pretty drive with green trees everywhere and great overlooks into the surrounding valleys.

One of the scenic byways---

Jena is starting to get into taking pictures and sharing them with her friends and family by texts. It is fun although sometimes I have to clarify her brief descriptions.

Here we aren't at the top yet.

Near the top, they had a forest station which we stopped out to learn more about the area.

Yes, they have bears--they almost lost black bears in the early 1900s due to over hunting. They have slowly been adding more bears into the area. If you see one, you are suppose to file a report so they can monitor the activity in the area--it is still very rare to see them in the area. Their numbers are still low and they prefer not to interact with humans.

Arkansas is an important part of many (@ 90 species of butterflies) migration path. Monarch butterflies fly through in the early October. Along the forest station, they had a flower bed that was designated as an "official Monarch feeding area." Cool--we might make another trip to see that.

On their displays about moths and butterflies of the area, they also showed other insects that can be found including my friend, the walking stick. I like them better alive.

They also had this cougar in the display as well. It convinced me even more that what we saw that day was a cougar or mountain lion. It was built just like this animal but smaller. According to the display, they are not considered to have a viable breeding population in Arkansas any more.

I have never seen a bear crossing sign, although they must have them in other national parks like Yellowstone and Yosemite where I have seen bears in person.

Another lookout.....

A pine tree with its berries...

At one lookout, I found a lot of red leaves scattered over the ground. However, when I looked up, I couldn't see any tree that matched the red leaves. I had seen from the road one type of tree where single branches were starting to turn red and I was hoping to get a picture of that.

Yet, these red leaves were everywhere. I realized that they were oddly all the exact same color and shape and picked one up to determine that they were FAKE. So disappointing--first that there wasn't one of those trees nearby for a picture but also, second, that someone would leave so much trash over the ground. These "leaves" will not feed or provide shelter for small animals nor will they disintegrate back to the dirt they lay on. Why do people do stuff like that in a middle of a pretty forest?

I wonder if someone had a wedding or some other event at this lookout that they felt required red petals everywhere. We also found this fake orange leaf in the same area.....