In the Heart of the Ozarks

Camping in/Visiting 1 new National Park Site:

Buffalo National River (#268), America’s First National River, established in 1972, flows freely for 135 miles and is one of the few remaining undammed rivers in the lower 48 states. We camped at Tyler Bend, near St. Joe, Arkansas, for 3 nights, our 6th time camping in a National Park. We checked out a few places in the park around Tyler Bend and Buffalo Point, the 2 places along the river with an open Visitor Center. That included a visit to the Rush Historic District (Ghost Town of Rush), where Zinc was mined from the 1880s to the 1930s. During World War I, it was the largest producer of zinc ore in Arkansas.

Camping near the Buffalo River at Tyler Bend
Pretty empty Campground (at Sunset) at Tyler Bend
Walking along the Buffalo River at Grinders Ferry
Walking along the Buffalo River at Buffalo Point
Hiked to an Overlook of the Buffalo River at Buffalo Point
Remains of Taylor-Medley Store at the Rush Mining Ghost Town, on of a few structures remaining

The park is also an International Dark Sky Park…and…as they say…Come for the River, Stay for the Stars! We were here for the New Moon on November 1, and it was our one clear night! We saw LOTS of stars, Jupiter and Saturn, and the Milky Way!

Off for Fort Smith…in the Rain!

It rained all day yesterday, so we hung out in camp. We actually put up the awning to keep the generator dry. (No hookups here, but there is a nice bathhouse.) It continued to rain all night and hasn’t stopped yet. The good news is, they really need the rain here. The other “good news” is…we did NOT camp in the site across the street, but just “happened” to pick a “high spot”! Now we’re waiting to see if the “lull” around 11:00 materializes, to finish packing up / hitching up and get on the road. We have till noon to check out, and it’s going to be raining in Fort Smith all afternoon, anyway.