Devil’s Den St. Park & Steel Horse Rally
Our previous trip to Arkansas enlightened us to the Boston Mountains and the hiking potential that is hidden in Arkansas. This area is at the top of our list to explore, so what would be more appropriate than for us to do our first adventure there. We did some digging and found that Devil’s Den State Park is only a 45 minute drive away. We planned to make a full day out of things, by checking out the Steel Horse Rally in Fort Smith afterwards. This is a big motorcycle rally we had heard about. Should make for an exciting day!
Mile: 39, 643
Quote of the Blog: “The devil has put a penalty on all things we enjoy in life. Either we suffer in health or we suffer in soul or we get fat.” - Albert Einstein
Song of the Blog: “Runnin’ with the Devil” - Van Halen
Pulling into the Devil’s Den State Park takes you down a winding road that seems to go downhill forever. When we pulled into the parking area, we knew we wanted to do two hikes in the area. We wanted to do the Devil’s Den Trail and the Yellow Rock Trail. The trailhead to Devil’s Den Trail was right next to where we parked, so this was our first hike.
We were instantly tossed into a world of craggy rocks and cracks in the ground that appeared to have not bottom to them. We hiked around massive boulders and through some really pretty forests. One of the first features we found was a crack in the rocks in which a small trail followed along the left edge of the rock wall inside the crack. This was rad! The temperature and humidity inside the crevasse was much cooler and pleasant. We found gated entrances to caves and read all about how they were protected for the local bat population.
As we wrapped down around a bluff in the rocks, the whole area opened up into a small valley with a massive bluff in the middle of it. Coming off the top of the bluff was a massive waterfall. We were able to walk down underneath an overhang on the bluff, and go behind the waterfall! It was magical! Right next to this was a bridge that went over another cascade. Both of these fed down into a creek that we were able to walk down into. We were able to walk under the Devil’s Den Waterfall. It was a beautiful spot to take it all in!
We continued on the trail back to the car. The return loop was much quicker and less eventful than the way out. When we got the car, we headed over to the Yellow Rock Trailhead. This was a nice hike in the woods. It wrapped up a mountain side and to a beautiful overhanging cliff face that overlooked the Boston Mountains. This was a beautiful spot to relax and take some pictures. Along the hike we missed a turn and ended up walking to another trailhead that had a really cool Overlook Gazebo built at it. It was a really nice mistake, and we added some mileage to our hike. We were lucky to see no snakes today. We are going to keep our eyes constantly looking for them as we adventure the Arkansas wilderness.
Back in Fort Smith, we had to stop at Andy’s Frozen Custard. If you are in the Midwest and see a Andy’s, pull over and get something. It really is the best ice cream (frozen custard) spot we have ever been to. Thank god it is on the other side of town and not right next to us!
We wrapped the night up by heading down to the Steel Horse Rally. This was a sight to have been seen! As you could imagine, this was not really our people, but we had fun with it nonetheless. There were some really cool bikes. Amity really enjoyed one that was modified out to look like it was something out of a futuristic space movie. While walking around town, we checked out the 906 Lounge. This is a cocktail and cigar lounge that was recommended to us by one of Amity’s coworkers. Although we are not cigar smokers, we still enjoyed the atmosphere and the cocktails were amazing! They had a rock band playing, which added to the fun and energy of the establishment. We will definitely be back here.
As we night progressed, we walked around some more to see all the crazy different bikes, and do some quality people watching. It is fun to be in a new state. Coming from the “big city” lifestyle of Phoenix, it is nice to slow things down a little and get into something new! Many more hikes and many more wacky Arkansas experiences are instore!