My First Trip To The Woods During The 2016 Missouri Archery Deer Season

September 18th 2016

Today I was able to make it to one of my favorite hunting spots for the first time this season.  I guess getting out there three days after opening day for Missouri archery season isn't too bad.  I wasn't particularly out there to hunt so much as to check out my favorite hiding spot and see if there was any activity from either deer or people.

Hunting on public lands can bring many challenges with it - the biggest being other hunters pressuring your chosen honey hole.  I have been expecting a much greater occurrence of this problem as a result of Missouri opening up archery season to crossbow hunters.  I guess time will tell.  As for now however, I seem to be wrong.

After spending a bit of time in the woods I headed back home with high hopes for this years archery season.

- Any day in the outdoors is a good day

A Family Vacation Outside Of The Midwest Day 4

Wednesday September 14th, 2016
Entering Arkansas, West Memphis, Entering West Memphis Arkansas
Crossing The Bridge From Memphis To West Memphis Arkansas

Today we woke up in Hot Springs Arkansas.  After eating breakfast and packing up the car we headed out for our adventure which started by driving to the top of the scenic lookout located near the downtown area.  Our children were really impressed with the curves (which our daughter referred to as U-Turns) on the way up.
Hot Springs Arkansas Scenic Lookout, Scenic View, Hot Springs Scenic Loop
A View From The Top

After stopping to explore some of the hiking trails and taking some pictures we headed back to the bottom and walked to the visitors center.  Here we went on a tour of the old bath house and made our way to the hot springs for which the town is named.  Believe me when I tell you the water in the holding pool of these springs is HOT!  After checking these out we headed over to one of the water outlets in the area that allows its visitors the opportunity to drink some fresh, cold spring water.  This water was some of the best tasting water I think I've ever had.
Spring, Hot Spring, Checking Out A Hot Spring
Emilee & Dakota Checking Out A Spring
Hot Spring, Spring, Holding Pool
One Of The "Hot" Springs

Once we finished checking out the attractions at Hot Springs, we headed over to the Crater of Diamonds State Park for a few hours of diamond mining.  We managed to find some quartz, lava, jasper and mica.  We weren't able to find any diamonds on this trip but we had a blast!  
Arkansas, Crater Of Diamonds State Park Arkansas, Crater Of Diamonds Sign
Crater Of Diamonds State Park Arkansas
Ore Carrying Cart, Crater Of Diamonds State Park, Ore Cart In Arkansas
Ore Cart At Crater Of Diamonds State Park
Sign at crater of diamonds state park, Diamond Mining Discovery sign, Crater of Diamonds
Sign At Crater Of Diamonds State Park

From here we headed back home so that we could take care of a few things that needed to be done before heading back to work on Monday.  Our trip home was the second longest drive of the trip and we arrived safely back around 1:00 AM.  In all our vacation covered about 1700 miles and took us through Missouri, Tennessee, Illinois, Alabama, Mississippi and Arkansas.  Although this vacation only lasted four days I'm sure the memories will last a lifetime.

- Any day in the outdoors is a good day