The O.N.R.T. (not the A.T.) cont.

Tom was up very early the next morning and I was awake by 5:30 a.m. so we tried to be as quiet as we could be, so as not to awaken Norma, Holly, or Devin, as we headed out the door of the motel room.  After going next door to the convenience store, Tom and I decided to drive out to the Talimena State Park and then on up to the Potato Hill Vista on the Talimena Scenic Drive. 

As we drove thru the State Park we were surprised to see that some folks with a travel trailer had pulled in to camp since we left here yesterday evening.

We drove on up onto the Scenic Drive before the sun was even breaking over the horizon.  The view down into the valley made it seem as though the tiny town of Talihina was larger that it really is because we could see lights spreading out of town into the countryside.

As we drove back through town toward the motel, we stopped at the local donut shop and grabbed a dozen "warm" donuts to take back to the motel room.  Yummee!!!!  Wake-up kiddos!

As planned, we left our car at the State Park and all rode together up to the Potato Hill Vista in Norma's vehicle.  We parked right where we had yesterday and thought the path we could see going out to that big boulder that Devin had stood on yesterday was the side trail off the O.T. to the vista. We headed downhill through briars and brambles and thigh-high grass/weeds.

We crawled over the fence and I immediately said "this cannot be the side trail".  The section of the O.T. that we walked on yesterday was too well-kept for this to be the spur trail off the O.T.  I found an easier way back up the hill to where we had parked Norma's vehicle, and waited for everyone else to quit bushwhacking and come on back up the hill.
                    Here they come.....

 We load back up in Norma's vehicle and she immediately makes a U-turn, just as she had done yesterday, backtracking when we came up here, never following the u-shaped pull-out drive back to the Scenic Drive.

Very frustrated, we headed back to the State Park, thinking we would just have to walk the whole 2.4 miles in and back out again.  However, we were in luck.  The Camp Host was out cutting wood and we stopped to introduce ourselves and tell him what we were doing.  He told us exactly where that spur trail came up onto the Scenic Drive, which was just ahead of where Norma was parking and u-turning going back out the way she had came in. 

Not to be thwarted, we then drove back up to Potato Hill Vista, and sure enough there was the trailhead, just past where we had parked and turned around.

 So we headed down the access trail toward the O.T., lopping and clipping as we went along.

 We again admired the beautiful flowers that were surviving this Summer weather we are having.

 It was only .1 mile down to the O.T. and we were on our way westbound back toward the State Park.

 We found this section of the O.T. to be in pretty good shape.  No major clearing needed, just small overgrowth here and there, and very good trail markings.  The O.T. is marked with 2" X 6" blue blazes painted onto trees.  Also the informational signs were well-placed at trail intersections, since several other trails do cross the O.T.

 We discovered that the O.T. is very similar to the A.T.!  Rocks, roots, hills, trees, etc.  Can you tell how steep it is by looking at the right side of this photo I took of one of the many "rock glaciers" located along the O.T.

 What in the world is an egg doing lying in the middle of the Trail??  We looked up and down and all about and saw no large bird nests.  Where did this egg come from anyway?  We kept on walking.

We passed a small stealth camp site, and Devin pretended he was sleeping next to his campfire ring.

                                      Oh boy, that is one large mushroom!

                           Yay! Only two more miles to go!

I stopped at this Ouachita Trail Registration Box located between the one and two mile marker and signed in.  There is composition book and a pen inside this box, and this is a great way to gauge how much the Trail is being used.  Also in case of an emergency maybe a rescue squad could pinpoint your location if you sign in to each Registration Box you pass by.  Hopefully that never happens to me!

Soon after we passed the Registration Box, we stopped for a much needed snack/drink/sit on the ground break, and even BooBoo was happy for that!  BooBoo is so excited to be back on a trail again!

Since many other trails (some for horses, some for four-wheelers, etc.) cross the O.T., there are clear trail signs denoting the O.T. footpath. 

This is the most brilliant red mushroom I have ever seen!

 There are many lichen-covered rocks along the O.T.

We took this photo at the .8 mile mark, just past where the dead tree is across the trail, glad we are thru maintaining, and now we only have to walk back out of the woods, along the trail we cleared yesterday, back to the State Park.

We are so happy that we packed a cold watermelon to have when we came off the Trail.  Delicious!!

We then utilized the State Park's bathhouse showers, and changed into clean dry clothes for the drive home.  (At least Tom and I did!)

I walked over to sit at a picnic table and saw the biggest praying mantis hanging off the bottom of the table that I have ever seen!

The Camp Host had set fire to a large stump in the Park and of course Devin, being all boy, could not resist playing with fire!!

Tom and I had such a great time walking on the O.T., maintaining our small section of adopted trail on the O.T., and really look forward to being involved with the FoOT Organization.  We are hoping to volunteer with the building off a new trail shelter on the O.T. near the state line of Arkansas during the first week of October.  That will be fun to help, and see a shelter from start to finish! 

On a sidenote:
Norma is so allergic to poison ivy, and even though she did not touch any, and we did not see hardly any, she still got some poison ivy rash here and there on her body.  So I will not be inviting her out to the Trail again with me.  It is not worth the aggravation she goes thru with the poison ivy rashes.  That is too bad because she really enjoys getting out into the woods!