(-Washitah-)
On Sunday morning eight of us departed to the Ouachita Mountains in Midwest Arkansas. Its a little to the left of Hot Springs.
The first day was basically a day to become cozy with one another. Get to know the strangers we would be spending the next three nights with. I knew a couple of them pretty well, along with the professors taking us. Another I had gone to high school with, but we didn’t really know each other. The others were complete strangers to me.
I mostly planned to read my book to escape from awkward contact I might have, but I found myself enjoying their company pretty quickly. I felt immediate comfort around everyone.
By the time we made it to the cabins, I felt like I was with a group of people I could live a long time with. Its sad to say, but I was waiting for someone to be difficult. We spent that evening getting comfortable and claiming beds. I ended up in a cozy room. I picked it over the loft area only because it reminded me of a cozy room in my grandmother’s house that I loved as a child. Plus the bathroom downstairs looked awesome.
We went hiking on one of the smaller trails that afternoon, then ate lasagna and salads for dinner. We all departed afterwards to do our own thing. I went to bed.
The next day we headed out to the diamond mining place. This was a fun experience, but none of us found a diamond. The sun found our skins instead. We decided walking around and exploring was more worth our time than looking for a diamond. I would love to find one, but I’m not even sure what I would do with it. I feel like I wouldn’t want to let it go! It was fun pretending to be a miner, although, I would have preferred an actual mine over the sun in a big open field.
Next we headed to the Ron Coleman Mine to find crystals of sorts. I wanted amethyst, but I quickly realized that in order to find such a beauty, you would need to sledge hammer a rock open. Same with a geode. All I found was quartz crystals, but I’m happy with that just as well.
We grilled that night then told ghost stories around the fire. I realized that I have had too many ghouly experiences compared to most people. I’ll save those for Halloween blogging.
I was so tired after all the digging and exerting energy that I passed out pretty quickly after the campfire. I also got pretty cold and tired because of the sunburn. I don’t know why sunburns make me much more cold and tired than most people…everyone else was fine, and a couple were more burnt than me.
The next day we went to Hot Springs downtown area. We climbed to Lookout Tower. That was a beautiful view. Actually…Hot Springs is beautiful all around.
Afterwards we went to the Mid America Science Museum. It has cool science stuff that I enjoyed like a small child. I like to do childish things to keep my youth alive.
Finally we took a lake tour of Lake Ouachita. Our ranger guide guy was wonderful and funny. I saw so much geological things that made my stomach fill with butterflies. I don’t know why geology does that to me. I love seeing how the earth formed, knowing that the earth has been moving and contorting itself….it amazes me.
We ate out that night at some hip pizza pub. It was wonderful. Super wonderful. It’s the Grateful Head if you’re looking for a place in Hot Springs to eat. Go there.
We got back to the cabins around 10ish pm and were told to be ready to leave by 9am. We could be up to have breakfast, but by now, I was very uninterested in breakfast and way more interested in sleep. So I slept in.
At 9am Wednesday we were headed back home. We were told we were one of the best SciQuest groups they have head in awhile. And no one became difficult! It was a very pleasant stay. 🙂
Cons: WIFI existed at the cabins only if you had signal. We never had signal.
Mom Life and Beyond 