Looked up the park online, it looked great, I called them up and made a reservation for a lodge room ($70/night! Unreal) and asked them if they could pick me up at the runway. They said no problem, to call as soon as we landed and they would be there before we could tie down. I gave my wife 15 minutes to pack an overnight bag and off we went. Two hours later we had dropped our friend off in Little Rock and were landing KMPJ.
We grabbed our bags from the plane (I'm embarrassed to say we took the C182 on this trip) and in no time we were pulling in to Mather Lodge.
Couldn't believe how beautiful it was. It was built in 1939 as one of the depression era CCC work projects like so many of our national parks.
Checked in, and stepped right out the back door of the lodge to this view.
We timed it perfect for sunset. We stepped right back into the lodge for dinner "in a room with a view!"
Pretty nice huh? Special of the night - Chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes, and green beans, $7.99!
Found our room after dinner not expecting much ($70) but were pleasantly surprised with a super comfortable room with all new bedding
Went to bed with plans on hiking to Canyon Falls first thing in the morning. Needed to be back in North Texas by noon. The trailhead was literally 50' from our lodge room. It was a beautiful morning for a hike.
I have the most beautiful wife!
Okay you Alaska guys will get a kick out of this. We Texas guys dream of your kind of survival adventures. But there is a landing strip every 10 miles or so. In fact there are actually 22 landing strips within a 10 mile radius from my hometown airport. It's hard to get lost or even out of sight of anyone. But nevertheless I'm always trying to be prepared, wondering if I could survive.
On the hike I took along my "Prepared Pilot" pocket survival kit. The whole way to the falls we kept passing pools in the stream that were full of fish. I kept thinking, "I wonder if I could actually catch something with the little fishing kit in a tube?"
I couldn't stand it any longer. Had to try it out. Found some berries on a bush. Had no idea what they were but thought they looked just like "Gulp". I cut a branch, rolled out some line and tied the hook from my pouch.
And on the first cast I proved I had what it takes to survive!
Caught 5 of those beauties in 5 minutes. And was about to cook them up for breakfast, but kept thinking of that beautiful lodge restaurant back up the hill. So, loaded omelet, toast and coffee for me. Forget perch stew!
Checked out, was driven back to the airport by the sweetest young lady, A fresh out of college park ranger. She actually braked and dodged a butterfly flying across the road on our way. I told her she had definitely chosen the right career.
All that said, Petit Jean State Park is jewel for the beautiful state of Arkansas and a perfect place for GA pilots looking for an easy quick adventure. You guys should check it out.
www.petitjeanstatepark.com
