Snowed Under!

The past week has been exciting in the county and on the blog. Earlier in the week, we had a major wind-storm sweep through the county that blew some structures down and started a brush-fire that threatened several homes. On Thursday, we had snow that lasted until Friday before it began thawing due to welcomed unseasonably warm temperatures.
This, of course, offered us various opportunities for photos which you can see at Exploring Izard County.

Also exciting the past week was finishing up the single best month we've had concerning visitors and page-views at the blog. Thanks to everyone who has interest in this amazing place.

Also, a "thanks" needs to go out to whoever has shared the site through e-mail with others. Yesterday saw the single best DAY we've had on the blog with around 170 visits and well over 1000 page-views!

So...Thanks to whoever you are!

Vickery Cave Leads to Gid

To get the kids out of the house today, we braved the icy weather to go to a cave located just off the highway on the Guion Road (Ar-58). It's been on our agenda since beginning the site so we decided to use it to get the young'uns away from the X-Boxes and Tivos for a few hours.
The Vickery Cave doesn't appear to be much more than a deep hole in the ground. The opening of the cave has collapsed in the not-too-distant past and to enter the cave proper, one must negotiate a tight crawl under that collapsed rock. The cave is known to have been rich in artifacts and was well occupied in ancient times.
As we approached the cave, we noticed a plume of steam jetting from the mouth of the cave into the crisp January chill. Upon making the descent into the hole we found that very warm air was gushing from the small entrance at the bottom! It is an amazing phenomenon and the kids absolutely loved it.
Since we didn't go into the cave, we didn't spend a long time at the site because...well...there wasn't much more to see than what I have described.
So we decided to go down the raod a piece to Gid and show the kids the waterfalls there.
We were rewarded with clear flowing water over green-mossed ancient flowstones sporting long, glistening icicles at the Gid Waterfall.
As the kids approached the Old Gristmill waterfall a few minutes later, they actually yelped with delight upon seeing the broad rockface of the falls covered in massive white sheets of ice with great icicles hanging over the frozen spray at the bottom.
It was cold today...so cold it would have been easy to stay at home and watch football or something really crazy like that. But we didn't...and I at least...am glad!

Lookout!

The First and Second Lookouts have delighted the crew this past month. We've been on several excursions to both of the lookouts and found some pretty cool stuff! For a few days, we were enamored by the Chamber of the Morning Sun, a cave a landowner told us about, and which we were delighted to find catches the morning sun and casts a beam on the cave floor.
We've taken several trips to the second lookout and explored below the bluffs there. We located a small cave, a very interesting shelter and a bluffline that sports many cvisual and geological delights! The panoramic views experienced at different points along the bluffline - both along the top and the bottom - are worth the energy expended negotiating the steep hillside.

Holiday Fun!

Second Lookout



What a great couple of weeks we've had Exploring Izard County! Besides returning to Moonshine Cave, we also decided to take a stroll below the Second Lookout to explore the bluffline that runs along the ridge. We were rewarded with waterfalls, several little bluff-shelters, and an actual cave!
The cave is a small fissure that appears to go a good ways back into the mountain, but we don't know for sure because none of us had the energy (or guts) to proceed farther than a few feet inside the mouth. There was a fuzzy critter just inside, however...a hibernating bat which was completely oblivious to the mist gathered on its fur from the splashing drips of water seeping from the roof.

Needle's Eye and Moon Eye

Today, we were treeated to a hike that we have anticipated for some time...since friend of the site, Wayne Hill, e-mailed me about the feature known as "Needle's Eye and Moon Eye". After driving up Piney Creek...past the swimming hole lovingly known as "The Nars" (Narrows), we parked at the old Calvin Jones homeplace and proceeded to hike for about 30 minutes to a place above Mill Creek that delighted the whole crew!

The feature is a rock-formation in a bluff above the creek that features a tunnel through the bluff (Needle's Eye) , a large shelter that was once occupied by ancient peoples, and a wonderful natural bridge towering above (Moon Eye).

We all agree that his is one of the most astonishing sights we have visited and featured on the blog. Not only is the feature itself exciting, but the walk to the place was greatly enjoyed by the whole crew as well!

As an added treat, here's a couple of Photos of the old Doc Fleming/Hill place. It is rumored to be haunted! We've discussed adding a page to the EIC blogs called, "Haunted Izard County".

Oxford/Wideman Road and Moonshine Cave

December 2, 2007
Moonshine Find


This afternoon decided a ride was in order because of the nice rain we experienced. The hills come alive during good rains and it's been a while since we've had one. With no particular place in mind, we set our course south along Sylamore Road and eventually decided to check the waterfall along Sylamore Road to see if it was flowing any more vigorously than the last time we went. Though still running somewhat, it wasn't gushing as we had hoped.

After poking around the bluffs in the hollow below the waterfall and shelter there, we decided to follow through on an idea at least one of us has voiced every time we've been to the site...we walked down the creek.

The creek-bed follows a winding but gradual course bordered on each bank by frequent bluffs and shallow shelters. About two hundred yards or so below the waterfall, my 7-year old son asked as we made our way carefully along the creek-bed, "Dad, would you be surprised if we found a cave while we are walking today?"

After a moment of thought, turning, I replied, "No, I wouldn't be surprised...I'd be happy though."

As I turned back to walk on ahead of our group, I looked across the creek to see a cave...pretty as you please...just above us.

No one had seen the cave...including my son...it was pretty weird! We climbed the bank of the creek to find the awesome cave veiled in mist rising after a light shower. The cave is of significant size...well-suited for habitation. Not a shelter, the cave looks to go some distance into the hill...we could not investigate because we had not anticipated a "find" like this and had not brought a single light.

Investigating the cave, we found it to have been well-dug by others in the search for ancient artifacts. The cave must be rich, because a few artifacts were lying on the floor in plain view...including a well-worn...hand-fitting hammer-stone. More modern signs included the bottom of a large glass jug and several metal barrel hoops. Though we have no way of knowing, our imaginations prompted us to dub the cave The Moonshine Cave until we can find any given name.


December 1, 2007

Oxford/Wideman Road

The Newburgian and I got out early Saturday morning without a specific place to go in mind. We ultimately decided to drive the road between Oxford and Wideman in the northern part of the county. Along the way we were able to photograph two wonderful old churches/schoolhouses and a very interesting old house and barn. The old Schoolhouse (without steeple) is just outside of Oxford. The other church is in old Wideman. I'm not sure what the names of the old churches/schools are but will endeavor to find out. The old house is very interesting...rare in that it has a quarried-stone basement with windows. It appears to be very old and I intend to investigate its history.

Look for a post later in the week at Exploring Izard County with a few more of the photos we took...and possibly the names of the churches.

Group Outing to Natural Bridge near Dolph

We got word during the past week that our friend, Colt, was going to be in again for the weekend and wished to go see the Natural Bridge near Dolph. After friends and family joined the trek Sunday afternoon, we ended up with a group of 12.

We took the group, first, to the top of the arch and explained to them about the Natural Bridge's use in the past as an actual bridge. Those who owned the land long ago would each year pack dirt into the cracks and crevices across the top of the stone arch so that they could drive a wagon from field to field...a task that could take hours or days by going around the deep bluff-lined hollow of Calico Creek.

We then went down to see the arch in all its glory. The kids crawled through the tunnel in base of the bridge and happily jumped back and forth along the creek. Having experienced the beauty of the structure, we hiked downstream to the feature I had noticed the last time we visited the site...a cave. I did not get to climb the hill to investigate the place before and when we all did this time, we found a small domed-room with a round opening in its outside wall. It was amazingly similar to a Fred Flintstone-style house!

Yabba-Dabba-Doo!

We oohed and ahhed about the cave for a few minutes before hiking on "downstream" (in quotes because Calico Creek flows underground just below the cave)to investigate more of the hollow we had not yet seen.

Calico Creek Hollow (I'll call it that for lack of knowing any other name) is a stunning place. The clear, spring-fed creek runs through a channel cut deep into limestone rock with rock-bluffs rising high on both sides. Below where the creek flows under a cedar tree to disappear underground, the bottom upens up into a flat on the south side of the creek.

Just below this flat, the landowner's fence stretches across the dry creek-bed. That's as far as we got. We will return to investigate farther downstream to Goat Hollow and Cantrell Den when we get permission from the owner of the Goat Hollow portion of the creek.

This was our first outing of any size. It wasn't organized because of how it came together. We're hoping, however, to have more organized periodic outings in the future. We're hoping some of you would like to join us.

Colt's Labrynth (Mill Creek) 10/7/07

Over a year ago, Ryan told us he had a friend who owned some land with a shelter cave that had some sort of painting. Ever since, we've looked forward to getting to see the site and take a look. Sunday afternoon, we got to go.

After an interesting ride to the site, we climbed up the side of a steep ridge to the awesome fractured bluff-line near its top. Navigating our way carefully (and breathlessly (as you'll notice if you watch the videos at the YouTube Hunkahillbilly page [sidebar]) over boulders and along the base of the bluff, we made it to the shallow shelter that also hides a very small entrance to an extensive cave (later excursion, we hope).

My first impression of the bluff-painting that is applied on the underside of the overhanging rock was that it did not look very old. Upon further inspection, however, it became clear that there was much of the painting that is faded. The visible portions are clearly not any form of modern pigment but looks to be a natural paint of some sort. It's quite interesting and deserves a closer look. As far Colt the landowner knows, it has never been studied.

After admiring the amazing painted sandstone bluff towering above the shelter, we paused to take a photo of our little troop. We then proceeded to enter a fissure in the bluff formed by a gigantic triangular portion that had separated from the bluff sometime in the distant past. The small gorge formed by the fissure is about thirty feet long and is walled on each side by a shear 30ft-40ft face. Rather than retracing our way back out, we crawled through a narrow fissure that led to the front of the broken off triangle of rock. It was a tough climb and a tight squeeze!

After admiring ourselves for having been able to get out through the narrow fissure (really we just needed to catch our breath!), we explored other passages similar as we made our way to the top of the bluff to see the amazing view of Mill Creek and the surrounding hills.

WE are so thankful for landowners like Colt, who are eager to share the unique and wonderful places they possess! Thanks, Colt, for the great adventure.