Tornado Alley – part 2

Well, the second thunderstorm is underway.   We had one wave of quarter inch (1 cm) hailstones and poor Benny and the Jet were hammered.  Our newly purchased severe weather alert radio which we have renamed Squawk,  has advised us that we are on a tornado watch until 1.00 am, and finding the experience somewhat exhilarating and nerve-wracking at the same time.

I have to admit we encountered a tornado warning in Arkansas once before a few years ago, on a previous trip to visit Richard’s brother and his mom Clarabel, whilst she was still alive.  Last time (fingers crossed as I say this) the epicentre of the tornado moved just about a mile north of the nursing home where Clarabel was living.  Clarabel and all her fellow residents spent the night in their beds or in their armchairs which had to be moved into the corridors for safety.  I spent a nervous night listening to thunder and lightning that sounded as it if rolling around directly above my bed, and then the next morning, after a breakfast cooked on a gas stove because there was a power cut, I witnessed the flooding and torn down trees that were left in the wake of that storm for miles around Don’s and Clarabel’s place. 

This past fortnight I have learned to appreciate that such extreme weather can produce some wonderful extremes of landscape.  Arkansas is overwhelmingly lush with green plant, animal and insect-life.

Of course, I could do without the insects, and berated them profusely during our 3 day stay at Don’s – where the weather was humid and we encountered heavy rain-storms between visits to a retirement community and the local radio station to talk about my book (you can read about that here).  But once we moved on to Magazine Mountain State Park, which boasts the highest mountain in Arkansas at 2753 feet above sea level, the weather was much cooler and the insects fewer.  So different is the climate here (some 10 – 15 degrees Centigrade cooler than the valleys of the Arkasanas and Petit Jean Rivers flowing below) 

that the deciduous oaks and other trees at the top of the mountain had not even begun to produce leaves whilst those in the canopy below were already various shades of spring green, and covered with a profusion of wisteria and stunningly beautiful flowering Dogwood trees.  

Yet the altitude, geography and climate combine to create beautiful vistas, and unique habitats for a rich diversity of wildlife.  We were in bear country, but perhaps too early for them to leave their hibernating winter dens and allow us a glimpse (thank goodness!).  Yet on our hikes along the mountain top we saw a large variety of violets, some white tailed deer, and even caught a glimpse of a frog.

There was also a bluff called Dripping Spring which we had to visit seeing the name was so similar to where we had just spent two months, but were disappointed to discover the spring, despite some rainfall, was a mere trickle.

Whilst we were there we contacted an old school friend of Richard’s and visited him and his wife Bethany and dog Boomer.  Rick is an Arkansas Waterfall Bagger.  In the same way as Monro Baggers like to walk up and down mountains in Scotland with a height of over 3,000 ft.  In the 2012 revision of the tables, published by the Scottish Mountaineering Club, there are 282 Munros in Scotland. The best known Munro is Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in the British Isles.  All the Munros of Scotland present challenging conditions to hikers, particularly in winter. Each year, people die on the mountains. Rick’s treks are in much lower altitudes, but there is one similarity as far as risks are concerned.  Whilst Waterfall Baggers risk irate landowners and have to ask for permission to visit the waterfalls that lie on private property, which is not an issue in Scotland, they, like their Scottish counterparts, also run the gauntlet of being prey to ticks and Lyme disease, and other critters.  Rick’s dog Boomer was recently bitten by a poisonous snake on one of his treks, and as a result of veterinary tests found to be infected with Lyme disease.  Rick was also checked and diagnosed with the same illness.  But it doesn’t deter him.  You can get an idea of the hundreds of waterfalls he has visited and photographed in Arkansas on his blog here

After two days of rain and fog on Magazine Mountain top, (making us wonder if we were back in Scotland) 

we moved on to warmer and less remote civilization, and bought ourselves the Squawk, just to be sure.  

Hot Springs is a former spa town and a popular Arkansas tourist destination. and although I am dying to tell you about the waterfall we "bagged" this morning, I need my beauty sleep just now.   As we intend to leave first thing in the morning, to visit Don again, and will be without internet access, you will have to wait for me to post about where we have spent the last 5 days, for at least a week.  

It has been an exciting evening, however, I have decided that, to ensure we are well rested for tomorrow's trip, there is no other option than to cover the Squawk with a pillow.  

After all, if a tornado should hit, we have no corridor to move our bed to for safety...!