The goal, if you want to live a long, happy, healthy life right up to the very end, is to stay active. One of the most interesting and pleasurably ways to do this is to go hiking. It’s something I never did much until recently, and I’ve really enjoyed the state parks here in Arkansas, known as the Natural State.
I spent 4 days at Mount Nebo State Park near Dardanelle, Arkansas. The idea was do enjoy solitude, and use it and this time to do some reading, writing, and hiking, and just enjoy the scenery. Which I have been doing. I rented Cabin 65 at Mt. Nebo, which, like many of the buildings here, is in the National Register of Historic Places:
https://www.nps.gov/nr/feature/places/16000661.htm
It was built in the 1930’s.
In this episode I walk the Rim Trail, a 3.5-mile course circling the mountain top. It is the most popular of the trails here and provides many beautiful overlooks of the River Valley below. The terrain is considered “strenuous” and proves to be a good workout for me. I realize about half-way through that this is the first workout of this sort and this distance and difficulty that I have taken since injuring my ankle a couple of months ago playing racquetball.
There is probably also a health benefit to being at a higher altitude and breathing what seems to be better air. It definitely provides a clearer view, and the trees seem to be a brighter green in this early springtime. We are away from the cities, though Dardanelle spreads out below, it is a small town of about five thousand people.
The cabin provides a great view right out the window. I enjoyed even the two days when it was raining most of the day. The only desk was being used as a stand for the microwave and coffee pot in the kitchen. But there was a nice size dining table, and I positioned it so I could do my writing sitting facing the view. In the morning I would sit at my laptop writing, and when I would get to the end of a sentence, or paragraph, or thought, I could just look up for inspiration. Not necessarily pertaining to what I was writing, but inspiration of a different sort. Clarity. Peace of mind.
The experience was so good I really will just crave it from now on. I am already thinking of looking for a second home there. Or some similar place, perhaps closer. I like living four minutes from work, and I will probably be working in a similar place for the foreseeable future. But a simple place whose main value is solitude or at least a semblance of it, would be nice for weekends, even if it’s just a vacant lot where I could park an RV.
Diet-wise, it was not a good week. I had some typical camping fare, brats and hamburgers, and, when it was raining, frozen pizza. And since I was cooking for myself, there really was no excuse. But mentally it was beyond fantastic. Fitness-wise, not so bad either. I took one long hike and a shorter one. Probably as much or more than I would get in a typical week in terms of walking. I did not have any gym work either. And though it is a great idea to periodically take time off from working out in the gym, the combination of vacation and a business trip and Easter wound up costing me more gym time than I wanted.
Next episode I talk more about my reading and writing and of course, comment on the beautiful views. I also recommend you watch the YouTube video, as always at http://RunningAFEVER.com/YouTube.
Resources:
Official Arkansas State Parks website:
https://www.arkansasstateparks.com/parks/mount-nebo-state-park