Pecans and the Devil's Den

We stayed one night at a Harvest Host called Paw Paw's Pecans. We bought two boxes of their fudge, one for us and one to bring back to Russ' parents house for Thanksgiving. I also got shelled pecans and some pecan oil. The orchard was lovely; they had about 6,000 trees all perfectly laid out in rows. We were there during the harvest, and Billy let me help him on the pecan sorter.

Just park between the trees.

The house is a Bed and Breakfast, too.

Sorting the harvested pecans.

The sorted product is bagged up and ready.

Delightful fudge, boxed and ready to eat.

She also sells quilts. Her sewing space looks like a store.

The guinea fowl serve as guards. They make noise at strangers.

Dinner in the R-Pod, red beans and rice in the pressure cooker.

We then drove north and east to Devil's Den State Park in the Southern Ozark range called the Boston Mountains. It was stunningly beautiful, and down in a hole surrounded by limestone hills. The forest was mature oak and hickory, with some pine. There was no cell signal in that deep hole, so we were without connection for three days. I managed to get my Spanish lesson done by using the limited WIFI at the visitors center, and we drove out of the hole on the first day, so I took care of it then. Mostly, it was nice to not worry about the outside world and just enjoy the hikes.

We did the Lee Creek Trail, the Devil's Den Trail, and the Yellow Rock Trail. All of them were great, but I think I liked the Yellow Rock Trail the best. The top section was over the wooded hilltop was magical.

Chalk Art left at our campsite.

Snoopy (again).

Primitive Campground Loop A, Site 2.

The CCC built dam and lake.

Russ and Lee Creek.

The Lee Creek Trail loop return was through the creek.

Devil's Den Trail crevice. Bats use these caves.

More Devil's Den Trail sights.

I love how the trail just goes right along the rock face.

Twin Falls. Just a trickle now, but mossy.

The start of a great hike.

We got a cell signal on top! Russ updates his social media.

The view at Yellow Rock. Trees for miles.

Trail magic.

Limestone at its exposed best.

Through the woods.

Rocks and trees in the sunlight.

We left this morning and are now in Kansas City, or Merriam, Kansas, to be more precise. It has rained all day, so hopefully the R-Pod has been cleaned up a bit. It was getting a good bug coating in the front. We stopped for one final overlook on our way out the Devil's Den. The stone building was the first thing completed by the CCC at this site.

The Yellow Rock Overlook.

The R-Pod just barely fit in the parking spaces.

I plan to make tomorrow a chores and restocking day, and I will do laundry and get some food shopping done. We have been dry camping for four nights now and could use a resupply. We are out of a lot of basics. Russ and I decided to get breakfast at a coffee shop tomorrow.