The legend of Petit Jean

A friendly woman at the Arkansas Welcome Center suggested the lodge at a state park when we told her we were looking for a place to spend the night between Ft. Smith, just inside the state line, and Conway, where we had reservations. We picked Petit Jean, mostly for its location a little closer to our destination. It was a great choice.

After a fine dinner of fried catfish (him) and Southern fried chicken (me), accompanied by muscadine juice (Not fermented. This is a state park, remember.) we waited for dark then sat on top of this mountain bathed in starlight and the fragrance of honeysuckle and watched lightning bugs.

The park and the lodge are at the top of Petit Jean Mountain, named for a French girl who followed her fiance there by disguising herself as a man and working as a cabin "boy" on the ship upon which he was sailing. Her deception was discovered only when she became very ill and, ultimately, died on the mountain. There is a grave they say is hers.

The lodge and trails were built in the 30s by CCC and have been nicely updated. The mountain isn't steep or craggy, but is rock, mostly limestone, where it isn't covered in mixed hardwood and pine forest. There are lots of wildflowers this time of year.