The 4th Anniversary Trip

 The official 4th anniversary was on Thursday, October 17th. After work and school, we 'walked in Memphis' and then headed to Texas de Brazil for steak! Friday, I felt "under the weather" and called my boss to let him know that I was sick...ah choo! (By the way, my boss was fully aware.)

Friday afternoon, while Tay was finishing up some school work, I loaded up fat dog and took him to 'camp' for the weekend. He was excited about the car ride, not so excited when I left :(

When I arrived back home, the car was packed and we were ready to head out!
Friday night, we stopped in Russellville, Ar and found us a super fancy Super 8 Motel to spend the night in. Traveling on a budget folks, so fun!

I woke Tater up about 6:30 the next morning and told him we had to get on the road. He agreed. And then showered, and then downed some coffee. Poor guy is NOT a morning person!

After traveling on I-40 for about another 40 minutes, we exited off and proceeded up and down and around mountains, looking for the Glory Hole. What an awful name for such an amazing spot!
After an hour or driving and praying we didn't miss it, we saw a small sign pointing us in the right direction. After hiking for a mile, this is what we saw...

 And this is why is pays to bring a tripod...

It also pays to bring a tripod so that you get clear photos. I shoot in Aperture mode, but have a bit of palsy, and the tripod totally nips that in the bud!

After exploring the Glory Hole and praying the creatures from The Descent didn't who show up, it was on to the next stop. Whitaker Point (Hawksbill Crag), only about 15 miles away.

Let me make this clear. Neither of these sites are on tourist maps and both roads leading to them are gut wrenching. Steep, straight up a mountain, with about 4 inches between you and certain death at the bottom. I'm so thankful we have 4WD and a husband willing to drive while I shut my eyes!

 I'm a dork. My shirt says living the dream. With a camper/mobile home on it. I bought Tater the same one :)

 After about two miles of hiking, we both gave out. I opted to sit down. Tay opted to stand and pose next to a tree. I then opted to take his photo.

After surviving both morning hikes, we were on the road to Eureka Springs. And I finally got to see this beauty in person. 

 And it was packed. Tons and tons of people. That kept messing up my shots. I just waited and waited until it was all clear and finally took my long-awaited photos.

After seeing Thorncrown Chapel, we headed to Passion Play Road, in search of Jesus.
He was pretty easy to find.

Then we drove around Eureka Springs and found an overlook, that showed us the Crescent Hotel.
A creepy, old (haunted?) hotel that is amazing.

 Holding up a rock is a lot of work.

 Everything above is exactly what I wanted to do. Tay wanted to because I wanted to. But this is Tay doing what Tay wanted. Having a beer at our campsite.

We walked around downtown Eureka Springs and then headed to the Crescent Hotel for a ghost tour. I took over 100 photos there. I found two orbs. For all I know, they could be dust particles. Either way, money well spent.

It was a fun weekend, and now back to the real world :(