Sunny Day! Sweeping the Clouds Away!

With the snow melting and the sun shining bright, I am reminiscing on a couple of Saturday's past.  Two weeks ago we were celebrating the random mid-70 degree weather by heading to Petit Jean Mountain.  It was a pretty spectacular little trip.

We left later than expected, so I chose to drive since I drive a little faster than Toby ;).  Kylie was busting with excitement because I told her about the awesome waterfall that she'd get to see for the first time.  She couldn't wait to get there!

We got off on the Morrilton exit and I started to turn to the right.  Toby insisted that we turn left, but I was almost positive that Petit Jean was to the right.  After all, I had done a Home Health clinical just a few months before.  We had driven all over this area - surely I knew where I was going.  So, I talked him into turning to the right.  We drove, and we drove.  We drove for almost 25 minutes.  I kept saying - "Oh, there it is!  Right?  Isn't that it??"  Well, the answer to that is no.  That wasn't it at all.  I still couldn't believe that I was wrong, so we decided to call Mica, Aaron's girlfriend.  Oh, by the way, Aaron is Toby's other brother - another member of the Bullock Clan ;).  

See, Mica and Aaron had gone to Petit Jean earlier that day, so I knew that they would tell me I was going the right way since they had just been there.  I asked Mica simply, "Which way do you turn to get to Petit Jean when you get off at Morrilton?"  I was praying that she would say right, but no ... the word "left" filled my ear instead.  How stupid can I be?  I mean, really.  Why didn't I just listen to Toby??!!  Very typical of my independent nature.  I need to learn to let go and trust my husband more.  

Because of my stubborness, I had wasted almost an hour of daylight driving the wrong way.  Like I said before, we had left later than I had hoped.  I was very disappointed in myself, but we still made it there with enough time to hike down to the waterfall.  

When we arrived, Toby was very insistent on going to see the Bear Caves.  I have been to Petit Jean numerous times, but I had never heard of the Bear Caves.  They turned out to be pretty spectacular.  They weren't really caves, more like crevices.  But, nonetheless - very beautiful.  We climbed on top of one of the rock formations, and I snapped this picture of my sweet family.  

Now it was time to embark on the journey to the waterfall!!  I think I may have been more excited than Kylie.  We didn't anticipate having to carry Kylie so much, and neither did she.  She wanted to walk the whole time, and became very upset when we had to carry her down the steep parts.  So, we took a few breaks for Toby's sake.  I mean, I offered to switch off with him, but I guess that I'm just a wimp.  I would carry her for like 5 minutes and ask, "You wanna switch?" ;)  

But, extra breaks made for prime picture opportunities :)

We journeyed on and made it to the crossing bridge.  I love that bridge!  It's so ... I don't know, rustic?  I just like it a lot.  We ran into a man that gave us this warning to turn back because it was getting late.  I felt like it was foreshadowing in a movie or something.  Toby seriously considered it, but we decided that we still had plenty of time to make it down there and get back in time.  

And, of course - we had to take a picture at the bridge!

We were getting closer and closer to the waterfall.  I even thought I could hear it.  I kept building it up since Kylie had never seen one before.  We were so happy trotting along the path.  We were almost there.

And, suddenly we were there.  We stood there in disappointment.  There was no waterfall.  It was more like a water dribble.  Great.  I suppose that it is a good thing there was no waterfall because we may have stayed there longer than we did.  But, still - very disappointed for Kyliebug.  We'll just have to go back soon after a big rain.  So, we played in the water beneath the water dribble for a second and started back up the trail.

Again, Kylie wanted to walk the whole time on the way back.  We had a few melt-downs on the way, but she was appeased when I pulled out her milk to drink (good thing I had packed a backpack).  She did get to walk a lot though.  There were plenty of stretches that weren't too difficult for a toddler to navigate.  

And, you know?  It couldn't have been more perfect timing.  We made it back just in time to see the sunset.  Looking back on it all, everything thing came together just as it should.  I thought that we had wasted so much time going the wrong way.  And, then we got down to the waterfall to find that it wasn't really there.  If it had been there, we would have stayed too long and missed the sunset.  It just makes it ever so evident that God orchestrates everything according to His purposes.  He wanted us to marvel at His handiwork that day, and that is exactly what we did. 

"You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and by Your will they exist and were created."

Revelation 4:11