Been out of telecommunications for most of the past two days. Thursday afternoon we stopped at Pea Ridge National Military Park. This was a requested stop by the human half of our traveling party. At least he didn't make me go on a guided history tour like Prairie Grove Battlefield.

After walking around several miles I came upon a wondering soldier. Ed was excited because he was a Missouri State Guard re-enactor. I was excited because he was willing to be mustered into service for the Prospect Army. Soon dog borders everywhere will be safe from invading cats.

Click Photos for More or Larger Views

Down the road a few miles I found an airplane and helicopter. Proper border patrol requires air superiority. This is necessary because Fluffer the invading neighbor cat can climb trees and I need to be able to get up there. The F-101B Voodoo fighter jet and Army helicopter might just be able to do the trick.

After a brief argument with Ed aka "The Chauffeur" in Bentonville we started heading toward the Boston Mountains and White Rock Mountain. Ed wanted to stop at the Wal-mart Tourist Trap and Visitor Center to ask why they build stores with 49 checkouts but never staff more than 7. I do not know what a checkout is so I told him we would not have enough daylight if he did not "Accept the things he cannot change."

We were not able to find a suitable campsite away from the crowds before the sun got too low so we spent Thursday nite at the campground atop White Rock Mountain. We woke early and hiked the Rim Trail early to watch the sunrise. After a few miles hike and a couple hours rest I was ready to go explore again.

So we set out to hike parts of the Ozark Highlands Trail and the trail towards Shores Lake. We made it 3 miles out. It was all downhill going. We started at an elevation of 2250 feet and decided to head back when we reached 1075 feet. It took us 3 1/2 hours to make the 6 mile round trip. We made lots of rest breaks on the way back up.

After getting back to camp and settling in our neighbors started blaring AC/DC so we decided to venture off and find a dispersed campsite in the wilderness for the next few nights. Somehow the artistic value of Shook Me All Night Long is dimished when blaring 140 decibels at 3 in the afternoon when you have just been hiking for hours. We found a great stop at the end of a mountain road. During this morning's hike we found an even better spot to camp if we pass back this way after visiting the Ouachita Mountains. We are guessing the leaves here will have turned even more after the cold snap that is forecasted Tuesday.

Be sure to check out the 18 photos in my White Rock Mountain photo album. Also, see the video below where I got walked over by a stick. I met one of these funny creatures back home but someone didn't have the camera. I'm not that impressed with a twig that has legs. I would have rather made friends with another Mr. Orange Worm.

Heading back up the mountains.

~Prospect