Discovering the Sunflower Trail and Festival near Shreveport, Louisiana

Looking for something fun to do in the Shreveport area in June? The Sunflower Trail and Festival in Gilliam, Louisiana is the perfect activity! And guess what! It’s free!

The annual festival is held every June in the downtown area of the very small town of Gilliam. What looked to be about a hundred arts and craft booths are grouped in a shaded area behind an old general store. As we make our way through the crowds, I notice several booths with activities for children and can hear music from a band. We didn’t stay long due to the heat and what seemed like thousands of people. I would recommend going early to find a parking place.

The highlight of the festival is the sunflower trail. It runs along Highway 3049 from Gilliam to Shreveport.

 There are many fields of sunflowers along the way to stop and visit.

 The fields are perfect for taking cute photos! There is even a photography contest. As with the festival, go early to miss the crowds!

You can drive the Sunflower trail anytime in the month of June. Oh, and you can pick the flowers!

Gilliam is located about 20 miles north of the Shreveport/ Bossier City area and about 48 miles south of Texarkana, Texas.

Happy Travels!

Exploring the Beauty and History of Split Rock Lighthouse State Park in Minnesota

Located about 20 miles northeast of Two Harbors on Highway 61, this park gets it's name from the  beautiful historic lighthouse perched atop a rock cliff on the north shore of Lake Superior.

The Split Rock lighthouse is one of the most visited lighthouses in the nation and serves as backdrop for many popular photos. The lighthouse was completed in 1910 and was in service until 1969. Tours of the lighthouse and surrounding buildings are available daily throughout the summer season. Find more info here.

Split Rock Lighthouse State Park has around 4 miles of rocky shoreline and beaches. 

A beautiful black sand beach (Pebble Beach) is located just a short walk from the parking area. Several picnic areas are nestled in the trees along the beach.

A little further down the main trail will lead you to a beach area that is made of of beautiful colored  stones. This is a fun place to explore the coastline.

The vegetation in this area is mainly birch, spruce, fir, and ash trees.

The park contains 14.5 miles of trails for hiking, bicycling, and cross-country skiing.

Camping

Cart-in Sites

Twenty secluded sites approximately 2000 feet from the parking area.. Campers leave their vehicles in the lot and use two-wheeled carts provided by the park to carry their equipment  to their site. There are two wheelchair accessible sites in this area. Modern toilets and showers are available from early May until early October.

Backpack Sites

Four sites ranging from 1/2 to 2 miles from the campground parking lot. Two of the sites are accessible from Lake Superior for use by kayaks.

Reservations for campsites are required. Make them here.

Water recreation includes boating, sea kayaking, fishing, and scuba diving. Access to the Madeira wreck, which is on the National Register of Historic Places, is available through the park. 

Address: 

3755 Split Rock Lighthouse Road

Two Harbors, MN 55616

telephone: 

218-595-ROCK (7625)

email: 

SplitRockLthouse.StatePark@state.mn.us

Happy Travels! 

Capturing the Beauty of Lake Catherine State Park's Waterfall: A Christmas Day Photoshoot

We spent last Christmas on Lake Catherine and had a blast. It was a beautiful warm day, so we hiked to the popular waterfall and took our photos there. I thought I would share them with you for inspiration on finding a unique place for a Christmas photoshoot.

A waterfall is so such an unexpected place and everyone has loved all the photos!

I love catching those little moments that will mean so much to the cousins in the future.

Some of my favorites are the unplanned ones like this. I think we made a lot of hikers happy with all the hats. Everyone we passed was smiling!

Our youngest family was worn out from all the hiking. I'm pretty sure several of the adults were tired from carrying him too! I noticed he was passed around a lot during the trip.

Lake Catherine State Park is located in Hot Springs, Arkansas.

Address:

1200 Catherine Park Rd

 Hot Springs, AR 71913

Happy Holidays! 

The Old Mill (North Little Rock) Arkansas

Nestled in the middle a neighborhood in North Little Rock is T.R. Pugh Memorial Park.

It is a small beautifully landscaped area and home to Pugh's Old Mill.

The Mill was built in 1933 and is an authentic reproduction of an old water-powered grist mill.

It is best known for its appearance in the opening scene of the 1939 film Gone With the Wind.

The concrete bridges were built Senor Dionico Rodriguez to look like stumps and entangled wood branches.

The park is open every day from sunrise until sunset.

It is free to get into the park.

The address is:

3800 Lakeshore Dr.
Lakshore Dr. and Fairway Ave.
North Little Rock, AR 72116

Happy Travels!