6th Annual Hassey "Goat Vacation"

[Nanno]

Our last day in Arkansas was more exciting than planned. We looked at our map and found "Goat Bluff Trail" near the old ghost settlement of Erbie. It sounded like an easy, scenic loop. So far our National Geographic Trails Illustrated map had not let us down (I'd consulted it constantly on Tuesday's long trek). The map showed an improved dirt road from Compton to Erbie, and at first it looked very nice. But as we continued along, we realized it had not been "improved" in many, many years. That's when I also realized that our map was made in 1992, and although it was updated in 2007 I don't know that anyone bothered to look at this particular road. Soon we were crawling along in 4WD low, thankful for high clearance, and hoping we didn't encounter a huge washout that would require us to retrace our route in reverse, because there weren't a whole lot of places to turn around! The goats had a very rough ride, and it took us a long time to cover four miles. When we finally arrived at our destination, we saw this sign in our rearview mirror... gee, if only they had thought to put one at the other end!   
   

I believe I mentioned that there are a lot of spiders in Arkansas. One of them liked Sputnik's view and decided to build on the unclaimed real estate between his horns. She started before we left our cabin and was still working away an hour and a half later when we arrived at the trailhead.   
   

Our destination:
   

Goat Bluff Trail was pleasant and wooded and ran along an old farmstead fence. If it weren't for his orange packs, Sputnik might have been lost among the speckled rocks and dappled shadows. 
   

Goat Bluff: Naturally, Finn has to lean over the edge and take a look around. 
   

Sputnik prefers a more cautious approach. 
   

   

If it weren't for the purple halter and orange pack you'd never see him.