It really sucks to go back to work today after a great weekend of off roading with friends.  I would have loved to have at least one more day to explore the park but that just means we will have to go back again soon.

We met up with a couple others on the road around Fayetteville, Arkansas and we finished the rest of the trip together arriving in Hot Springs around 5pm.  As we rolled in, we were hit by a microburst and took cover under a gas station canopy.  It rained hard for 15-20 minutes with high winds and the water was running deep through the streets.  As the skies cleared, we made our way to the hotel to only get hit again and this time, no cover.  We said screw it and just finished the few remaining miles to the hotel.  We were soaked but... Jeep life.

After getting cleaned up, or more like dry, we headed to dinner since the rest of the group wouldn't be getting in until close to 10pm.  We had a nice Italian dinner across the street from the hotel and enjoyed some great conversation. 

The next morning, we enjoyed a pretty good breakfast at the hotel and then headed to the park for a full day of wheeling.  When we arrived, we checked in, aired down and headed out on the trails. As usual, I got to lead and Jodi navigate.  We decided to do the Jeep Badge of Honor trails first and then follow that up with some more hard core trails.  It took nearly three hours to complete two of the trails and we had one breakdown where one driver lost his steering stabilizer.  It took just a few minutes to gather some tools and remove it and we were back underway.

Our plan was to hit the 4 star rated trails as we had heard the 5 stars were really tough.  The first 4 star we did was Ultimate Adventure and it was challenging but nothing that was crazy.  I had no issues navigating the obstacles as most didn't.  After that trail, we decided to do a trail called Four Fingers which showed as a 4 on the sign but 5 on the map.  It was a great trail and it was definitely tougher than Ultimate Adventure but still didn't max out our will. 

We wound up doing the third and final Badge of Honor trail in the afternoon and completed many 4 star trails too.  Our goal was to do all of the 4's while there and we actually came up short, leaving just a few for another time.

The second day was a bit more adventurous and I will share that adventure tomorrow.  Enjoy some pics from the trip.