I took this shot in mid-morning on my 50th birthday – April 5th, 2013 – and I chose the highest point in Arkansas as my destination for purely symbolic reasons. (I likewise stashed a 50-cent piece up there for the same reason.)

Just behind the beautiful lodge at Mt. Magazine State Park you can take a trail to this highest point – 2,753 feet above mean sea level (about 839 meters). There’s a USGS survey marker set into flagstones arranged in the shape of Arkansas – but don’t expect sweeping vistas because you’re surrounded by trees … other places in the park have the Grand Views. I’ve noticed that it’s almost exclusively hardwood and deciduous trees up here too, with almost no evergreens. A weird panorama shot is below…

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