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Ready for a little adventure? Let's head to beautiful Petit Jean State Park for a day of exploring, picture-taking, fresh air and girl time!

This isn't your typical hiking day, and you don't have to be an experienced hiker to join us! We're visiting TWO short, easy trails that are more about exploring and enjoying the great outdoors than getting in a strenuous workout.

### 🪨 Stop 1: Bear Cave Trail

Get ready to explore some pretty incredible rock formations! Bear Cave is filled with enormous sandstone boulders, natural passageways, little crevices and interesting rock formations. We'll get to wander around, explore some of the formations and see what little hidden surprises we can find.

### 🐢 Stop 2: Rock House Cave

Next up, we'll explore Rock House Cave, a large natural rock shelter with fascinating rock formations and ancient Native American pictographs. You'll also find some interesting turtle-shaped rocks nearby!
It's a fun little spot with some history, natural beauty and plenty to look at.
Both trails are short and rated easy. There will be some uneven, rocky surfaces, so comfortable walking shoes with good traction are recommended. You don't need hiking boots, but leave the slippery shoes at home!

### 🍽️☕ OPTIONAL: Let's Make a Day of It!

After our exploring, we'll head to Mather Lodge for lunch! The restaurant has a beautiful setting, and it'll be a great opportunity to sit down, relax and enjoy some more girl time.

And why stop there? Those who want to continue the fun can head over to Petit Jean Coffeehouse for quick coffee (or get it to go!) and possibly make a stop at the nearby candy/ice cream shop for a little something sweet. I like to get some fudge or other concoction to take home.

A few things to know about the optional stops:

  • Lunch at Mather Lodge is optional.
  • Coffee and the candy/ice cream stop are optional.
  • Petit Jean Coffeehouse is believed to close around 2 PM, so we'll want to keep that in mind.
  • Please coordinate with the ladies you're carpooling with BEFORE we arrive so everyone knows whether they're heading home after the hike, staying for lunch, or continuing on for coffee and treats.

### 🚗 Carpooling

Petit Jean is approximately 1½ hours from Cabot, depending on where you're starting.

If you'd rather not make the drive alone, let's see if we can get some carpooling arrangements together! Once we know who's coming, we can connect ladies who live near each other.

### 📍 WHERE TO MEET

We'll meet at the Bear Cave Trail parking area at 10:00 AM.
Please plan to arrive a few minutes early so we can get everyone organized and start exploring together!

### 🎒 WHAT TO BRING

  • Comfortable walking shoes with good traction
  • Water bottle
  • Your phone or camera for pictures
  • A light jacket or layers depending on the weather
  • A little spending money if you'd like to join us for lunch, coffee or treats

I'm looking forward to exploring with you ladies and really making a day of it!

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