I ventured up to a more northern region of our dear state mid-January. I had heard about a cluster of cabins sitting on the bluffs in Calico Rock, overlooking the White River and miles of rolling farm land below.

Understand me when I say that I'm not a camper. I'm kind of a city girl, but I do rather enjoy slowing it down occasionally and remembering nature. Wait a sec though, because I'm really not comfortable in a tent or a camper or an RV. These cabins were obviously none of those things, but I didn't expect to find a full and well-equipped kitchen and room for parents and four kids to sleep in comfy, quilted, snuggly beds. See the one I stayed in here.

I expected a view, but I didn't expect a screened-in back porch off the dining area with additional deck extending well past that, and jutting out to quite near the place where gravity could very well give you a quick trip to the river. It's for this reason, I assume, that there was not a direct exit to the ground from the back deck. I u-turned to revisit the front entrance and walk around.

Once on the ground behind the cabin, I was touching the ends my feet to the wavy and jagged line you'd see on a topography map to indicate that this here is gonna go down for quite a drop. For a moment, I envisioned the river getting up to the rim at my toes, wondering how much of the chartreuse pasture would be covered on the other side.Just then the sparkles of sunset mixed with a black and white cow's low oboe breaths.

I tell you what, to get to this particular spot and build cabins, it was a drive around and behind everything in town that said go this way instead. But once you're there, it's clear that they picked the exact right spot. I would definitely recommend a visit to these cabins for relaxation, recreation, a church retreat or team meeting. Find more information about them at the links above. Click any of the images below for a larger version.

Coming through town, the river and bluffs are out of sight, but culture abounds in the small town of Calico Rock.

A right turn off the main street leads across a short bridge and into what's known as Peppersauce Ghost Town. There are old buildings and remnants of life from the 1920s, before the town went through it's second devastating fire in around 50 years.

A right turn off the ghost town and you're on your way up a hill and through the trees on a narrow road, and then out pops these cabins, perched on the edge of the bluff.

I quickly found the most comfortable viewing area for the river and hills below. I stand here in the screened porch, just outside the dining area of the cabin.

Moving out to the deck, there's a panoramic view that can only be taken in properly by the eyes God designed for us.

When evening falls, the moons and stars reflect on the White River and in the distance, the yellow porchlight from a small farmhouse can be seen.

About a mile away, on the way home, there was a fog that enveloped farsight from the ground to the hilltops - a soothing Sunday end to this excursion.