Stout’s Point — Petit Jean State Park

Petit Jean State Park has long been one of my favorite places to visit. In the 29 years that I’ve been visiting my wife’s family in Arkansas, I’ve probably been to the park 20 times. I’ve hiked and birded and picnicked there and found the rock formations, waterfalls and cliffs strikingly beautiful every time.

But the one thing I’ve never done is stay overnight, so when my brother-in-law invited us to camp with his family, I jumped at the opportunity. We drove to the park on Wednesday morning, the day before Thanksgiving and stopped at Stout’s Point on the eastern end of the mountain. The spot is supposedly the location of the grave of Petit Jean, a young woman with incredible powers of disguise. I’ll let you read about her on the sign and come to your own decision whether to believe it or not. My daughter finds the legend compelling. My wife’s theory is that Chavet knew all along who “Petit Jean” was.

Here is eastern Arkansas, with the Arkansas River down below, taken from Stout’s Point.

And here’s the “grave.” I thought the plastic flowers were a nice touch.

Petit Jean's grave

 

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