Devil's Den is a popular spot for underground exploration here in Arkansas, but this weekend it was the site for an underground rescue. On Friday, a 17-year old girl, Bianca Calloway, who was exploring the cave lost her footing, slipped and became trapped inside the rock work in the cave.

Unlike Blanchard Springs, Devil's Den is really not modified to make it easy for tourist to explore. It is a more primitive cave experience. However, it is generally safe with relatively few problems being reported each year.

It looks like the main fear of rescuers, despite the 100 degree weather outside, was hypothermia. The temperature is below 50 degree inside the caves at night. It's reported that Calloway needed a hair dryer and blankets to keep her warm.

Crews had to drill holes in the rock throughout the Devil's Maze section of the cave to remove parts of the area that Calloway was stuck in with chisels and hammers. She was removed safely and will have no permanent effects from her adventure.

This weekend, Woolly Hollow State Park is going to have a Star Party at Lake Bennett Beach from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. Volunteers from the Central Arkansas Astronomical Society will set up telescopes for you to view the different celestial bodies and be on hand to answer your questions. Admission is free. Woolly Hollow has great, clear skies for viewing because of Lake Bennett.

Woolly Hollow State Park is located in Greenbrier and has over 40-acres of water for you to swim, boat and fish. There are campsites and the park rents canoes, kayaks, pedal boats and other water vehicles. The lake does not allow gas-powered boats, and if you want to fish you need to bring your own gear because there is no bait shop nearby, but there are great fishing opportunities. Woolly Hollow has picnic areas, a snack bar, a pavillion and a historic cabin you can visit.

Take Exit #125 off I-40 at Conway to reach the park (Google Map). You can visit their website for more information.

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The land for Lake Chicot park in Lake Village, Arkansas was acquired on July 15, 1957. Lake Chicot is Arkansas largest natural lake. It's a 20-mile long oxbow lake. The park is known for great fishing and year-round bird watching. It is, like many of our parks, a great park for nature lovers.

The park is eight miles northeast of Lake Village on Ark. 144. There are pavilions, a playground, picnic tables, bicycle rentals, camping and boat rentals. For those of you like who high class accommodations, they also have cabins available for rental. More information.

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Blanchard Springs is not a state park, but it's still a great park to visit. It's part of the National Forestry Service. They have attempted to keep the caverns as close to natural conditions as possible. Handrails, lights, walkways and other features were added to make the caverns accessible, but they've tried very hard to make it look as natural as possible. You can even do a "wild cave" tour that takes you to the more natural looking areas of the caverns.

The part about the caverns that I really like is that in the middle of August, inside a cave is a nicer place to be than any air conditioning or swimming pool you can find. If you've never been, be sure to check them out!

They're located near near Mountain View. The title link takes you to more information.

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