Daisy State Park, Kirby, Arkansas

It’s time to cosplay fall, y’all. Faux pumpkins are trending here in Texas. After all, they don’t melt in ninety degrees like real ones do. We keep telling ourselves that cooler weather is on the way, but in the meantime, it’s the perfect time of year for a road trip. Last October, our family camped out with our new doodle puppies at Beavers Bend State Park in Oklahoma. This year, we loaded up for a four-hour drive to Daisy State Park in Arkansas.

Let’s go camping, y’all!

Since camping in Devil's Den State Park, I've been ready to return to Arkansas, where we enjoyed hiking to massive rock formations, waterfalls, and lookouts. Daisy State Park offers different views, but it had everything we hoped for: ATV trails, lake activities, and fall colors.

The park also boasted two side-by-side campsites, one for my family and another for our travel buddies, the Nguyen Family. Pronounced "win" to my ear, the Nguyens are literal winners. Around this time last year, their 19 year-old son, Preston, won the Chef’s category in the World Food Championship, and went on to compete in Gordon Ransey’s show, Next Level Chef.

Preston's mom, Emma, is also my best friend, and a few months ago, we became owners of nearly identical Winnebagos. Both purchases happened quite unexpectedly and for entirely different reasons. On our end, our family is living through another challenging, even humbling, season (story coming soon). But what else is there to do but enjoy the serendipity of the moment?

Throw another log on the fire, or not.

Who knew that burn bans existed in the fall? This year's drought has touched nearly every state, including Arkansas. Thankfully, Emma's cooked in all kinds of kitchens and over all sorts of fires, and she's taught her son well. Preston took the lead and grilled our steaks to perfection on the campsite grill. His dad, Peter, took on the role of his sous chef alongside Emma — and as always, she set a gorgeous table.

Make memories that you can’t cosplay.

Spend a fall weekend in Arkansas, and you'll never be satisfied to cosplay the real deal again. There are so many memories to make in the state that bears not one but two nicknames: "The Natural State" and "The Wonder State." After all, they go hand in hand, just like good friends.