We got a good chuckle out of this sign of a nearby snack stand:



We brought one liter water bottles and insulating socks and carried 4-5 with us on this day trip … they were all gone by day’s end. A good idea that we’d recommend to others. We try to freeze about half of them solid the night before for use later in the day.

Oh, and of course, the Natural Bridge. Quite beautiful, and worth the trip!



There doesn’t appear to be anything more than a four-wheeler trail past the Natural Bridge onto the Blackstone Beach area … you need to backtrack and head inland past the Ayo Rock Formations (below) and then come back into Arikok National Park all the way to the beach to see the Natural Pool and more slightly northerly places like Blackstone Beach.



Tons of cacti in the area … hard to believe you’re just a few miles from the lush gardens that are common throughout both the low-rise and high-rise hotel area.



The road to the Natural Pool is VERY rough, there’s a reason why they put this sign in our 4x4 rental … just don’t notice that you’re seeing the Natural Pool parking area in the background J



A look down upon swimmers at the Natural Pool:



Awfully slow going out of the Natural Pool area … but be careful and try to follow one of the four-wheeler tours out and it shouldn’t be too much of a problem. As we neared the Park exit, we found we were in the midst of a “Hamster” stampede!