A LITTLE ROCK WEEKEND October 5-7, 2012

   There was so much more to see and do in the northwestern part of Arkansas but I had made reservations to see the Beatles Classical Tour with the Little Rock Symphony for Saturday night which I didn’t want to miss...so we made a pretty crazy decision. We would spend the weekend in Little Rock and then return to the Fayetteville area on Monday to see the rest. Lots of extra driving but that’s the joy of our traveling life. 

The drive south on I-540 was beautiful with the trees just beginning to show their fall colors. The weather was crisp and chilly but warmed up as we got closer to LR.  Our stay for the next 3 nights was the North Little Rock Riverside RV Park, a Passport America stay for only $11 a night.  It was the best for seeing all the sights of LR right across the river! 

Little Rock was so different from what I expected. It is small for a capital city with a renovated river front area that is anchored by the Clinton Presidential Library on the east, the capital building to the west with lots restaurants and historical buildings in between. 

Within about an hour the weather made a big change, I guess that’s normal for this part of the country.  The temp dropped about 20 degrees, rain clouds came in and the warm sunny afternoon disappeared. We drove across the river to see the River Market District that’s filled with galleries, shops and eateries. The rain was coming down pretty heavy so we stopped at the Flying Saucer Brewery for a bite to eat and to warm up. How can heavy rain come on so fast????

Saturday was even wetter and so much colder than any we have had all along the trip, but there was so much to see in the city. There is a darling trolley that circles from North Little Rock across the river and into Little Rock about every 25 min, the trolley conductor tells the history of the buildings and the 2 cities as it goes along. A fun ride to get a feeling for the area.  

Our first visit was to the Old State House Museum, beautiful Greek Revival architecture built in 1833. 

The House includes both chambers of the legislature and has been beautifully restored and furnished. But, we only saw half of the museum before it was time to hurry next door to the Peabody Hotel to catch the 11:00 Duck Walk to the lobby and the fountain where they spend the day.  Too funny, a Grand Marshall and John Phillip Souza march playing as 5 ducks come down on an elevator and follow the red carpet to the water.

This Nun was chosen as the Dignitary of the Day to lead the ducks into the lobby

They rounded the corner, walked straight up a ramp and into the water of the fountain.

We went back to finish touring the Old State House then time for lunch at a local favorite, The Flying Fish. 

 Fried catfish and gumbo, a perfect meal for the cold day outside. Our whole afternoon was spent at the Clinton Library a dramatic glass building that cantilevers out over the Arkansas River. (my photo is terrible, I know...it's much more stunning to see in person!)

State of the art exhibits showcase the President’s eight years with videos, displays and collections of gifts the Clintons received during his presidency. One wonderful display was the complete and full scale reproduction of the Oval Office and Cabinet Room.  

The room also includes a replica of the desk used by most Presidents while in office with the little storage area where John Kennedy Jr. poked his head out in that famous photo!

We had just enough time to return to the motorhome to take Foster for a walk, change, and head to dinner. We decided to have dinner at the nearby Riverside Steakhouse, a wonderful meal then to our evening at the Symphony. Such a fantastic performance by the Little Rock Symphony.  I didn’t realize that there really was going to be a Beatles Band performing with the symphony, making the evening just amazing! I loved the evening so much I almost went again the next day to the second performance, but I've learned that I can never recapture the feeling of a given moment, no matter how much I want to.

Sunday morning we started with brunch at the Arkansas Art Center 

This is an amazing ceramic sculpture by Marilyn Levine, so real it was hard to realize you weren't looking at leather. 

then toured all the galleries ending with one very special collection. It’s called 50 for Arkansas, a gift from Herb and Dorothy Vogel.  They are the most unusual collectors who lived very simply in NYC. Dorothy was a librarian, Herb was a postal worker and they both loved art. 

 They began collecting from new, young artists and in their lifetime collected over 4000 pieces of art; all of which they kept in every nook and cranny of their tiny apartment. As they grew older, they decided to donate 50 pieces of art to each of the 50 states.  The museum in Little Rock houses the Arkansas collection. Quite the story!

When we came out of the museum the sky had cleared to a beautiful bright blue and warm once again. Something I didn't want to miss seeing while in Little Rock was the Central High School National Historic Site, the scene of the battle to desegregate the public schools in Arkansas, 1957. 

The high school is still a working school but is also a historic site with a fantastic visitor center retelling the events of that painful period in the Civil Rights movement.  

Across the street from the Visitor Center is the restored gas station with a pay phone where reporters would call in their stories to papers around the country.

Though we couldn’t tour the Capitol on Sunday afternoon we did drive around it to see. A beautiful structure we’ll have to see on our next trip. 

Another missed tour was the Historic Arkansas Museum which has 5 restored early 19th-century buildings. The museum closed at 4 on Sunday, and we had saved it for last, so next time. 

We walked around the exterior areas to get a glimpse of the buildings.



 Then back to the Flying Fish for another great southern meal and a tasty beer.

We walked along the river front area and took photos looking across the river to where our motorhome was parked. The bridge in this photo is part of the pedestrian and bike path that runs for 7 miles along both sides of the river. 

The sky was getting pretty dark again so we finished our day with a walk through these red gates to see the H. U. Lee International Garden dedicated to the spirit of Taekwondo

Paul practicing...

Our weekend ended early Modnay morning as we set off once again for that lovely northwestern part of the state, 3 hours away. This was the view of Little Rock as we said good bye at 7AM with the sun just waking up the city.

DEVIL'S DEN STATE PARK October 1-3

For the last few years I've been wanting to visit the northeastern area of Arkansas...it just sounded like such a beautiful place and an area I wanted to see.  Now we had our chance to really see this part of the country. And...whenever I told someone we were planning to spend days camping in northern Arkansas, they almost always said we needed to stay at Devil's Den State Park just south of Fayetteville. So we did!

There are 2 different routes to get to the park and we took the turn off at West Fork onto Highway 170 since we were too large to take the curvy somewhat steep road, Highway 74. The park is so large with sites spread out in five different campgrounds.  We camped in Loop E and since the park was practically empty we had the pick of so many campsites and chose one that backed up to the creek.

Normally the Lee Creek flows into a lake that creates this beautiful waterfall, but due to the two years of drought in Arkansas, the river wasn't even moving, the lake was almost dry and we never got to see this view.

What we did get to see were some amazing rock formations as we took several hikes in the park.

Our first day we hiked the Yellow Rock Trail with a fantastic overview of the Ozark Valley below.

The park is unique in that it is one of only four Arkansas State Parks built in the 1930-40s by the Civilian Conservation Corps. The roads, trails, campgrounds, dam, and structures were built during a nine year project and are still in wonderful condition today. This lovely Lookout is built of stone and huge tree trunks.

No matter where we hiked in the park there were tall sandstone and limestone rocks in the most unusual forms.

We joined an Interpretive Ranger for a great walk along the Devil's Den Trail the next afternoon.  She knew so much about the geology and history of the park, such a wonderful way to learn. 

This is usually the flowing water of Twin Falls...but no water anywhere in the park! So sad.

Along the trail we came to the cavern of Devil's Den which is now closed due to the spreading disease affecting hibernating bats, white nosed syndrome. To try to safe guard the bats in many parts of the country all caves are now closed to the public.  Studies show that 5.5 million bats have died since first documented in 2006 and with no way of combating this disease. Caving is a big adventure in this part of the country for sure, and I have no idea how they will ever keep people from crawling down into these caves.

Not only are there fantastic campgrounds in most of the Arkansas state parks, there are also beautiful wooden cabins.  The cabins were also built during the CCC years and are so well used today.  For less than $100 you can rent a 2 bedroom cabin with a fireplace, kitchen and outdoor patio area, just darling! What fun it would be to stay in one of these!

Crossing the creek is a suspension bridge to get from the campgrounds to the lake.  Near this bridge is also a swimming pool, picnic area, small store, restaurant, gift shop and the Visitor's Center.

The weather was perfect, warm and sunny with trees turning fall colors all around us.

Thursday afternoon we did drive out of the park to visit the nearby Prairie Grove Battlefield.  An amazing afternoon learning the story of this Civil War battle. We walked the trail and the actual fields of the battle.

One crazy thing about this part of the country...we cannot buy and beer, wine of other spirits in any kind of grocery store, only in designated stores.  But I did see something totally new: a "drive through" for picking up a bottle of wine or six pack of beer. Doesn't jive...  

That evening we stayed in town to see a little of Fayetteville and had dinner at a Dickson Street grill.  It's the "happening area" of town and right next to University of Arkansas so lots of college kids everywhere.

After three days it was time to pack up again and head south for Little Rock.  The morning we left we had quite a rainstorm with thunder!!! I don't think Paul or I have ever been in real thunderstorms, and this was definitely one. Poor Foster gets freaks and barks at every rumble.  I don't think he'll ever get used to the noise and not sure I will either.  It only lasted about an hour or so but of course it happened just as we were trying to put everything away and leave...

The rest of the morning's drive to Little Rock was misty and wet at times, but soon we were back in the sunshine and on to a weekend in the city!

TULSA, OKLAHOMA September 29-October 1, 2012

View from our campsite at Oologah Lake

I know when I had thought of Kansas, Oklahoma and even Arkansas I had a picture of flat, open spaces with few trees, just rolling plains for as far as the eye could see.  Well, that maybe true for parts of those states but definitely not true for the region we've been exploring, the south eastern corner of Kansas, into northeastern Oklahoma and east into Arkansas.  When we first stopped at a Visitor Center in Kansas she mentioned this area as the green and forested part of Kansas. I'm so happy we chose out route based on that.

Then as we drove through southern Kansas we were trying to decide which way to go from there when I got an email from my dear friend, Carolyn Park. She mentioned that she would be traveling to Tulsa, OK to visit her Aunt Loraine for her 100th birthday!  Well, with us being so close to Oklahoma we made that our next destination and a chance to see Carolyn and meet her amazing aunt.

We chose another Corps of Engineers Park at Oolagah Lake, just 25 miles north of Tulsa.



 The campground was gorgeous and set along a small cove of the lake.  Trees, bluffs of limestone and a beautiful lake.

Once we had set up everything we went to tour Will Rogers' home only 2 miles away. It's a post-Civil War home where he was born in 1879. 

When we drove up we could see a wedding taking place in the yard. We quietly walked through the house and barn, what a wonderful setting! We learned that there was also a Will Rogers Museum in the nearby town of Claremore, OK but it was too late in the day to visit.  We picked up our groceries and headed back for a campfire and dinner.

Sunday was Museum Day in Tulsa for us.  We planned to arrive at the Philbrook Museum for brunch but  as we were driving into town I picked up my phone and saw that a bee was attached which totally freaked me.  Being inside the car with a yellowjacket that close...I did all the wrong things and got stung before the bee got out. A most painful sting ever! Instant swelling and pulsing pain, PK pulled over at a McDonalds to get a cup of ice water to relieve the pain which helped, but gotta say...I think I've learned to try to stay calm, not scream and let the bee find its way out. It took about 3 days before that painful finger felt normal again.

We did get to the Philbrook just as brunch began and were able to get a lovely table. Then it was time to tour this amazing 1926 villa on 23 acres built by oilman Waite Phillips. It was as stunning as the collection of art it held.

After only living in the home for 10 years Waite Phillips surprised the community with the announcement of his gift of the 72-room mansion and surrounding 23 acre as of grounds as an art center for the city of Tulsa.  With an audio tour we walked the rooms and enjoyed the art then headed outside for a walk in the gardens, always where I'd love to stay.

We still had time to scoot across town to visit another wonderful Tulsa museum, The Gilcrease Museum 

with its fantastic collection of American art, located on the University of Tulsa campus. It included Native American art and artifacts as well as documents and maps. We had just missed a special exhibition of George Washington but did have a chance to see work by Thomas Moran and other painters and sculptors of art of the American west. Beyond the museum there are gardens also on the museum's 460 acres. We walked around the original home and gardens of the Tulsa oilman, Thomas Gilcrease, who had gathered this incredible collection before leaving as the museum closed.

Monday was our visit to meet Carolyn, Aunt Loraine and Carolyn's brother, Ronald.

What a wonderful and amazing woman is Loraine! At 2 weeks shy of her 100th birthday she is a lively conversationist who cracked us up with her jokes! I had totally forgotten that Loraine DOES NOT CELEBRATE her birthday nor does she tell anyone her age. To me, a 100 year old lovely lady needs a bouquet of balloons!  But as I got out of the car with the birthday balloons Carolyn and Loraine signaled NO...and then I remembered...so I tucked the balloons back into the car before going inside. Too funny!

We chatted for about an hour and I loved it all. Oh, to have her secret of such a bright and happy life at this age. She showed us jewelry she'd made and told us stories of Carolyn's childhood with a amazing details, even the fact that her grandparents had once owned a home in the valley where Lake Oologah and our campground now stood.

Once Ron arrived we went out for lunch at a nearby Chinese restaurant before saying our good byes.  How lucky we were to meet Ron and Aunt Loraine and catch a couple hours visit with Carolyn so unexectedly!

Our last museum visit for Tulsa was back to the Will Rogers Memorial Museum near our campground.  Just as we got there a tour bus was leaving and inside the door was a Will Rogers look alike who had taken the large group on a visit of the museum.  He chatted with us for a bit and let me take this photo.  He was a perfect Will Rogers in every way.

The museum had paintings, news articles, films and collections of saddles and memorabilia.  We had such a wonderful time reading his quotes and learning about his life.  What a character and spirit!

Will Rogers Memorial Museum

Some of his quotes from the 1920s and 1930s...seem timely for today:
*We shouldn't elect a President.  We should elect a magician.
*The difference between our rich and poor grows greater every year. Our distribution of wealth is getting more uneven all the time. A man can make a million and he is on every page in the morning. But it never tells you who gave up that million he got.  You can't get money without taking it from somebody.
*There ain't any finer folks living than a Republican that votes the Democratic ticket.
*If we could just send the same bunch of men to Washington for the good of the nation and not for political reasons, we could have the most perfect government in the world.
*There ought to be a law against anybody going to Europe until they had sent the things we have in this country.

So, with Will's words in my head...we moved on to seeing more of this amazing country, and another new state, Arkansas. But not before taking photos of our beautiful stay on Oologah Lake.

Loving our stays along the way! Our traveling life just gets better every mile we drive.