Buffalo River

One-hundred thirty-six miles of the Buffalo is designated a Wild and Scenic River, meaning it is protected as a national treasure and will not be dammed (unlike my dad who, on numerous occasions, was known to exclaim, "We'll, I'll be damned!"). Both Harvey and I were really looking forward to our stay at the Buffalo Point Access Campground. Here are a few pictures.

Our camp site (63) was prime real estate. This picture was taken across a small gorge which ran alongside our site. Sitting outside in the morning brought nothing but bird songs from the thicket right next to us.

This unofficial but very inviting trail just behind our trailer was calling us to investigate.. We had an inkling of what might be at the end of it.

And here it is...a River Running Through It right behind us.

What better way to start the day than this!

The water was so clear and cold. Even Max forgot himself and jumped in!

The campground was at capacity with families out enjoying themselves at this park. The Buffalo is a float or canoe river...no motors here.

Some of the campground urchins came looking for Max. These two cuties are "sis-ternal" twins who had more conversational skills than either Harvey or I. Harvey eventually put them to work while setting up his fishing rod.

There is something you must know in this digital age: the symbol for amphitheater is an inverted Wi-Fi symbol. I'm sure we weren't the only people who went looking for wifi reception, only to find an amphitheater instead!

This huge boulder appears to have been part of the cliff you see behind Harvey in the last picture. It is actually laying on its side, with the rock strata at a 45 degree angle to the ground...imagine seeing that one rolling toward you.

Here is a view of the river from the park restaurant atop the rise. Beautiful river, great spot to spend some time.

Mountain View, AR

People in Mountain View stop to play music as readily as kids with a basketball gather around a goal. We had no sooner arrived and set up our paraphernalia than a fellow camper came over to tell us of a jam (pick-up music playing) that would be starting within the hour at the Pickin' Shed. (Pickin' Shed: an air-conditioned building where musicians go to jam; it also serves as a place for covered dish suppers and church services and "singings" when the preacher is not available; found in different locations all over town). Harvey took out his guitar and harmonica and became initiated into the music life in Mountain View.

By the next afternoon, Harvey had gotten his new dulcimer at The Dulcimer Shoppe, and he joined in at the regularly scheduled Slow Jam at Mountain View Music.

These faces remind me of the ones joggers usually wear, but this is one happy group. Really!

The angel in the pink dress is eight years old and she is almost ready to take Stewart Duncan's place. (In this case I am not exaggerating. She is an outstanding fiddle player.) The Music Roots program provides an instrument and mentor to every child in Mountain View who wants to learn to play. How marvelous is that!

The Ozark Folk and Cultural Center was established with the help (and money) of many people.

The herbalist at the Folk Center gave us a tour of the garden and explained the uses of many medicinal plants, including poke sallett. Of course, Tina is standing next to a lavender plant in this picture.

I always have to peek inside school houses. It connects me to my mother who taught in a one-room school.

In the glass case on the wall are actual teacher contracts in use at the turn of the 20th century. Morality guides set the stage for being fired if a teacher violated any of them. At the top of the list was getting married. Hmmmm.

We took a short trip to the caves north of Mountain View. Who'd 'a thunk I would consider going 250 feet below the surface of the earth--not bein' dead yet!

Pictures cannot do justice to the beauty of these sixty foot columns that have been formed over the last millions of years by the steady drop after drop of water.

The ranger explains the way this 90-foot high cavern was formed.

This beautiful spring is one of the entrances to the huge cavern in the pictures above. I don't think I will ever be able to look at these mountainside openings again without wondering what's behind that dark space.

Lake Poinsett State Park, Arkansas

Photos from our stay at Lake Poinsett State Park.

The park is named for Joel Poinsett, who introduced the poinsettia to the United States. It is a small, quiet, very well-kept park on, of course, Lake Poinsett.

On the day we arrived, Harvey discovered this gathering near the pavilion.

How about a close-up of this one!

We discovered Lake Poinsett when looking at the map of Crowley's Ridge. A scenic parkway runs along it, and we thought taking this route would be an interesting way to see this part of the state.

Information at the visitor center explains how this ridge once separated the meander belts of the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers. Think about that for a minute. The ridge is also along the fault line where the New Madrid earthquake occurred in 1812. Very interesting....

The park ranger had a moonlight kayak trip scheduled for anyone interested in seeing the super moon on the lake. Well...I think I may be interested.

Ranger Courtney Todd helps me into the life jacket, an absolute necessity since I have no swimming skills.

There we are, the three of us. Unfortunately the camera guy could not get his best side into the frame.

Harvey felt that he really had to have documentation of my fearlessness. Later I was really put to the test by a snake poised to strike as we were bringing the kayaks out of the water. The ranger spotted him and warned me to move back. He did not have to say it twice.

The end of the day.

Little Rock, Arkansas

Four days in Little Rock are not enough to take in everything this city has to offer. It is an easy city to navigate and, with the help of our trusty iPad, we found our way around easily (with the exception of the spaghetti of streets we found ourselves looping through on our way to The Big Dam Bridge--our fault, there was an easier way!).

Burns Park is a 1700 acre recreational complex in North Little Rock. It includes two 18 hole golf courses, 8 softball and baseball fields, 20+ soccer fields, and is part of the 17 mile bike trail that runs along and across the Arkansas River connecting Little Rock and North Little Rock. We stayed at the park's RV camping area and took advantage of the paved trails along the river for Max's daily walk.   

The River Market area in Little Rock was where we spent most of our time. It is the location of the William J. Clinton Presidential Library and the headquarters of Heifer International. The William "Bill" Clark Wetlands Center, Little Rock Farmers Market (on Tuesdays and Saturdays), Peabody Park, and sculpture garden, along with many other interesting places we just did not get to visit, are located along the beautiful river walk.

If we were in perfect physical condition, we might have been able to bike that seventeen mile trek around the river, but as it happens we were able to enjoy one of the pedestrian/bike bridges from our vantage at the Clinton Library, and we saw the other after making that circuitous drive through neighborhood streets, ending at last at The Big Dam Bridge. One of the bikers making her way to the top of the bridge, as we were sitting on a park bench watching, wore a shirt with the slogan, "It's Just a Big Dam Bridge--Get Over It!" I wanted to remember that metaphor for life, for life.

The news reports of 1957 were brought to mind as we drove through the historic district of Little Rock--Victorian and Craftsman architecture standing side by side. We were making our way to Little Rock Central High School. The scenes flashing before me were of Daddy and me watching news reports on the fuzzy screen of our black and white television set: a governor defying the President of the United States, soldiers armed with weaponry ready to fire, and people fighting and shouting out curses at nine black teenagers who were silently walking through all that venom. My increased heart rate as we approached the site was a sure sign that this, too, was another of my sacred places. This 1957 event helped to shape my personal beliefs and has influenced many of my life choices, not always obviously, sometimes like an underground river that only periodically rises to the surface, exposing its elements to the sun. (I simply must note that as I reread this paragraph, I had to insert the word black before the word teenagers. Ironic that I forgot to mention this.)

View of the Arkansas River from the trail at Burns Park.

Harv enjoying the Wetlands. The Presidential Library is in the background.

The Presidential Library from the Bill Clark Wetlands area.

Up close...two exhibits, both excellent: Oscar de la Renta and Herman Leonard.

Refreshing water on this hot summer day.

The security guard was nice enough to take a picture of Harv and me in the replica of the Oval Office .

The Clinton School of Public Service (University of Arkansas) in the renovated Rock Island Line Depot.

The electric vehicle charging station at the Clinton Library. The Library is one of 30 buildings in the world to receive a LEED Platinum rating in recognition of its excellence in environmental design. It also has a green roof, and during construction, it rehabilitated, to a depth of as much as 18 feet, contaminated soil from the old warehouse location.

The headquarters of Heifer International, a long-time favorite charity of mine.

This picture and the next are for Kate...

...a real Taylor Swift fan.

I think the name of this sculpture is "Brucie and Joseph." Actually, I forgot to get the name. It's just one of the many we enjoyed on the River Walk.

Max and me at the bdb.

Cars aren't allowed, only bikes and pedestrians.

Little Rock Central High School, a magnificent example of Art Deco architecture. It is massive, housing approximately 2900 students today. Not visible in this picture, but between the small benches and the landscaping in the foreground, is a large oval reflecting pool. Who wouldn't want to go to a school as beautiful as this?

But of course, where else would we end up but at the Farmers Market.

Ciao for niao!

Lake Chicot State Park, Arkansas

Lake Chicot State Park, near Lake Village, Arkansas, reminds me of our own Chicot State Park in that it is heavily forested and is a few decades old. But to really even it up, you would have to add False River to our  park, since Lake Chicot is the largest oxbow lake in Arkansas and the state park is right on it.

Lake Village is a bucolic little town that meanders for miles along the lake. Fishing piers jut out from the well-clipped slope that falls from the roadway, and, on the day we drove through, people all along the way were making use of the shady areas for outdoor cooking and conversation. We were making our way to Greenville, Mississippi, to visit the home of Delta blues, just twenty miles away.

Greenville, like so many places, has a Main Street that has seen better days. Many of the buildings were boarded up; more than half were empty. It seemed that this would be the right place for singin' the blues. But after we had taken a tour of the city, we did find a spot that brought smiles to our faces: the Greenville Cypress Preserve. How can you be sad when someone has created a place like this.

Sunset on the lake, right out our back window.

The Greenville Garden Club set up the trust in the 1940s.

Thank you, GGC!