Mileophile: June, 2017 Arkansas- Day 3

Mile 454- Today was a, “Kids, why don’t y’all just sleep in your tomorrow clothes and we’ll just throw you in the car in the morning”, kinda morning. We wanted to get an early start to see what wonders awaited us in the great city of Little Rock!

An early morning rainbow was our "see you soon" gift from Memphis

Mile 592- Arkansas State Capitol Building- I love a good capitol building and this one is special. Yes, it has a rotunda, there is marble, there are people in suits and clackity shoes, but do you know what else? There is this weird law in Arkansas that mandates all tax money be held in the Treasurer’s office and any citizen can ask to see the money to verify that it hasn’t been stolen by the politicians. You can handle up to $500,000! And I know a photo op when I see one! We actually passed the governor in the hall, but I wasn't savvy enough to get a picture.

Tiny Ant Children at Arkansas State Capitol

Making it rain.

Mile 595- Clinton Presidential Library- Our next stop was the lovely Clinton Library and Museum. We learned all about the presidency of our 42^nd president. They left off the juicy parts, but it was interesting to be reminded of the historical events that took place during his presidency. Highlights of the tour were life sized replicas of the oval office and Cabinet room, gifts from foreign dignitaries, and his saxophone collection!

Sitting in the President's Chair

Thomas as president. What could go wrong??!?

Mae and Thomas were fascinated by the president's daily schedule. It is part of the archives and you can look at his schedule for every day of his presidency. Made me tired just to read it!

Mile 596- Heifer International World Headquarters- We visited the site of Heifer International and Urban Farm. I wasn’t familiar with this organization, but I have been inspired to learn more. They focus on providing farming education and livestock to people in impoverished rural areas so that folks can provide food for their families. It was a heavy topic, but I was glad that our family had the conversation. And, the kids loved the Urban farm! But, how can you not love goat and cow babies.

Thanks, West Side Elementary! Now my girl is all about the compost!

Mile 597-797 We took the Pig Trail Scenic Byway up, over, around, back, and through the Ozark National Forest. It was as crooked and steep as the signs had warned. But, what a playground for the eyes!

Old ivy covered homesteads and dense forests that gave way to verdant green pastures dotted with black cows and old red barns.

Religious fervor in the form of hand painted signs and arrows pointing this way or that to a dozen little hidden mountain congregations, plus the Baptist encampment, Tanyard Holler Camp, and Fort Rock family camp (Snake handling and teeth are optional). We passed a local library housed in an old house trailer and some rusted out car models that I’d forgotten existed. A different set of rural mountain tops provided the background for my childhood and it brought back a wash of memories of my own mountain stomping grounds. Nothing and everything has changed. And, that’s all I’m gonna say about that.

Eureka Springs, Arkansas-

A few years ago my friend Lynn Luxemburger mentioned the area to me. She told me I HAD to go there. And, now I know she gets me.

Mile 797- Thorncrown Chapel-closed- Gersh be derned! I traveled halfway across the country to see this gall dern place and the gate was closed because somebody was getting hitched. Fiddlesticks! We’ll try again tomorrow.

Mile 801- World’s Largest Tuned Wind Chime- Another snag in Eureka Springs. This featured locale was locked up tight as a tick. The sign on the door said that lack of interest had prompted the owner to close the doors. No Comprende. I predicted that I was going to have to stand in line behind hoards to get a glimpse of this marvel. I mean does anyone read the Guinness Book of World Records anymore? Just me? ....crickets....

Mile 804- John tried to placate me by performing a rapid U-turn when we passed signs for Pivot Rock. PIVOT! I’d never heard of it, but it was on Ripley’s Believe it or Not, so there’s that.

We drove over two country miles down a one-lane dirt road. (for you urbanites, a country mile takes twice as long as a normal mile, maybe longer) We paid ones of dollars and entered through the gift shop. I noticed that they had something for everyone. Whether you are a compiler of eagle statuettes and dream catchers, or have lots of empty shelves that need filling, this emporium of thematic figurines can quinch your thirst for dust collectors.

Black Bear jumping rope or rinding a bicycle. Just depends on your preference.

Hungry like a wolf

We walked deep into the woods on an old worn path, past a natural rock bridge, and ultimately to Pivot rock. PIVOT! It was different than any rock I’d ever seen. We snapped a picture and walked back to car. We exited through the gift shop, of course.

Mile 808-Crescent Hotel- When I told my birthday club that I was affording my children the opportunity to sleep in the Most Haunted Hotel in America, they might have hinted that they thought I was crazy. Then they started pulling up pictures of haints and creeps captured in the hotel on the internets. I’ll admit, I got a little spooked. We pulled up to The Crescent Hotel and it loomed eerily over the parking lot. Now, she’s a beauty dating back to 1886. But, she has some stories to tell. And, some of them are made of nightmares. We let the children splash in the pool that we shared with a rowdy bachelorette party and saw not one haint. Then, we ate a very un-haunted dinner in the ballroom. Although our waitress did break a glass and blame it on a ghost. Then, we took a ghost tour through what is undeniably a very creepy feeling hotel and some Bullingtons were more spooked than others. We heard the stories of the resident ghosts and disturbing hotel history. We opted out of piling into the morgue cooler with a bunch of folks we didn’t know from Kansas City and then having them shut the door behind us and turn off the lights. No Thanks, Tom Hanks. Then, we offered to get the children a room of their own, but they are opting to sleep 3 deep tonight. See you in the morning. Hopefully!