The RV park in Cotter is located on the White River… Lots of fishing going on, as well as some kayaking…
There is nothing else in Cotter, so this was a short, but relaxing stop…
A food truck, whose menu consisted of different hamburgers, came at dinner time and served us a very pleasant fried catfish dinner…
And an enjoyable time was had by all…
Another travel day. First breakfast, Drivers meeting, and the last GAM. It’s 45 degrees outside. Not a fun situation for outdoor breakfast and meetings…
But the drive was lovely… We crossed the White River many times…
Slight change in topography along the way. Less forest, more farming…
We arrived at the campground in Eureka Springs, set up the Villa, and added DEF to the truck.
Later, we dressed warmly to head out to see The Great Passion Play…
The outdoor amphitheater seats about 5,000 people, and the stage set is HUGE!
The play was well presented, although the few times a southern accent slipped through it was a bit of a jolt…!
We returned to the Villa. An enjoyable time was had by all…
Travel Day today. This caravan is different from our previous caravans. We began the day with breakfast together, then we held our traditional Drivers Meeting, where the route was discussed, then we had another GAM. The reason we have so much time before we leave is that all our drives are short. Only 57 miles today.
When we travel like this between campgrounds we have to leave by a certain time, but we can not arrive at the new campground until after a certain time. This leaves us time to stop along the way and kill an hour or two…
We crossed the White River, then stopped in the town of Calico Rock…
This being Sunday, everything was closed… The White River is famous for trout fishing, so there are several fishing concessions on the river…
This appears to be the Calico Rock…
To quote a song from the musical “Oklahoma”, on the occasion of one of the cowboys going to the big city, “And then I put my ear to a Bell telephone, and a strange women started in to talk…”
There is a nice park in the center of town with a picnic area…
We enjoyed a little lunch before we moved on…
We stopped once more, just to stretch our legs…
We arrived at the Denton Ferry RV park in Cotter, AR, population 886. There is literally nothing in this town. Its main attraction appears to be access to the White River and its trout fishing…
The campground is directly along the river…
Tonight’s dinner is at Colton’s, a chain steak house in nearby Mountain Home, AR. It is had to miss…
We had a nice banquet room to ourselves… Steaks, chops, chicken, ribs, and Salmon were on the menu… Service was a little slow (which is to be expected). It was nice to not eat deep fried Southern food…
We returned to the Villa. An enjoyable time was had by all…
Today is a free day to explore the area on our own. We chose to drive to the Blanchard Springs Caverns, about a 20 minute drive from the RV park…
Blanchard Springs Caverns is a cave system located in the Ozark–St. Francis National Forest in Stone County in northern Arkansas. It is the only tourist cave owned by the United States Forest Service and the only one owned by the Federal government outside the National Park System. Blanchard Springs Caverns is a three-level cave system, all of which can be viewed on guided tours. The Dripstone Trail runs through the uppermost level of caverns for about a half-mile and opened in 1973. The Discovery Trail opened in 1977 and loops through a 1.2-mile section of the cavern, descending to the lower level of the cave, 366 feet underground, as well as to the Natural Entrance, about 100 feet below ground at that point, following the stream bed of the springs that created the cavern. This trail includes the Rimstone Dams, which create pools along the stream bed, and the Ghost Room, a small but very well decorated room in the uppermost level, with its huge white flowstone. Also offered is a “Wild Cave” tour which allows access to undeveloped parts of the cave to more adventurous visitors. It follows the upstream section of the cave, allowing visitors to see all three levels as the original explorers did, continuing beyond where the Discovery Trail ends.
Residents knew about the cave by the 1930s and called it Half-Mile Cave. Systematic explorations began in the 1950s and continued sporadically through the 1960s. Explorers discovered a skeleton in the cave in 1955 which was incomplete; a cause of death could not be ascertained. The caverns were opened to the public in 1973 after 10 years of development on the Dripstone Trail.
With 8.1 miles of surveyed passage, Blanchard is the second longest cave in Arkansas and the largest in volume. The limestone rock from which the caves and their formations developed was laid down in an ancient sea more than 350 million years ago. The cave is in middle Ordovician to lower Mississippian rocks and extends through six stratigraphic formations. The cave has shown over 5 levels of passage development but the upper two levels have eroded away as deepening valleys on the surface cut into them. The cave’s formation was largely phreatic in nature (formed below the water table) and passages have elliptical cross-sections typical of these formations. During the cave’s development, active streams have been pirated from one level down to another without much vadose erosion occurring. The present stream currently rises from the cave at Blanchard Springs itself, at the same temperature as the cave, a constant, year-round 58 °F. Most of the lower-level Discovery Route is in the approximately 100-foot thick Plattin limestone whereas the Dripstone tour route in the uppermost level of the cave spans 3 units, the Boone Chert, Cason Shale, and the Fernvale Limestone. Blanchard remains a “living” cave in part because of the care given by visitors and the United States Forest Service. Thus the formations inside continue to grow as calcite is actively deposited by seeping and dripping water. One of the outstanding examples of formation growth is the Giant Flowstone, one of the largest in the U.S., at 164 feet long, 33 feet wide, and 30 feet thick.
We drove through typical Arkansas countryside…
It was a nice, easy tour; as with most caves, photos do not do it justice… But we tried…
After the cave tour we drove a mile to see the springs. This is where the water from the caves flows out and forms a creek…
We returned to the Villa and had a relaxing evening. We did have an opportunity to invite a few other caravaners over to share happy hours. And an enjoyable time was had by all…
We began our day with a walk “next door” to The Ozarks Folk Center Craft Village State Park. There are about 15-20 “cabins” set up for local craftsmen to work, display, and sell their wares. It was very quiet and there were few other tourists wandering around. Most of the crafters seemed happy to sit quietly, alone, working on their particular craft. But they were also happy to show us what they were doing and explain what it was they were doing…
There were separate cabins for jewelry, gardening (herbs), quilts (we skipped that one), woodcarving, pottery, etc…
There was also an authentic cabin – the “Shannon Cabin” – that was moved here from about eight miles away. It dates from the late 1700s…
Here is the pottery cabin…
We walked right by this one…
The Wood Carving cabin was interesting mostly for the tools, both modern and ancient, that were on display and being used by the craftsmen…
By lunch time we were ready to return to the Villa. This photo shows some of the campsites that some of the “little” Airstreams were parked in…
Lynda had some “duties as assigned” as part of the Social Committee. One Airstream couple is celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary today!
Later in the afternoon we had our first GAM – “Get acquainted Meeting” so that we could, you know, get acquainted with other caravaners… This was soon followed by another buffet dinner of Southern Food…
After dinner was the anniversary celebration. We returned to the Villa. An enjoyable time was had by all…
Quiet day waiting for the caravan to start tomorrow…
We did some cleaning, housecleaning, laundry, and reading…
A few Airstreams arrived. We opted to stay in for happy hours and dinner…
And we walked around aimlessly…
And that was it!
An enjoyable time was had by all…
We attended Sunday Services at Thorncrown Chapel. Worshiping in such a beautiful place is a very special experience…
An interesting point was that the preacher was the son of the founder and of the chapel… And there was some good old hymn singing going on…
A mystery occurred behind the blue pilaster on the right. The minister suddenly appeared from behind the pilaster, then he went back again during some of the singing. Is he just sitting on a chair back there, and had he been there since before we arrived? Or is there a hidden back door there that he can slip in and out of? Or is there a stair to a basement with an exterior entrance? Any ideas?
After the service we drove to Bentonville; along the way we found, quite by accident, Hoss’s RV Repair. The place was littered with old Airstreams (23), in various stages of repair and restoration…
We traveled on…
Bentonville is home of Sam Walton and his family. And his family’s store:
The town Square is very nice…
We had brunch at a very nice modern diner…
We were very impressed with the center of this town of 70,000 people. (In 1960 when the first WalMart was built the town had about 3,000 people…)
We wondered, as we looked around at these downtown buildings, how much of this was built, rebuilt, and/or owned by WalMart? Did the first WalMart, built outside of town on the highway, kill the town? Did WalMart buy up the deserted buildings and create this Disneyesque town square? I don’t know…
(By the way, the original Walton’s 5 and dime is just a facade for the WalMart Museum. There is a WalMart Neighborhood Market just a block away…)
In any case, the reason we were here was to see Crystal Bridges, the Museum of American Art built by the Walton Family Foundation… It is about 3/4 mile from the heart of town…
The museum was designed by Moshe Safdie, world famous architect…
The museum sits atop a small creek that has been dammed to form several ponds at several levels. The weirs (dams) are under the buildings, so the surfaces of the ponds are kept mirror-still…
The vaulted roofs are supported by suspension cables. Remarkable!
But the REAL reason we are here is to see a Frank Lloyd Wright Usonian house. The Bachman-Wilson House was originally built in New Jersey in the mid 1950s. Over the years it was lived in by a variety of families. In 1980 it was restored; unfortunately, the adjacent river took up a bad habit of overflowing its banks on a regular basis. By 2004 the owners appealed to the Walton family and convinced them that there is no greater American Art than a Frank Lloyd Wright Usonian house. The house was disassembled and moved here, and it was reassembled on a site adjacent to the museum…
It is a classic Usonian, which typically turns a blank face to the street for privacy. FLlW also typically hides the front door…
There’s the door…
(Sorry, no interior photos…)
The house bears remarkable similarities to the Spring house in Tallahassee and the Rosenbaum house in Florence, AL. The board and batten siding, the views out to the forest, the horizontal lines, the cantilevered carports, and the stenciled cut-outs applied to the glass…
The house has been beautifully restored and preserved… It is, indeed, a piece of American Art…!
But we move on!
In the little town of Bella Vista, in the far northwest corner on Arkansas, within a mile or two of the Missouri and Oklahoma borders, is another Fay Jones chapel…
In contrast to Thorncrown Chapel, this chapel is built of steel. Again, the details are beautiful…
Built to honor Mildred Borum Cooper, wife of John A. Cooper, Sr., founder of Cooper Communities, Inc, the Chapel is a fitting memorial. Besides being a devoted wife, mother, and member of the community, Mrs. Cooper had a deep spirituality and a love for nature. Her family commissioned the Chapel in her honor to celebrate her life and her dedication to God and his creations.
We returned to Eureka Springs and enjoyed a dinner in a fine French bistro: Le Stick Nouveau:
We enjoyed five courses of appetizers and hors d’oeuvres… and a bottle of fine Pinot Noir from Oregon…
As is our custom, we returned to the Villa for Happy Hours and a light supper; an enjoyable time was had by all…
We left Little Rock about 8:00 am. Arkansas is green…
We were driving through the Ozarks National Forest…
We stopped for a respite along the way… driving through windy, steep mountain roads is taxing, and relief was required…
We arrived in Eureka Springs, and set up at the Green Tree Lodge and RV Park, a nice but basic RV park…
Then we drove one mile down the road to see the work of E. Fay Jones, an early apprentice of Frank Lloyd Wright at Taliesin, and a prolific architect and educator during his long career. This is the Thorncrown Chapel:
The interior is as spectacular as the exterior…
The light fixtures along the “walls” are exquisite; the light is in the shape of the cross…
As a true student of Frank Lloyd Wright, Fay’s chair designs are great, too!
The rear is as great as the front…
The attention to detail is astounding…
The front door, repeating the diamond shape…
The Thorncrown Chapel has won every architectural award imaginable… Just recently it was honored by leading the list of “40 under 40”, great architecture that has become iconic in less (fewer?) than 40 years…
The chapel is the dream of a man named Jim Reed, an Arkansas native, who bought this land in 1971 to build his retirement home. Over the years he continually found strangers walking through the property enjoying the beautiful Ozarks hills. Rather than fence them out, he decided to invite them in. He and his wife decided to build a glass chapel as a place for visitors to relax in an inspiring way. I think they have met their goal…
After such a beautiful place we drove to Eureka Springs and found the opposite:
Eureka Springs was hot, noisy, crowded, and full of bikers and tourists. There was some festival going on, although we never quite determined what it was. The town is very historical, much like Bisbee, AZ, but the tourist factor rivaled Fredericksburg, TX, (and Graceland…)
Eureka Springs was a late 19th century boom town which grew rapidly based on the water from their many springs. All the quacks and snake oil salesmen came to town to sell magic water to cure everyone’s ills… The town suffered a bit when the Great Fire of 1888 burned it to the ground, but it was quickly rebuilt and grew to a population of over 4,000. Today it has a population of about 2,000, but the historic downtown itself is nothing but biker bars and trinket shops… We did enjoy a good walk and we hope to return tomorrow for dinner at a highly rated French bistro…
As is our custom, we returned to the Villa for Happy Hours and a light supper; an enjoyable time was had by all…
We left the RV park this morning with high anticipation. Due to posting a few photos of the two Fay Jones chapels on Facebook, we have been invited to view a Fay Jones home nearby, just outside Fayetteville, AR. In short, it was spectacular! It is sited on a golf course, on a 1/2 acre lot…
Immediately we saw the detailing of lighting fixtures all around the yard, carport, and entry…
Note the blank front of the house – hidden front door, no front porch, and no windows…
Inside, the entry has a custom designed light fixture…
The Living Room…
The Kitchen…
The Dining Room. The table and all cabinets are custom designed by the architect…
Architect-designed bar stools…
The study was originally a teenage daughter’s bedroom; this is the custom desk and bookshelves…
Blueprints from Frank Lloyd Wright’s office for an unbuilt house line the wall… All the bedrooms have custom built-in wardrobes, dressers, and bureaus…
The rear of the house opens to the back patio, a koi pond, and the golf course beyond…
The house was designed by Fay Jones at about the time of the Thorncrown Chapel. The current owner has been here a little more than 10 years. (PS: the house is for sale! Sale includes all the Fay Jones-designed furniture and fixtures…)
It was hard to leave this place, but we must move on. We headed towards Oklahoma City.
Oklahoma is surprisingly green!
We checked into Twin Fountains RV Resort… Very upscale place! It has a bar and grill, pools, rec rooms, miniature golf, a lounge, and a concierge. (A limousine is available for free rides to any of the attractions within 3 miles of the RV park…)
We hailed an Uber and headed to downtown Oklahoma City…
This is one entrance to the Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum…
Printed on this wall (and lots of other places) is the mission statement for the Memorial: We come here to remember those who were killed, those who survived and those changed forever. May all who leave here know the impact of violence. May this memorial offer comfort, strength, peace, hope and serenity.
These two giant black granite walls flank the reflecting pond…
9:01 everything was normal; the blast was 9:02; the healing began 9:03…
The chairs sit on the site of the former building; they are in nine rows, corresponding to the nine stories. You’ll notice that all the small chairs are in rows one and two…
This former newspaper building is now the museum…
This is the survivor tree – it was covered in rubble and most of the branches were blown off, but the tree survived. Every year they harvest seeds, plant seedlings, and then distribute them to various stakeholders…
This is the new Federal Building, built across the street…
From this viewing window in the museum you can see the memorial below…
It is a sobering remembrance, but, for us, it did not have the impact of the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis…
We looked for a downtown street to walk, one with shops, restaurants, and bars. We couldn’t find any. Downtown Oklahoma City appears to be a concrete jungle of office buildings… By 6:00 pm it was deserted…
As is our custom, we returned to the Villa for Happy Hours and a light supper; an enjoyable time was had by all…
Adventures in the Villa 