2005 "Trip To Nowhere"

Yes, it was time for this year's trip, as usual with no planning in advance. Since we went north last year, we picked west this year and headed for Arkansas. We had crossed the state many times and stayed some in Jonesboro before, but now it was time to see some of the back roads and smaller towns.

We drove across north Mississippi on back roads and crossed the Mississippi at Helena, Arkansas, on a bridge we had never used before. Night one was in Stuttgart, Arkansas, the rice and duck capital of the world. And they certainly have the rice fields and storage facilities in that area!

Barbara on Mountain Tower
Much of the next day was spent in Hot Springs and the surrounding area (another web site is the one done by the city). Some of the town is actually Hot Springs National Park. The Mountain Tower, which is located in town atop Hot Springs Mountain, is a great place to view the area. Naturally we had to take the glass window elevator up to see it all. One surprise was the hot wind, even at that height (216 feet above the mountain top). But the temperature in town was about 100 that day.

The remainder of the day was spent driving through the rolling hills and we ended up at Clarksville for the evening.

Barbara with the bluebirds
Early the next morning it was down more back roads where we came upon some deer feeding in the road. Our main morning destination was the Terra Studios, where they make the Bluebird of Happiness. Barbara has several of these glass birds and wanted to visit where they were made. They are located in a nice rural area with a peaceful setting. We had an enjoyable visit and had the place to ourselves since it was a Sunday morning.

The area around Fayetteville, Springdale, Rogers, and Bentonville is growing and congested, so we got on the interstate to get through there quickly. New construction is everywhere in that area, including many new, expensive homes.

But soon we were back in the mountains and arrived at Eureka Springs. This is a beautiful, small town oriented toward tourists, but certainly worth a visit. The City of Eureka Springs was founded and named on July 4, 1879, and today the entire downtown area is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is a superb setting in wooded mountains and has a number of old, Victorian era houses. You could spend several days here with all the shops and nearby attractions.

After more mountain exploring we ended the day at Harrison. We had considered staying at the Cliff House Inn if one of their rooms was available and at any rate, we planned to have a bite to eat. But after driving 20 miles out of the way, they were closed! And with no explanation. However, the view is breathtaking and we did enjoy the drive along scenic route 7.

Barbara always likes to visit the caves on our trips and there were a lot to choose from. She picked Cosmic Cavern, which is located north of Berryville and not far from the Missouri state line. It was a great day to check out a cave since it was a scorcher outside, but just 62 degrees in the cavern. Every cave has its own personality and this one was another nice visit. Turns out that it is also for sale, but we didn't check the price.

We saw many nice little towns and some not as nice. Our favorite was probably Mountain View. They have done a nice job of saving the downtown area and we visited a 1950's type soda fountain as well as a couple of antique stores. The people were friendly and it appears the area has attracted some retirees. A lovely town of 3,000 in a beautiful mountain setting.

After the Ozark tour we drove through the northeastern part of the state and spent the night at Jonesboro, a place we have stayed in the past.

The next day we headed a bit north to cross the Mississippi on still another bridge that we had not taken before; a short stretch of I-155 with very little traffic. A tour of Jackson, Tennessee, was followed by more back roads of eastern Tennessee. We spent our last night on the road at Dickson, Tennessee.

A few thoughts:
  • Most of central Arkansas, while pretty, is too commercialized for us.
  • Some of the small towns in northern Arkansas have seen their better days, while some of the medium sized ones are holding their own.
  • We saw an amazing number of small business buildings closed throughout Arkansas and Tennessee. All of the larger cities seem to be thriving.

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