We left the Triple L Farm OK and drove toward AR, now here’s a state we’ve never been to. 

We had a reservation at Aux Arc Park (pronounced Ozark) overlooking the Arkansas River.

The view behind our site of the Arkansas River

The water is so clean here, it’s like spring water. We’ve been so use to heavily doctoring our water with filters and water softeners and having to clean up all the chalky residue in AZ.

 

When they designed the sites it was primarily set up for families or friends, with a shared driveway which then forked into 2 campsites.. the campers next to us arrived at the same time we did but they spent all their time in their boat, as did every other camper around us.

Just outside Clarksville AR

We stopped for lunch at a road side BBQ stand in Bashers AR at the split of 16 and 23. When we first passed it we thought people were having a picnic, but on further inspection after we found we were going the wrong way and had to come back, we realized they were food stand, so we stopped and had a BBQ sandwich. Then a local couple joined us, she was a lavender farmer, he made furniture out of various woods.

The bridge over the Arkansas River heading to Aux Arc Campground

Continued our exploration around AR. went to Eureka Springs via the Pig Trail Scenic Byway and stopped at Granny’s Kitchen in Huntsville AR along the way for some chili and meatloaf lunch. Really popular restaurant by the amount of vehicles outside which is why we stopped

When we got to Eureka Springs and saw a tour bus ready to leave the depot, so we ran and got tickets and off we went turned out to be the best idea of the day as Eureka Springs is not a walking town. First of all there is a lack of pedestrian pavements and secondly, no perpendicular streets and it was built on hilly terrain

The Crescent Hotel garden

The Crescent Hotel 

Many interesting art/statues spattered around town.

St. Elizabeth Catholic Church.

Some interesting Victorian houses around the town

Thorncrown Chapel sits just outside of town. The architect was Fay Jones who was an apprentice of Frank Lloyd Wright

Another National Park. On March 7-8, 1862, over 23,000 soldiers fought here to decide the fate of Missouri which was a turning point of the war in the Trans-Mississippi. This 4,300-acre battlefield honors those who fought and died on these hallowed grounds. Pea Ridge was the most pivotal Civil War battle west of the Mississippi River.

The funds from the Infrastructure Bill are being well spent across the country, Little Rock was no exception with construction going on for miles.

On to our next Harvest Host in Dermott AR at Flamingo Pointe RV Park on Lake Wallace. Full marks to the photographer from HH. From the photos online this looked like a lovely resort-type property.

The road was a bit bumpy with some low hanging trees

Interesting spot here, parked between a dirt road and the bayou, certainly not a resort . But the owners arrived early evening who were very welcoming and very proud of their property.

Cypress trees growing in the bayou and alligators roaming the waters.

We were staying here for two nights and the first evening we went to Hoots BBQ restaurant about 10 miles away and shared a sampler platter of brisket pulled pork and ribs, which was delicious. $20 for a meal for two is pretty good these days. We’ve found that everything is less expensive. Petrol is now $2.89 a gallon.

I read that Jim Hansen grew up around these parts in Leland MS, then lo and behold we saw the Kermit museum, and of course had to go in.

Next stop, in Indianola was the BB King Museum and Delta Interpretive Center

Very interesting museum detailing his life and other blues musicians who were influenced by the Delta Blues.

We went out that evening to a brand new Mexican restaurant in Dermott, called Azteca. It was really beautiful inside and out, and the food was delicious.

There’s really no other business in town. Main St. is just a row of closed shops and there’s just a sprinkling of homes. I hope they make it.

It’s been raining so much, the skies just open up and produce torrents of rain with the occasional tornado warning., unfortunately this pattern of weather will stay with us for at least another week.