Arkansas? Yes. Arkansas. I’m surprised by how surprised my fellow Iowans seem that we’re going to Arkansas for Memorial Day weekend (and to mark our 22nd wedding anniversary). True, it is a long drive for a three day weekend – about 6.5 hours to Bentonville. (Bentonville? Yes. Bentonville). But we like road trips and stopping along the way at whatever grabs our attention. And we like Arkansas. We haven’t been there in over, um, 22 years, come to think of it, but Eureka Springs (where we’ll be staying on Sunday night) is a pretty old Ozarks resort town with old hippies and avid Christians, as I recall.
We’re staying overnight at bare bones motel in Butler, Mo; then driving to Bentonville on Saturday, where we’ll visit the new Crystal Springs, a new American art museum created by a Wal-Mart heiress that’s designed by Moshe Safdie. (The museum showcases a reportedly impressive art collection and also has a sculpture garden and nature trails that wind through 120 acres of forests, gardens and ponds.) We’ll eat at AQ (“Arkansas Quality”) Chicken in nearby Springdale/
On Sunday we’ll explore Eureka Springs and splurge on non-motel accommodations, staying at Rock Cottage Gardens, a spruced up former motor court. Dinner options include Gaskins Cabin (for steak) or Ermillios or DeVito’s (Italian.) Several restaurants aren’t open on Sunday including Bubba’s which looks like it has good bbq. Not sure if Mud Street Cafe is open.
We may also stop in Joplin, Mo. en route to see how the city is recovering from the horrendous tornado that leveled a large part of the city a year ago. (We’ve been driving for several years through Greensburg, Ks. and watching it rebuild after a tornado several years ago.)
TakeBetsywithyou 