Day Nine - "This Camper Protected by Hidden Cameras, 357-Magnum, & God"

We began the morning in Texarkana... it may be one of the saddest towns we have passed through on this journey. We knew going through the South that we would encounter the death of small town America, but the complete emptiness of Main Street Texarkana was overwhelming. If someone told us that the world had ended and we had slept through it, we might possibly have believed it as we drove through the baron streets and gazed at the dusty window displays. There are a few shops hanging in there, but not much.








The only sign of life in downtown Texarkana...


So why go to Texarkana? Other than being the mid-way point between Bentonville, AR and Houston, TX...Well, if you know Burt Reynolds, you may remember "Smokey and the Bandit" and as the song goes "They're thirsty in Atlanta, and there's beer in Texarkana..." We did find the Coors distributor, but some quick research revealed that most filming happened in Georgia disguised as Texarkana.


Today we drove. We did stop to take a break in the small town of Henderson, TX. It was nice to finally find a town square with some life to it. Unfortunately, J.D. is not a huge fan of Texas due to their lack of grass. The only grass we could find in Henderson was in from the of the Tax Office, and there was a sign there warning us to KEEP OFF.

Back on the road we made our way to Houston. Home of many things, including Emily Lafferandre. We met Emily at a mall nearby her home. Before she arrived we had the pleasure of meeting with mall security, an older Texan wearing a cowboy hat and aviator sunglasses (We're sure he had cowboy boots, but he didn't get out of the SUV). We were worried that we might be in trouble for having J.D. out on the sidewalk, but really he just wanted to meet the puppy. He even offered to give J.D. a hat and badge and ride him around the parking lot. We just laughed, but when he circled around the second time as asked again, we were ready to move on before he stole our dog!

Emily showed us the Houston scene. We went down to the Museum District to shop a bit and spy on the Hipsters. We even tried to dress Carl in tight jeans and a fedora... but he was worried about getting hit on, by guys. Before leaving the district we stopped for drinks at Anvil Bar & Refuge. They have 100 specialty drinks to choose from, each with a unique name. Lindy's drink of choice? Death in the Afternoon.

Next we hopped over near Rice University, or the "Rice District." There are a lot of great little shops around the area, and it overall has a fun vibe. For any of you who watch Project Runway, it is also where Chloe, the winner from season two, has her shop and salon Loft 8. The Boutique was closed, but we did peak in the windows.

The night finished with some "real" Mexican food. All through college Emily constantly complained that we had no good Mexican food in Fredericksburg, so we were interested in finding out what the cuisine of Mexico really had to offer. We had dinner at Guadalajara Hacienda, and it was quite good.

Back at Emily's we reclaimed our dog. J.D. had spent the afternoon playing in the backyard with Lucy, the Lafferandre family pet. Thanks again Emily for playing hostess!

True Love??

I may never get Carl out of the South...

Day Eight - Double HH Ranch... does that mean there are 4 Hs

We took a leisurely morning at the campsite and then headed into downtown Eureka Springs to look around. We both slept very well during the night. This was a bit surprising given the fact that we spent half the evening before bed chasing off the stray cats that were trying to invade our campsite and eat J.D.'s dinner. When checking in, the lady at the desk had said, "we have rabbits, coons and cats. If your dog wants to eat any of them it's fine by me." We thought this was a joke, but after watching the glowing feline eyes encircle the perimeter of our campsite, we realized just how frighteningly true it was!

As we said yesterday, Eureka Springs is a quirky place. The streets weave you up and down the town and the shops and cottages loom over you from their craggy perches. Still, we had fun wandering the streets and gazing into the store windows.








Not only can you find bikers and artists, but the Christians have also arrived in Eureka Springs. The Christ of the Ozarks is on a nearby mountaintop and a weekly passion play is performed there. There is also the Thorncrown chapel, an all glass structure out in the woods.

Back on the road once more, we headed to Rogers. Rogers was once home to the Daisy Air Rifle factory, and now has an assembly plant on the outskirts of town. We drove by it on our way to the Daisy Air Gun Museum in the heart of the downtown district. We were amazed to see the variety of styles and designs of air guns and the way the Daisy company has reinvented itself over the years. Neither of us had realized that the company has been building the guns since the late 1880's.


This year marks the 70th anniversary of the Red Rider BB Gun, and we received a commemorative coin at the end of our tour. Carl was very impressed with the museum and happy with his prize, a special anniversary tin filled with BB's.



Next stop Bentonville. Home of the first Wal-Mart. The original store has been turned into a visitor center and museum. Putting aside all this things one may think of Wal-mart today, the story of Sam Walton is inspiring. He had an idea and went for it. He did so with no fear and without abandoning the morals that he had been taught about how to treat people.

The museum houses the timeline of the Wal-Mart story, as well as Sam's 1979 F-150, the original office from the 5 and 10 (with apple crates for chairs), and Mr. Sam's later office, move piece by piece wood paneled walls and all.




It was time to head south and we made a long press towards Texarkana. Along the way, we made a few detours. A quick turn one direction, and we were in Missouri, a little later and a run down a side road landed us in Oklahoma. We just couldn't help but see how many states we could wander into in one day.


One last thing we saw today.... on our way into Missouri we saw what we are certain was a DEAD HORSE laying out in the field. The other living horse and the two locals just along the fence line did not seem too bothered. But considering that it was STILL in the same place when we came back into Arkansas only confirmed our suspicion that there will soon be a bit more glue in the world.

Day Seven - Backroads and Deadends

We slept well by the lake in relative darkness. Luckily there were no streetlamps or anything of that nature near us, and we were able to enjoy the moonlit night. Upon waking we took advantage of the opportunity to watch the sun rise over the hill next to the lake, and enjoy a walk around its perimeter.





Here are some wildflowers along the roadside. Everything is in bloom here, and it is beautiful.




Another day, another Donut... this time we tried what seems to be a regional chain (I think out of Missouri)'The Donut Palace.' Delicious.


We cruised through the town of Paris and headed up towards Ozark for a few supplies before heading further into Ozark National Forest. Lindy pulled out the Gazetteer and plotted a course through backroads and forest roads to keep the scenery interesting. She has become very adept at reading a map and managed to find us some gnarly trails that I might not have even taken us down... Unfortunately on our first detour we hit two dead ends (well, one dead end and one trail that diverged from the map and got really dense) so a little backtracking was in order, but no worries. Passing through a couple more towns we again veered off on a forest road that had two knobs labeled on it, hoping that they would provide for a nice overlook, a snack, and a chance to walk the dog around. That didn't quite go according to plan either, though. The road looks like it has been freshly re-carved from the hillside and proved to be an extremely steep, rocky climb, just as we were nearing the top things started to level out and get better, and what do we see...? A nice clearing? NO, A House! With Electricity! Several junk cars, a pomeranian, and a chihuahua. This is how we learned to recognize what we now know as 'Lindy's nervous tune'. The road got 'better' and we proceeded to slide past them and head on down the hill. Unfortunately no photos exist to document this one...





On a side note, Lindy would like you all to know that she was comfortable with landing in the front yard of the Hillbilly camp UNTIL she saw the pomeranian and chihuahua. Don't ask us why, but they were just SO out of place that that is what created the 'nervous tune.'

We picked up the highway (biway) again and headed down the mountain to Boxley valley. There is a Historic District in Boxley (really, that's all there seems to be to Boxley). We pulled off alongside the remaining foundation of an old school house and fixed some sandwiches. J.D. was glad for a chance to run and roll in the grass as we all reclined in the shadow of the nearby mountains.



We drove up 43 in search of elk, but were not optimistic since we were coming through at mid day, and failed to catch any out and about. We did see several other things along the roadside... primarily abandoned vehicles.




The next town we hit that was a recommended stop was Eureka Springs. We made a quick pass through town (sure there's a lot I could say about this), and plan to return tomorrow to wander around a bit more. Feeling the need for a campground with a real bath house (and a chance to do laundry) we slid into the KOA just outside of town a bit early and grabbed a spot for the night. Lindy set out to show off her pie-iron cooking skillz and tried her hand at a pizza pocket. Unfortunately the untimely demise of the cooking oil earlier in the day (see steep rocky climb part....) led to some sticking issues, but the end result was still delicious.




The Eureka Springs KOA is very fitting for the area. As you will no doubt see in our pictures tomorrow, Eureka Springs has become a haven for both motorcyclist and artist. The lady at the front desk has a dog named Harley (we hope to catch a picture of him in the morning). She has also decided to use the space between campsites as her own outdoor art studio. Here are some of our favorite installations.

"Three Blind Mice"

"Hillbilly Front Porch"

"Rock On"

They also know how to cruise in style here in Eureka.



Mileage to Date: 1660 mi.