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.