CL Down South: Day Five - Rocks and Springs

We made our way into Little Rock, AR. and decided to seek out a park to give puppy a chance to run. We lucked out and found a great little pond side trail just behind the Arkansas Art Center. The trail was alive with people running, fishing, sunning, and also the occational fowl. Most were identifiable... but there was one crazy looking "duck" which neither of us had ever seen before. J.D. kept trying to sneak up as close as possible to them, but they looked like something Lindy would never want to run across in a dark alley!

The park also hosts several memorials; including one of the most well done monumuents that Carl and I have ever visited. It is the Arkasas memorial to the Korean War.

There is also an old arsenal on the property which claims to be one of the starting points of the Civil War. It was also the location of the demise of one poor Confederate.

Portions of the Arkansas Art Center are free to the public. We decided to bypass the paid admission to the Pharohs exhibit and wander the galleries. The museum has a wonderful, ecclectic sample of modern and contemporary art, and a huge dedication to works on paper. They also seem to put a large focus on public events/education and programing. Even J.D. was exposed to a bit of art in the park!

When researching our route prior to the start of the trip, we found another one of Arkansas' claims to fame, longest purpose-built foot bridge in North America, AKA: 'The Big Dam Bridge'. Yes, that's what they actually called it, political correctness be 'dammed'.... It was just a short drive to the other side of town from the Art Museum, so we decided it was worth a stop. We pulled up to find a network of walking/running/biking trails and a plethora of locals taking advantage of them on a nice Sunday afternoon. We had a picnic lunch by the river, swapped out JD's collar, and went for a short walk on the bridge.

The gateway to the Ozarks on our trip was decidedly Hot Springs, AZ. It's just a short drive from Little Rock, and looked to be an interesting little town in photos. Pulling onto the main drag, we found it to be more than just a little town. This area, as we soon found out, was a sprawling frontier town which offered promise for all the ailments of the 1800's and 1900's. We stopped at the Hot Springs National Park visitor center to learn more about the area and find out information about camping for the night. The visitor center is also the building which once housed the Fordyce Baths. This luxurious bath house is wonderfully preserved and well presented for visitors in its original 1915 condition. It was riddled with interesting electrical, mechanical, and fluid apparatuses and fittings which might have made us a little 'artsy photo crazy'. Enjoy some of the results.

Since we were impressed by the amount of things to do in Hot Springs, so instead of rushing through the afternoon, we decided to set up an early camp and explore more in the morning. Tonight's menu was Terriaki Chicken with mixed vegetables and rice. This is a dish Lindy created on our first trip out west, and it never taste as good at home as it does prepared on the campstove.