BUCKET LIST MUST - EUREKA SPRINGS ARKANSAS

September 1 - 3, 2013

Eureka Springs Arkansas has never been on my radar as a destination point as we travel across the United States.  This visit was Ray's idea and he was right!  What a beautiful village.  Eureka Springs is in Northwest Arkansas in the Ozarks.  The town is carved into a hillside with shops and Victorian houses lined up steep winding narrow streets.  Eureka Springs has been called The Little Switzerland of America and The Stairstep Town because of its mountainous terrain and the winding, up and paths of its streets and walkways. The streets wind around the town, and no two intersect at a 90 degree angle; there are no traffic lights (according to Wikipedia).  AND Harley enthusiasts love it!

This town should be on anyone's list who is traveling around the United States.

 The Crescent Hotel was built in 1886.  It is on top of the hill and is haunted by eight ghosts.  There are tours nightly.

As a side-note:  Back in the 1970's, Ray climbed through a window and saw Willie Nelson perform.  He and his friends crashed a private concert.

Another interesting fact about Eureka Springs is it is located in Carroll County.  No wonder we felt at home.

Downtown Eureka Springs.  There is main and underground - except the underground isn't underground.

On Labor Day, there were hundreds of bikers all enjoying riding up and down the streets.  Smart folks used the Trolley which sells all day tickets for $6.  We just jumped in with the truck and enjoyed seeing all the buildings, houses and springs.

Most of the houses are bed and breakfast.  They are all well-kept and charming.

SPRINGS - All through the town there are springs.  Many are framed in a garden setting. In the center of town is the "Balm of Life" which was professed to cure all sorts of ailments including cancer.

 You can walk (step) up to the entrance where the spring is located on the side of the hill.  You can see where folks camped there.  Ray provided me a geography lesson about the types of rocks in the hillside.   My son pointed out to us that you can find the same type of rocks in Africa and at one time 5 million years ago, Africa and Ozarks were connected.  

We stopped and looked at several springs.  Each was uniquely different and well maintained.  None had a bubbling spring.  

THE HOUSE RAY LIVED IN...  guess who lived in Eureka Springs for five years?  I had my own person guide.  It was fun traveling around the town and having Ray point out different places.  This is one of the houses he lived in.

THE PASSION PLAY & CHRIST OF THE OZARKS - in 1967 a man decided to create a seven story statue of Christ to overlook Eureka Springs and the Ozarks.   The Passion Play was a draw to millions of tourist that came annually to see the outdoor performance.  This year might be their final year of performing the play.

 
 Look who played "Doubting Thomas" in 1976?  Scary to think I married him.

Renewing a friendship.  Ray got a chance to catch up with a friend he hadn't seen in over 30 years.  The talked and talked late into the night.  What a gift for both of them.

 CATFISH AND FROG LEGS - yes Ray ate them...I had chicken (I'm totally a NW girl)

WANDERLUST CAMPGROUND -

This  is a great campground.  What I loved best, on their website it said call before driving to campground.  GPS is not always right.  What great advise.  Think about driving the huge fifth wheel on those narrow streets in downtown.

Another thing - Louie has been having separation anxiety when left with Sydney in the trailer alone.  We have been working with him and felt we could leave for a short walk through the town Monday morning.  I talked to the office staff and they assured me that they would check on the trailer and if a problem, they would call.

I don't know if Louie behaved or not but I relaxed knowing that if there was a problem, we had a solution.  I was able to enjoy our walk and arrived back to a quiet campsite.

The other plus of this campground is the sunsets - priceless.

BOY ARE WE DRIFTING - After visiting the Ozarks, Ray became nostalgic.  We decided to make another u-turn and travel to southern Indiana.  Unusual way to travel to Arizona, but it works for us.

EVERYONE SHOULD VISIT THE OZARKS - BRANSON MISSOURI

August 29 - September 1, 2013 - 98 degrees and humid

First of all, we are living up to our name as drifters.  Our original plan was to travel from Portland Oregon to Portland Maine and then travel south to spend December/January in Florida.  The first of August our big plan was altered when our renter moved out unexpectedly from our retirement home in Arizona.  What to do, what to do...  We decided we should make a huge right turn and head toward Arizona and winter there instead of Florida.  The rationale for our decision was we didn't want to leave the house vacant too long so that meant our travels would be modified (not stopped) sooner than we thought.  Next stop - Branson.

THE OZARKS -  Ray loves the Ozarks.  I never was interested in visiting there, except for Branson -- maybe.  So it wasn't a hard sell when I said that I wanted to see Branson on our way to AZ.  The highways in the Ozarks are full of scenic trees and rock formations.  The downside is they are very curvy.  We now have a new rule - no three digit (176) roads when traveling with 5th wheel.

BRANSON - We arrived on the Thursday before Labor Day Weekend in Branson.  Branson's population is 10,000.  It is very spread out with three main routes through the city.  You feel like your in a mini Las Vegas.   There are country and/or gospel performers, comedy, magic, and other shows to select from.  Tons of places to eat and water feature activities.  Funny thing about that Thursday was some of the features were closed.  After some inquiries, we found out that many businesses close on the Thursday before Labor Day to rest....hmmm.  

We visited the College of the Ozarks in Hollister where the Beverly Hillbillies Car is located and the Bass Pro Shop on Lake Tanycomo (that looks like a river) in Branson Landing.  It was so hot that steam was rising from the lake at 4 p.m.   We finished our tour through Old Town and headed back to the RV and AC.

ABC CAMPGROUND - This campground is located on a hill above Branson.  It have over 100 sites.  We found ourselves in the middle of an American Couch Rally.  We felt a little like the step child.  The interesting thing about campgrounds in the midwest is they provide information about severe weather and shelters.  I always pay attention to the information and wonder what it would feel like to stay in a laundry room with strangers waiting out an tornado.

I had to share this picture with you.  The site was level but it was interesting when we left.  We didn't bottom out but it was close.  If I was coming here again, I would investigate a campground on the lake and if that was not available, I would stay here.  There was nothing wrong with the site or facilities and the price was reasonable.

Next stop, a place has talked about for 25 years - Eureka Springs Arkansas

PASS'N THROUGH IOWA

August 27, 2013

We finally cut the cords and headed out of Minnesota.  Iowa is our next destination on our adventure.  This is a quick trip with an overnight at a casino on I-35.

  The cost of our overnight stay was $20.  The temp was 100 degrees when we arrived at the casino.  Ray set up the RV.  I turned on the AC and we headed out to the casino to cool down.

Hot days bring on the desire for a chilled draft beer.  Needless to say it went down quickly.  To our surprise, the casino policy is one beer per every 20 minutes.  This was fine with us but we would of timed our drinking better if we had known.

Nice park for an overnighter.  No bathhouse (restrooms/showers)  Full hookups and easy access from the freeway.












Lots of construction this summer.  I have heard Ray talk about reusing concrete for highways for years. But I have never seen it done or never noticed...  this time I did.  There was a mile of chewed up concrete.  They were removing the rebarb before grinding it up to reuse it.  Who knew this would peak my interest.

ALSO - the dirt is really dark brown.  Never seen dirt that brown.  Again..who knew this would peak my....





One regret, we forgot about the Bridges of Madison County until we saw the sign for the turnoff.  Darn, I would of liked to see them.  We have reservations in Branson for Labor Day and I don't want to mess with them so off we go....

MINNESOTA - FAMILY, MALL OF AMERICA AND STATE FAIR

August 22 - 26, 2013

We had a great time visiting Minnesota.  We stayed at the Grand Casino in Hinkley.  Hinkley is north of Minn/St Paul and, believe it or not, the closest campground we could find for the dates needed.


My nephew and his family moved to Minnesota a couple of years ago.  He has faithfully returned to the west coast and we have faithfully "promised" we would visit Minnesota -- soon.  There was no way we were not seeing them.


Ben was so impressed with our home that he decided to move in with us.  Took a couple of minutes to convince him he needed to go with daddy.  But Uncle Ray came through with a camp over while I was in Oregon.

No fish (of course) so a quick game of Frisbee golf.

THEN - we got to see Ben on the ice.  What fun to watch Ben show off his stuff.  We didn't know what he was doing, but he looked really good and fast!

MALL OF AMERICA - I'm not much of a shopper since I retired but I couldn't pass up the chance of visiting the Mall of America.  Ray and I dodged all the freeway construction and headed out to the Mall of America located by the airport.   It was fun to see the amusement park in the middle of the mall.  Most of the stores were the same as the malls we have in Oregon.  I was hoping to see the QVC store but couldn't find it...it might be closed.

The lego store was as impressive as the rides.  Juli told me you could rent a room in Legoland for $250 per hour for parties.  hmmmmm

STATE FAIR - they say the Minnesota State Fair is one of the largest in the nation.  It was large and hot (97 degrees).  We arrived mid-day on Sunday and quickly found a parking spot.  Things were looking good.  Then we set out to find shade and fun things to do, see and eat.  By evening, we had tickets for the Grand Stand - Dwight Yoakum and Sheryl Crowe performing.  As we were walking to our car, there were fireworks -- right on top of us.  Made us giggle and run like heck to the car.  A great day at the fair.