We found out the trolley did a 1hr tour for $3 so we jumped on. It took you around the water front, over the river, past The Clinton Library, a really neat museum and old house(that you can tour for free or cheap), and past this cool old drug store that is still in business. It was well worth the time and few $$ to get a good quick taste of Little Rock.
Now it was time to head north....to the mountains and to the condo for the week. We were staying at The Wyndham Resort at Fairfield Bay. The drive was easy and very pretty, had some really winding roads towards the end, but did arrive with no problem. Janice greeted us and she was a dear. She allowed us to look at 2 units before deciding. I'd booked a large 3br unit on the golf course, but the smaller 2br unit had the better view.....see the view off the back deck...WOW!!!
We'd had a big brunch, and done a Wal-mart run before getting to the condo, so after unloading a snack was good enough...plus it was dark and we were tired.
Monday was Labor Day and we attended the welcome breakfast. We learned what to do in the Fairfield Bay area. We wish they'd covered the surrounding areas as well, but we discovered much of that on our own. After the "meet and greet"...we took a little walk around the country club grounds to see some of the neat historical things there. This was an old cabin that was on an island in the lake. They took it apart, and put it back together here...was really cool, and was set up like they believe it used to be. Another cabin was next door and was used as a museum, with lots of Arkansas history in it. We learned that these places do not cost the city anything so tourist don't pay either, seems this state is very proud that they run many things including the library with volunteers...we could all learn something from this.
We then walked down on the golf course to see Indian Rock Cave...this place has some history.
It has been determined that small groups of Indians used the cave from 1000 B.C. until the early 1700's.
It's not very big, but was really neat.
We drove down to the lake...Greer's Ferry, a HUGE lake. It's a COE (corp of engineers) lake and is really well kept. Lots of rules, make for a nicer lake.
Then we drove over to the dam that's on Greer's Ferry Lake, one of the largest in the US. However, since 9/11 they do not allow tours, you could only look. You drive to the JFK park that overlooks the dam. This was JFK's last dedication appearance before he was assassinated. Forgot to take pics, it was very nice. The visitors center had some great things to show about how the dam was built and a really good movie.Then we stopped at the Yellow Snow Cone for a fantastic snow cone, I got pink lemonade, YUM. It was hot and it was GOOD. Next was lunch at The Little Red Restaurant, was a good sandwich/burger lunch nothing special but good.
Now it was time to hang at the pool and chill.
Tuesday was Greer's Ferry boat ride day. We took a 2 hour boat ride on an enclosed pontoon. Had tables and chairs and was very comfortable. The Dock Master at the Marina was our tour guide. We road around Sugarloaf Mtn Island which is an island that you can be dropped at, for 3hrs to hike to the top, and then we covered the northern part of the lake. The shoreline is very rugged, but very nice. We had been told we could bring a lunch with us, so I packed sandwiches and we were really glad. They did have some drinks on board, but it was nice to eat and cruise. The Corp has so many rules for personal boat docks that there are very few of those. There are 3 marinas, but the one we left from was the largest. Again, forgot pics, but is worth doing it you are in the area. It gives you a good understanding and view of the lake and from the lake.
Tonight we had tickets to see a musical show. This ticket included dinner at Grumpy's Restaurant before. So, we just did a little driving and swimming in the pool before our evening activity. Dinner was ok, we have yet to experience any places I could rave about, and the show was so-so. He was a really nice guy and you could tell he loved what he was doing, but don't really think we'd go again. The only place in town to do this was to borrow the local Lion's Club so 22 of us were there to see this one-man-show. He did a variety of music, some better than others, but it was fun.
Wednesday was a day to explore outside Fairfield Bay. So off we went to the towns of Leslie and Gilbert. We stopped along the way to see the Natural Bridge. It was used many years ago as a a walking and horse and buggy bridge.
Thanks to the government, you can no longer walk across the bridge, but it was cool to see it. There was also a cabin that had been relocated that had many old tool and even a spinning wheel in it that you could tour, was a really neat stop. Was now time to head north and west a bit.
We were headed to a bakery that uses all sourdough, and to Coursey's for some smoked meat. We'd also been told about a place, Daisy Queen, that makes awesome milkshakes. Was really good we had skipped breakfast, this was going to be an eating adventure.
We found the bakery after a few miles, many winding roads and some beautiful scenery and we stopped for a break. We shared some pastries on their back porch. We had to admit they were good, but might have been better had there been a way to heat them up. I think we'd have done better to buy some for the next day and then we could have heated them up a bit...lesson learned. We made it to the Daisy Queen....we each got a small milkshake, and agreed they were not really anything special. We drove a bit more, enjoying the scenery and stopping along the way to look. We also stopped to check on Canoe rentals for the next day. It seems canoeing the Buffalo National River is a neat thing to do. Was not going to cost a lot, so we would think this over for a tomorrow activity. At a stop in the town of Marshall we learned that the town was "world famous" for something called a Chocolate Roll, and I was told I could buy one right up the street at the gas station. And the ones that were there, were made daily by the woman that won the contest this year. Now how could I not investigate this. So, up the road about 3mi was a gas station and inside was a small eating area and sure enough freshly made fried pies and chocolate rolls. I bought a peach pie and a chocolate roll for later...and off we went. Yes, much later that nite I ate it and is was very good.....who would have ever thought of this!!!
That's my roll next the pamphlet that told all about it!!! Yum!!
Was time for lunch and to find Coursey's. It was amazing. Their specialty is smoked meats. We sampled smoked turkey and ham, swiss and cheddar cheeses.....fantastic. We got a turkey and ham sandwich, some summer sausage for later, and some bacon to take home. We'd brought our own cooler of drinks so we headed to the town of Gilbert to sit by the river for lunch. Not a bad view, but it was hot....but was so quiet.
Eventually some canoers came up, this was a "take out" spot for some folks. I went over and asked their opinion of the canoe trip and they said it was awesome....so maybe.
One more stop in the town of Prim to see the round rocks. Seems there are only 4 places in the world where these rocks come out of the ground....round. So we HAD to see this. We'd been told the post office had a great display. You see there are MANY small towns on the same "main road"....and each one has it's own post office. I later thought, I should have taken pics of all of them and done a posting of all the different post offices....we saw them all shapes and sizes.
But we finally saw this one.....now that is, yet another church on the hilltop, the post office was to the left, but the rocks were very unique.
Had been a great day of seeing and doing and was time to head home. A little time in the pool and off to bed.
Thursday was R&R day....did a lot of nothing....swimming and relaxing. However, we finally got a fantastic dinner. Janssen's Lakefront was amazing....I had salmon, he had oso buco...both outstanding. Would for sure go back here. There is also a Janssen's on the Bay, but it is soup/salad/burger a very different menu, a sport's bar. It may be good for that type thing, but we really enjoyed the food and view at the lakefront location.
Friday was all about the town of Mountain View. Was a about a 1hr lovely drive. We skipped breakfast since we'd been told we needed to eat at Wood's Pharmacy. We needed to get some gas on the way into town. We stopped at yet another station where you could eat/shop/buy gas....one stop shop, and I really thought this was funny...count to 20 and try again!!! Note the age of this pump....hadn't seen one of these babies in a while.
We have come to refer to this entire area as "stepping back in time"....it's sooooooo laid back but one could get used to that. And I could really get used to the VERY friendly people....a simple wonderful lifestyle.
We were ready for lunch when we got there...and the shakes were amazing....
oh yeah, so was the lunch special.....white beans with ham soup/jalapeno cornbread and cabbage. Let me that's not a typical hillbilly, backwoods lunch!!!
Time to do a little shopping and exploring. I bought some rope sandals I think I'll really use and we were off to find the Ozark Folk Center. We got there and got "the scoop". We could pay to go and see the craft fair or come back for the Folk Dance music and show at 630p. We opted for the latter and were off to go see Blanchard Springs Caverns in the Ozark Mountain Park. This is a MUST ....I've seen other caverns but these were amazing....the tour was $10 and 2hrs and was terrific. Our guide had been there 14yrs!!
We took an elevator way down then sat in some bleachers to get some history....these were our first views of the rocks....just beautiful.
We walked and stopped along the way, and were told the history and rock formation factoids....it was really amazing.
You are not allowed to take ANY food or drink items in or allowed to touch anything. They are very serious about preserving the caverns. It was very tempting, but eventually, he did have 2 rocks we could touch. All of this is formed by water dripping down.....how cool.
Very cool tour, but was now time to head back to town for our show, but we stopped at the Trading Post first just to look around. The couple that run it told us about their horseback tours, one was even overnight and sounded great...humm...maybe for another trip.
Now was time to head to the Ozark Folk Center ...... for our show. We bought our tix, $20/ea, got a ride up the hill and headed inside. There was a Jig Dance contest still happening. I was amazed at how well some folks could dance, but then music and dancing is HUGE in the mountains. Then the show started. It was excellent. We saw about 6 different groups, from younger kids and teens to adults. Actually, we enjoyed some of the kids better than the adults, but it was all good.
These kids could play...wonder where they will be in 10yrs...or even 5!!!
After the show we HAD to go to the town square for some impromptu "pickin' and grinnin'" music. We'd been told by many folks that there was some really good music...and it was Friday nite, so we were surely going to hear some. There were 3 gazebos and a few other just open spaces and anyone that wanted to play was welcome. You just kind of joined a group and started playing...these were not bands, just folks that enjoyed playing.
Again, some of the kids were amazing. we stayed about an hour, but we had some winding roads in the dark to drive and had to get home...so we headed out. I saw some amazing campgrounds while in this area, maybe one day I'll be back.
It was a great trip, got back home safe and sound......
Next destination....Stowe, Vermont....fall foilage.
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