Elvis sang in his hit movie, Double Trouble,
“There is So Much World to See”, and I
couldn’t agree more. So, we left
Memphis, making our way to Eureka Springs, Arkansas.
Our first night was spent at St. Joseph Center, a wonderful
Harvest Hosts location in North Little Rock, Arkansas. Built in 1910, it was a Catholic orphanage
for 70 years, then a nursing home, school, and day care—all run by Benedictine
nuns. The Catholic Church put the Center
on the chopping block in 2008.
Thankfully, the community mobilized, created a nonprofit organization to
purchase the property, and transformed 50+ acres into a sustainable farm. The property is lovely. With farm animals (cows, goats, donkeys,
rabbits), vegetable and floral gardens, hiking trails, grottos and
statuary, St. Joseph Center is an ideal source of spiritual, emotional, and
physical nourishment. We were happy to
purchase freshly-picked veggies and high quality locally-sourced meats.
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| The Grotto of the Virgin Mary. |
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| A statue of St. Joseph, after whom the Center was named. |
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| Penny the herding dog keeps her goat friends on good behavior. |
Mom was anxious to get some steps in, so she and I hit the
hiking trails and stopped to photograph the grotto. Now Mom may not be technologically- or
mechanically-inclined, but the woman has an eagle eye. Upon returning to the rig, she noticed
something hanging from the rear axle and called Dad outside to check it
out. It turned out to be that a brake
line had snapped at the fitting. Thankfully,
Dad always carries his tools, spare brake lines, and extra vehicle fluids. So, he was able to make repairs on the spot.
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| Dad fixing the brake line. |
After another day of driving, we overnighted at Thor Elite
Shooting Range, a Harvest Hosts location in Van Buren, Arkansas, which offers
better accommodations than some RV parks.
It has capacity for 2 RVs, including a site for an extra-large set-up
like ours. We parked on a level concrete
pad with access to a covered picnic area.
Water and electricity are available for $35/night, but we did not
partake, relying instead on our solar/battery system. However, Dad patronized the Hosts by purchasing a guest pass for $25 to
gain access to the outdoor shooting range.
The grounds have a nice pond, for which you can pay a fee to fish, but
Mom and I just used its perimeter as a walking track while Dad did his target
practice.
The next morning, we had an easy and relaxing drive along
I-49 through the Boston Mountains. Then
we got on US-62, which made for a slow ride because of its switchbacks and
hairpin turns, but offered some nice views.
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| The leaves were just starting to don their fall colors. |
We arrived at our
destination, Wanderlust RV Park in Eureka Springs, Arkansas. This is an awesome, well-maintained
family-owned park. It has a welcoming
and helpful staff, great mountain views, and a super clean laundry room. We were assigned an easy-to-access roadside site,
so we did not need to unhitch Suite Retreat from Big Boomer. And it is just a few miles from The Great
Passion Play, for which we purchased tickets. (We visited the grounds here back
in 2020, but it was not a performance day for the Passion Play. We vowed to return, and we kept our promise).
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| A small sampling of the Autumn/Halloween decorations displayed throughout the Park. |
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| Some beautiful views... |
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| ...from the grounds of the RV Park. |
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| I found this to be the most unique paint job I have ever seen on an RV! The owner and fellow patron of Wanderlust RV Park gave me permission to take this photo. What a work of art! |
Though we experienced good weather
during most of our time in Eureka Springs, that was not the case the evening
when we attended the performance. It
rained steadily throughout the entire 2-hour OUTDOOR re-enactment of Christ’s
condemnation, crucifixion, and glorious resurrection. We were all quite wet, but that did not deter
us (it was a minor inconvenience, especially when we reflect on what Jesus
endured for all of us). The
performance was superb, and we are so grateful we had the opportunity to witness
it. Our ticket plan included a Holy Land
tour prior to the performance, which provided insight to what life would be
like during biblical times. We learned
about ancient pottery-making, blacksmithing, and hunting techniques. We visited replicas of middle-Eastern
vegetable gardens, buildings, and animal stables (like the one baby Jesus
was born within). The Bible Museum
on the premises is a must-see. Its
collection holds 6,000+ copies of Bibles in hundreds of languages, including
some very rare specimens like a 1535 Coverdale edition, which represents
the first complete Modern English translation of the Bible. We also visited the Sacred Gallery,
viewing modern and ancient works of art depicting Jesus. The grounds also include the beautiful Christ
of the Ozarks statue. Reaching 7
stories tall, the statue consists of 34 tons of concrete and 24 layers of white
mortar attached to a steel frame. No
wonder it weighs more than 1,000 tons!
We arrived in Eureka Springs 2 weeks after their annual Jeep
Jam and a few days after their Blues, BBQ, and Motorcycle Rally ended. Though both would have been fun events to
attend, we were glad to have missed all the crowds. And since the leaves were just beginning to
change color, the fall foliage fans had not arrived yet. So, we felt the timing of our visit was
perfect, especially to facilitate a visit to Thorncrown Chapel, where the
serenity of nature and the spiritual belief in a supreme being unite. Local resident Jim Reed commissioned
architect E. Fay Jones, one-time apprentice to Frank Lloyd Wright, to
fulfill Reed’s vision for a non-denominational meditation site for his 7-acre
wooded parcel of land. What a
masterpiece of art! Constructed of
Southern Pine, the Chapel stands 4 stories tall and 60 feet wide, with “walls”
of 425 glass windows. Jones certainly
held true to Wright’s Prairie style, bringing the elements of nature indoors.
Speaking of Frank Lloyd Wright, we took a ride to nearby
Bentonville, Arkansas, to visit Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. The Museum is stunning! Designed by internationally-acclaimed
architect, Moshe Safdie, it incorporates wood, glass, water, and soil. I know everyone talks about the rich elitists
and the big bad corporations, but thanks to Alice Walton (of the Walmart
dynasty) and other corporate benefactors, admission is FREE to the public
for the general exhibition areas, beautiful grounds, and art in the park. However, if you wish to attend a special
exhibit, a ticket is required.
So, you are probably wondering about my segue above and
saying to yourself, “what the heck does Frank Lloyd Wright have to do with
Crystal Bridges?” Well, on the grounds
of Crystal Bridges is the Bachman-Wilson House, designed by none other than
good old F. L. Wright. We have visited 6
Wright-designed buildings through the years (4 just this summer!), so we
were compelled to buy the special tickets for this house tour ($12/adult).
Wright was commissioned by Abraham Wilson in 1954 to build
the 1,700 square foot house in Millstone, New Jersey, at a cost of
$30,000. The home incorporates Wright’s
Usonian style designed for America’s middle-class residences: affordable, practical yet versatile, modern
yet simple. Wright built about 1,000
Usonian-styled homes, of which about 60 are still in existence, the
Bachman-Wilson home among them. But if
the house remained nestled along the banks of the Millstone River in New
Jersey, this would not be the case. You
see, the house flooded on at least 6 occasions. Thankfully, Lawrence and Sharon Tarantino,
the purchasers of the home in 1988 who restored it meticulously to its original
glory, wanted to preserve this piece of architectural history. Hence, the home was acquired by Crystal
Bridges. An Italian firm was hired to
laboriously disassemble the home, label each and every piece, relocate it to
the grounds of the Museum, and reassemble.
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A model of the home.
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| The front facade... |
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| ...of the home. |
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| The back of the house. |
Sadly, photography is not permitted indoors, but the docent
encouraged attendees to view pictures/video on the home’s website (https://crystalbridges.org/architecture/frank-lloyd-wright-bachman-wilson-house/)
The home features original living room furniture, original
lighting, radiant heating, and Philippine mahogany wood. A terrific tour, well worth the ticket price.
After the tour, we enjoyed lunch at the café, then burned
off some calories walking along the grounds and surrounding hiking/nature
trails. It was apparent that the area
suffered damage from a recent storm.
Sure enough, we learned a tornado went through the property in May
2024. More than 500 trees were
toppled, but, thankfully, the Museum building did not incur any damage.
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| Creative design made of recycled hand tools. |
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| Yours truly, Rambling RV Rat, becomes part of Art in the Park! |
Our planned itinerary had included visiting the site of the Battle
at Pea Ridge/Elkhorn Tavern outside Fayetteville, Arkansas, which took place in
March 1862. However, we all agreed it
made no sense at this point. It was an
early battle in the Civil War, and we had already completed touring the
majority of major battlefield sites.
Well, I am done rambling for now! But I’ll talk to you again soon!
