Little Rock, Arkansas

Since I'm so behind in writing, I thought I'd catch up by going backwards from my most recent stops, while they are still fresh in my mind.  So the next few posts will be out of order chronologically.

Today I spent the whole day in Little Rock, camping here last night and tonight so I could give it a full day.  Aside from being 100 degrees (so much for missing that east coast heat wave a few weeks ago!), Little Rock is a nice little town.  I'm not sure it would have enough to do for a long weekend, but for a day or two, yes.

Downtown Little Rock

An old railroad bridge, now a pedestrian bridge downtown.

My day started at Central High School, which was where, in 1957, President Eisenhower had to order federal troops to come and escort 9 black students to class in the formerly all-white high school.  The school is still open, and as far as I know, is an integrated place without problems.  But man, it was bad for those 9 kids.  The National Park Service has opened a museum -- well, more like a learning center -- about the school and its history right across the street.  I knew a little bit about this before, but didn't know details.  Very interesting, and sad.

In the 1920s, a group of architects declared Central High "the most beautiful school in the country."

Next I went downtown, which is smallish.  I estimate the downtown area is about as big as Cleveland's downtown, although the suburbs of Little Rock do not spread as far as Cleveland's.  I started at the River Market, which is one half farmer's market and one half permanent stalls serving food.  So I sat and ate and watched peopled -- mostly this creepy old dude with long hair died red (with roots showing) and long fingernails.  Like, female secretary length long.  Eek.

I strolled along the river for a while, very slowly -- did I mention it was 100 degrees today? -- which is quite nice.  It's all walking trails and benches and this one really great sculpture garden.  Not sure why there weren't more people out.  Maybe because it was a work day and was 100 degrees outside?

My path took me past the Old State House, which I went into and discovered has been turned into a museum about Arkansas.  The people who worked there thought the Inaugural Gowns of the governors' wives and the women's history exhibits were the best (and they were good).  But my personal favorite was the exhibit about negative Arkansas stereotypes, and how they are not true.  Ironically, though, I left that exhibit with all of my negative stereotypes about Arkansas reaffirmed and magnified, because the whole exhibit is photos of poor people living in shacks, cartoons about drunken hillbillies, and popular tales about backwards backwoodsmen.  It was fun.  Not every museum makes me laugh like that.

The Old State House

My last stop before returning to my campground (I'm back to camping, at least while it's still light enough in the evening to set up my tent) was the Big Dam Bridge outside of town, which is a mile-long pedestrian bridge across the Arkansas River, built on top of an existing dam.  The views were... not bad.  It was most enjoyable for its strong breeze, which I haven't felt anywhere else in the state.  

See the breeze?

Lots of cyclists and runners use the bridge, but I got to talking with three fellow walkers:  Three ladies visiting Little Rock from the Ozarks area.  They were all very nice and gave me some pointers about what to see when I drive through that area.  But they, um, looked like some of those photographs from the Arkansas stereotypes exhibit.  Some (all?) were missing a couple teeth and they were dressed in long shapeless skirts and shapeless tops.  What I call the "farmer's wife" look.  One was wearing a t-shirt that said "Jesus" and had a picture of Aslan on it.  I didn't notice this until she recommended that if I drove through <some town I don't remember> I should stop and see the Passion Play there.  That encounter was a little different than something that would happen in either of my back homes (Cleveland or DC) and I worried that I was about to be proselytized at, but I wasn't.  The conversation turned to swimming holes instead.  Truth be told, I'm kind of interested in seeing the play, both to learn something and to see if it's as scary as I imagine it to be.  I'll just have to wonder, though, as I'm planning to be in Oklahoma City by tomorrow night, and it's a long-ish drive to get there.  I almost feel bad talking about the ladies' appearance and the Aslan t-shirt, as they were so nice.  So I write this to paint a picture, not be mean.

So I'm going to bed early tonight.  If I can't sleep, maybe I'll write another post about my previous stop (it's a fun one! so keep reading!) but I'll probably play some Diablo II instead, an old favorite computer game that I hadn't played in years and recently installed on my laptop to entertain me when I don't have wifi.

Oooh, almost forgot this story:  While at the Old State House, I asked one of the staff where I could find a place to grab a drink when I left, because it was 100 degrees outside and I was thirsty.  He mentioned a place or two and I thanked him and continued to tour the museum.  On my way out, he stopped me and gave me a soda drink he'd bought for me at Sonic!  That was just super nice!  He wouldn't accept any payment for it (it was a dollar and something) so I told him I'd increase my donation to the museum by the cost of the drink, which I did and then some.  So, the people of Arkansas and Little Rock made a very good impression on me today.