Wandering through Western Arkansas – Au Pif Style

We’ve made a repositioning from Austin to St. Louis many times over our years on the road. As we have family ties to both locations, we’re often transitioning between two of our favorite cities and we love finding new ways and stops.

As we were sitting in Daingerfield, TX, our decision point between two possible paths, we happened to get in touch with our friends Forrest and Mary. We’ve been running into these guys for well over a year now all over the country, and turns out – we were again heading in the same general direction.

They were coming across Oklahoma with a goal of Wisconsin by early May.

All four of us quickly decided we’d join up for at least a night or two long the way. We looked on the map at possible rendezvous spots, compared the options to weather forecasts and picked Fort Smith, Arkansas.

Fort Smith, AR

We both had a long driving day ahead of us, Chris and I along the very scenic Highway 259 up eastern Oklahoma through the Ouachita Mountains.

While Chris was driving, I was watching a couple of small storm cells on the Weather Radio mobile app – that gives us location based weather alerts and radar maps. Traveling through this area of the country this time of year, it’s extra critical to be on top of the weather. It can change quickly, and dangerously.

(For more information on navigating severe weather, we recommend a post by our friends The Snowmads: Top 5 Severe Weather Tips for RV Owners).

I saw a cell crossing between us and Fort Smith, so we made a stop in Heavener, OK for a few moments to let it get well ahead of us. Turns out to be a great idea, as the cell produced some hail and further calamity down its path further to the east of us.

We made an easy arrival late afternoon to awaiting hugs from Forrest and Mary at Spring Hill COE Park (our review) just east of Fort Smith, AR. We each grabbed riverview spots for 2 nights, and decided we’d figure it out from there.

In our first evening together, it became pretty clear that our little rendezvous would likely last more than a couple nights – as our timing was well in sync. So plans came together for many days ahead.

One thing we love about traveling with Forrest & Mary is that they are retired and have more time to both research and get out exploring stuff in their local area. Left to our own devices, we’ll become workaholics and never leave the campground unless we run out of clean underwear or groceries.

We all decided to extend a night in our current location and spend one day exploring and one day with us getting caught up on work while they did their own thing.

Our quick tour of Fort Smith started at the visitor center which is located in the historic Miss Laura’s Brothel, which was fascinating. We then did a walking tour along the Arkansas River to the Fort Smith ruins, gallows, jail house and Trail of Tears memorial. All sobering stuff.

We followed up with a delightful meal in town at Rolandos, an excellent and eclectic Latin American cafe – not quite what I’d expect for Arkansas!

A wonderful stop checking out a new to us place.

Bentonville, AR

 

Over the winter we had the pleasure of meeting Jeff & Deb of RollingRecess – they were blog followers who have hit the road at least part time. We’ve run into them now in several locations and have been getting to know them over the past few months.

Their home base is in Bentonville, AR – the center of everything Walmart. They had invited us to driveway surf with them if we were ever passing through, and it was looking quite likely we would.

They quickly extended an invitation for us and our traveling companions to join up at their place for a few nights of friendship, laughter and adventures.

They have a gorgeous location and graciously welcomed us with ample parking options and a baked salmon feast for dinner.

The next day, they took us touring around their home town – starting with a walk through the gorgeous Compton Gardens, looping us through Crystal Bridges (a mega art museum funded by the Walton family as a gift to the community) and then back to Bentonville Square.

We treated them to lunch at Crepes Paulette – a food truck trailer that makes the most amazing gluten free (and vegetarian!) crepes. They were mouth watering. Again, totally not the expected cuisine for Arkansas.

We also totally loved their ‘French Word of the Week’ – Au Pif. Which means ‘Wing It’. Exactly our style!

After lunch, we strolled over to Walmart Museum, which is located on Bentonville Square in the same location as the original Walton 5-10 store where Walmart got its start. It’s fascinating to get in touch with the roots of the world’s largest retailer, and the inspiration and passion behind it. Regardless of your thoughts on Walmart today, you can’t help but admire the entrepreneurship and tenacity that has made it a huge success.

A most fabulous stop with awesome tour guides! Thanks Jeff and Deb for the opportunity to check out a town you clearly love, and furthering a friendship! (And you get a solid 5 stars from us for your generous hospitality!)

What’s Up Next?

The four of us departed Arkansas a few days ago, making our way into St. Louis a bit earlier than planned so that we could also show Forrest and Mary around one of our favorite cities before our paths diverge. We’ll catch you up on the fun adventures on our way across Missouri soon.

We’ve been in non-stop tourist mode since arriving, plus we have lots of family in the area to connect with. My mother has also flown out to join us, with this being her first ever visit to the midwest.

We’ll be rather busy in the upcoming week, but we’ll do our best to keep the blog updated in the meantime. I have lots of post ideas spinning around in my head, but not a lot of time right now. We’ll get there.

If you missed our live video cast last week on ‘Costs of Full Time RVing‘ – I did manage to get the archive produced the other evening, and it’s now posted in our video center.

Wherever you’re at, enjoy spring.. and stay safe! Our hearts go out to those affected in Nepal and Baltimore.