Arkansas - Day 9 - Pine Bluff and beyond

Cane Creek State Park, Star City
Monday, 9 March 2020

I wish I could have picked up a wifi signal at this park, because it was a pleasant place to stay a while.  It was built on hills, which was good exercise for us when we were just walking around our section of the campground.  And our section was nearly empty.  Unfortunately, 2 out of the 4 groups there (besides us) included children, who shrieked enough to scare Gracie, and their dogs, who yipped when we got anywhere near, which got Dexter going.  But if we stayed away from them we were okay.  It was quiet and peaceful.  When we were walking this morning I saw a deer which, fortunately, the dogs didn't see and I turned them around in time.

today's route

On the road
Last night's state "resort" park includes a golf course, and on the way out I noticed a geodesic dome, that had been modified into a fancy house facing the golf course.  Geodesic dome house and golf course aren't a combination I would have expected.

Because I'd hoped for internet, I hadn't planned ahead on what route to take and just did the best I could with the AAA map and the official state map (another state where, like Louisiana, the official map is actually useful).  Driving along State Route 7, I saw a sign saying it had been designated an Arkansas Scenic Byway.  I'm guessing that's for having beautiful fall colors, which it very well might, but right now it's not all that scenic.

Today was gray, very windy, with sprinkles of rain - a nuisance to drive in and walk dogs in.  About all that's good to do on a day like this is to curl up in a cozy place with a good book and a pot of stew simmering on the stove - neither of which I had.  There's plenty of rain in the forecast so maybe soon.

I've been seeing an awful lot of Texas license plates, even though I'm in the center of Arkansas.  I'll bet it's at least 1 out of every 3 that's from Texas, maybe more.

I came to Malvern - Brick Capital of the World, they proclaim on a sturdy brick sign.

I spent much of the day driving through pine tree farms and small communities (apparently too small to rate a highway sign, so I don't know their names).  The ones I saw signs for included Rockport, pop. 792; Perla, pop. 241; Poyen, pop. 290; Prattsville, pop. 305; all of which made coming to Sheridan, pop. 4,603, almost a shock.  Kohler has a distribution center here.

One of the pine tree farms was a Christmas tree farm.

At one point I ended up driving behind the Malvern/Hot Spring County Library's Bookmobile.  I haven't seen a bookmobile in decades and it was nice to know they still exist.

I passed a home displaying one of the Gonzales flags: Come and Take It.  I wondered if they had any idea what the origin of that phrase was, but expect they just like the anti-government fanatically-pro-2nd-Amendment idea of it, though that's not at all how it started.

I was briefly able to pick up the Little Rock public radio station and heard that a social media rumor says coronavirus can be cured/prevented by drinking bleach.  What's appalling to me is that some people probably believe this dangerous idiocy.

I finally stopped at White Hall, pop. 5,526, for a couple of hours in the deserted parking lot of a farmer's market, walking the dogs, eating lunch, checking directions and so forth on the wifi signal I could at last pick up. 

Pine Bluff
White Hall is right on top of Pine Bluff, which has 10 times the population - 55,085.

I accidentally stumbled on an online mention of the murals in Pine Bluff and decided to try to find some of them.  There was a list of 11 online and I got photos of 6 of them.

Main Street, 1888 mural

Auto Club mural (this shows the beginning of a race and reminds me of The Great Race movie)

Movie mural

The movie mural shows Freeman Owens, a local boy, who invented many filming technologies (they say), and another local boy Gilbert Maxwell Anderson, aka Bronco Billy, who starred in The Great Train Robbery, moviedom's first western.

Delta Heritage mural

These 2 are side by side on a wall, and I think they're the one labeled Medical mural online.  They seem to depict the old hospital and ambulance and the new.

I saw a couple of others that I couldn't get to for photos, and just didn't take the time to look for the rest because it was starting to rain again.

Back on the road
I picked up US Route 425 and headed southeast in rain and heavy crosswinds.  Most unpleasant.

I passed through Yorktown (no pop.) and at Star City, pop. 2,274, I turned onto tiny State Route 11ˢ.  I think that "ˢ" stands for "spur" because that's what this was.  This state has some unusual ways of doing things.

And so to Cane Creek, where yet again I discovered I'd have no wifi signal, meaning I'd need to press onward tomorrow.  I'm starting to get tired, though some of that may be from driving more than 200 miles on country roads in strong winds and rain.