 |
| where I went this month |
Arkansas - The Natural State.
They chose their state nickname well. Nature is almost entirely what this state is about. Diamonds and mountains and national rivers and Mississippi Delta lands. Forests and farmland and pasturage. Hot springs and Mammoth Spring. It's a beautiful state and, except for a lack of ocean access, has just about everything Nature could give.
You can see I tried hard to get around the state, and the only glaring hole is in the central west, where the Ouachita Mountains are. I skirted them, but I wanted to see more and just ran out of time and energy. Otherwise, I pretty much covered the various landforms and districts, so I know whereof I speak when I say it's beautiful here.
Arkansas's people
The people here seem to be much like the land they live on. They're resilient and self-reliant. They're almost all happy - actually happy - with where they're living. The most usual reason I got is that they like their neighbors, think they live near great people. Although I got a few saying what they liked best is their surroundings - the trees and mountains, how green everything is.
They're mostly friendly, though usually in a slightly reserved way - not volunteering much but happy to respond to requests for help. From what they've told me, I think their reserve is entirely for strangers and that they're not at all reserved with their neighbors.
They're proud of their state and are quick to point out to me any natural wonders they think I shouldn't miss.
But the dark side of that is embodied in the history of Central High School. Yes, it was long ago, but I saw plenty of reasons to believe the Southerner's Lost Cause hasn't completely died here. Few Confederate flags, but there were still a few.
Arkansas is a very religious state, with only 14% saying they're non-religious. I'm not convinced that translates into what I think of as Christian charity for those who aren't WASPs, because Arkansas seems so conservative. It was a 2-party state, though, not all that long ago when Bill Clinton was governor and easily carried the state in his bid for president, so it might well swing back again in time. Right now there are large pockets that are intolerant politically, which means to me they're also intolerant socially.
A mixed bag, I guess, is what the people here are about. And I suppose there's nothing wrong with that.
This is the month that the coronavirus shoved itself into the nation's consciousness, and my posts reflect the changing climate. From the state park ranger early in the month who thought the reports on the virus were overblown, through the gradual closing of public facilities, and on to empty grocery shelves and the folks who seemed to think "social distancing" didn't apply to them.
Frankly, I find those last to be more scary than anything else - people who don't think anyone needs to keep a distance from them and thoughtlessly invade farther than a 6' area around me. They seem like the kind to be most likely to carry the virus, than those who are trying hard to avoid it.
And that certainly includes all those pious folks who go to church on Sundays in large groups, apparently believing worshiping God in public means God will protect them. In fact, some seem to believe whatever happens is God's will and the government's just trying to confuse us. Arkansas is, after all, squarely in the Bible Belt. Fortunately, I also saw quite a few instances of churches who knew reality when they saw it and were following all the CDC's guidelines literally, not as they chose to interpret them (there were some of those, too).
Driving in Arkansas
I well remember when I was a kid that Arkansas had terrible roads. In those days Texas had some of the best roads in the country. I'm not at all sure Texas still has good roads - it's been 2 years since I've been there - but I can say that Arkansas's roads are really good. I don't know where they got the money, though maybe from their state income tax, but they've obviously made an investment in their transportation system.
Most of the drivers here are reasonably polite, are sensible enough to pass me when I slow down and move over for them to do so, and don't tailgate. I found some exceptions, of course, but even though I spent most of the month on back roads, I still found it comfortable to drive here, which is something I never expected.
What I didn't see that I wanted to see
Thanks to this virus, as the month went on I began to miss more and more places I'd hoped to see. Even outdoor places like Mount Magazine, the state's highest point, scared me because I figured lots more folks would go there, thinking they're safe outdoors (even in a crowd). And of course all the indoor museums and things began to close. I listed most of what I wanted to see in the individual posts. In addition to those are a few other places:
- Stuttgart Agricultural Museum - Stuttgart bills itself as "the duck and rice capital of the world";
- Arkansas State Museum;
- Toad Suck State Park - just because of the name;
- the Arkansas & Missouri Railroad makes a round trip between Winslow and Springdale; I'd expect the scenery to be lovely on that route, and I love train rides;
- War Eagle Mill is a working grist mill in the mountains southeast of Eureka Springs, operating since 1832 but closed now due to the virus.
I would have been able to see more if I'd had better luck picking up a wifi signal in more of the state. Not having that ability left me with massive numbers of posts to catch up on, meaning I needed to spend more time sitting in a campground just to make up for that lack. But I guess that's what rural America deals with.
My conclusion
I liked Arkansas a lot. I found the countryside comfortable to be in and beautiful to look at, and found the people to be pleasant and helpful. There was something, though, that I can't quite put my finger on about the people - something about the slight reserve I felt in them. In a way a little clannish like Kentucky seemed. Nothing wrong with that at all, but not as welcoming as I'd hope for and found in other states.
But for a place to come back to and relax and enjoy Nature, it'd be hard to beat Arkansas.
No comments:
Post a Comment