Wednesday, 5 August 2020
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| today's route |
The first half of the drive
I stopped briefly at the visitor center for the Talimena Scenic Drive. I'd noticed when I passed it yesterday that it was closed, so I stopped today to walk the dogs around the parking lot - better than trying to walk them with those 2 barking dogs at the campground.
Farther on I came to the turn to get to the Peter Conser Home, which I'd never heard of. This article could use a little editing, but it gives a clear idea of life in these parts 150 years ago. http://www.talimenascenicdrive.com/peter-conser-house
I crossed another bridge dedicated to a WWI Choctaw Code Talker: Albert Billy.
The road was dropping from its high in the mountains of the scenic drive down to the level of civilization. Down there I came first to Wister, a town of about 1,000 folks, then to Poteau with about 9,000 residents - it's not only the county seat but also considered part of the Ft. Smith, Ark, metro area.
Poteau claims to have a historic downtown and, considering the relatively short written history this area has, it definitely has a claim. The upstairs of the old Indian Territory courthouse is still the same, they say; the bank building (built 1902) that was robbed by the Bonnie and Clyde gang still stands; Bridgman's Furniture still occupies the same building it began with in 1902, and it's still owned by the Bridgman family - that sort of thing. All of it in the 20th century, but then OK didn't become a state until 1907. Poteau, by the way, was victim of a smallpox epidemic in the 1920s, and the entire town was quarantined until it was under control. And back then there was no internet or even widespread radio use, so the town was really cut off.
What I noticed about Poteau is that the high school and its stadium are smack in the middle of town, indicating to me its importance in the life of the town. What I also couldn't miss were the campaign signs for county sheriff: Donnie Edwards vs. Rodney Derryberry. Somehow those seem like the names of real local boys.
I've passed several signs the last few days urging people to complete the census, saying "Choctaws Count."
I passed something labeled Left Handed Okies - but that's all I could see. All I've found online is that this is the name of several marijuana dispensaries, so I suppose that's what I saw.
The town of Panama (pop. about 1,400) is Home of the Razorbacks! They say so all over town. The Razorback logo looked just like that of the Univ. of Arkansas Razorbacks to me (Panama is even closer to Ft. Smith (where U of A is) than Poteau), and I saw it absolutely everywhere in town. Reminded me of small-town Texas football.
Also in Panama I passed the Free Will Baptist Church with a sign out front: Freedom Is Not Free. Of course, that's a slogan often connected with the military, but it struck me as an odd sentiment coming from the Free Will church.
I passed through the town of Spiro (SPY-row), pop. about 2,100, and turned down the country road toward an archaeological site I'd found online. It really was a country road, with a turnoff and a sign directing folks to a tornado shelter; with 2 adults and a young deer crossing the road in front of us; with a herd of cows in a field. When I saw the calf, I thought it was another deer until I realized it was a bit bigger. The calf had somehow gotten out of the field and was running up and down along the fence, stopping to stare over the fence at the other cows.
The last turnoff to the site was not only unmarked but also didn't have the street name Google said it would. I finally found it because I was looking for a house where they might know the owner of the cows and could make a call about the calf - and what I found turned out not to be a house but the visitor center instead. (The staff member said he'd be glad to call about the calf.)
Spiro Mounds Archaeological Center
I got lucky by accidentally visiting on one of the days the center is open. If your interest in this sort of thing is minimal, you can read these signs that were out front and then skip to the next stage of the drive, because these pretty well summarize what I found.
Obviously weathered, I cleaned these photos up as much as I could.
There was a fair amount of duplication of information in the museum, and I've tried to pare this down.
The state of Oklahoma, which has assumed charge of this site, has been reluctant (apparently) to fund the excavation work needed to figure out what's actually here.
They think there are 12 mounds at this site: a leaders' burial mound, 2 temple mounds, and 9 house mounds, all spread over 150 acres. But because they believe this site developed to house 5,000 to 10,000 residents, I'm guessing eventually more than these might be found.
Meanwhile, excavation has been done mostly on what they call Craig Mound, which was the leaders' burial mound, and most of that was done by looters in the 1930s. The artifacts they unearthed were scattered around the world, though some are being returned by donors.
Daily life at Spiro Mounds
Housing:
Food:
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| these ears were only a few inches long - almost like corn for a doll |
Children:
Men:
Physical siting:
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| the little structure in the center is the visitor center |
This society was here from about 850 AD until 1450, but there were already people living here by at least 800 and continued to live here until the mid-1500s.
Religion:
Decline of this society:
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| part 1 |
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| part 2 |
Artifacts found here:
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| Bison Scapula Hoe (replica) |
Other art displayed:
The tribes living in this area
Wichita:
Choctaw:
History of Fort Coffee:
My last comment isn't about the exhibits but instead about the staff. I was the only visitor while I was there, and I thanked the man who was working there as I was leaving. When I said how interesting the differences are between the various cultures at the digs I've visited, he started in on a classroom-style lecture centering on the idea that the Spiro site was premier among all the Mississippian sites. When I mentioned the Serpent Mound in Ohio, he quickly said it was in a different time period (maybe yes, maybe no, according to Ohio folks). When I mentioned Poverty Point in Louisiana, he didn't say it too was in a different time period, though he could have, but instead criticized their culture. And from then on, it was impossible for me to get a word in edgewise.
It was one of the weirder experiences I've had in a long time. He didn't raise his voice but I was standing only 6' from him (he kept moving forward and I kept backing up), and after a while I felt like I was being battered. With words. He would have been interesting to talk to, I think, because he was clearly well informed, but he didn't seem interested in having a conversation. He just kept going on and on. After about 10 minutes or so of this nonstop talking, I gave up trying to do a polite segue and instead just interrupted him to ask if it was okay for me to stay parked there long enough to eat lunch. He was clearly surprised, whether by the interruption or by the non sequitur I don't know, and said I could do anything I wanted, and I left really quick before he had a chance to start talking again.
When I got out to the RV, my ears were ringing as if I'd been listening to a loud band playing. It took hours before my head settled down. When I could think again, I decided either he lived alone and had nobody else to talk to, or nobody he knew wanted to talk to him about this subject that he knew so well.
Remaining drive
From Spiro, it was only about 30 miles to tonight's campground, an easy drive on the interstate.
Greenleaf State Park is proud of its award-winning status.
And it seems to have something for everyone: a super deluxe splash pad, miniature golf, boat launch, horseshoes, hiking trails, kids' fish pond, restaurants. They bill themselves as a resort, which I guess is about accurate. All I was looking for was a quiet night and a place to walk the dogs without zillions of other dogs. This being a Wednesday (and therefore the lightest day for campers), I got both.
I also got birds. When I was walking the dogs I saw several Bluebirds, which is always nice. And I saw several sparrows that I've finally decided must have been Chipping Sparrows.
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| Chipping Sparrow (breeding plumage) |
And I saw 2 odd-looking insects. They each had a thickish black body that extended only about as far back as the 4 arms sticking straight out, 2/side. Each arm had 2 wing flaps off it, like the wing flaps on an airplane wing, and these flaps moved up and down like those on an airplane. Each flap was bi-colored - white and brown I think. They both had tails about the same length as the body that extended past the arms. The tail on one insect was black like its body, and on the other insect the tail was definitely white. I wondered if one were male and the other female.
And all this wildlife was hanging around the kids' fishing pond. As were the wildlife I travel with.
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