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Not Much Fall Foliage Near My Campsite
Lead Hill Campground, Bull Shoals Lake near Harrison ARThe drive from Thibaut Point Campground on Harry S. Truman Lake near Warsaw MO to Lead Hill Campground on Bull Shoals Lake near Harrison AR, both U.S. Army Corps of Engineers facilities, took right at three hours and was uneventful. My site was in an open area with great views of the lake, but my plans to look at the fall foliage in all her majestic glory – well, it turned out, not so much. No harm, I had four motorcycle routes earmarked for that endeavor, but it seems I have been about a week or two early all fall. All one can do is plan and hope for the best, but if one doesn’t plan – you can be assured – it probably won’t happen.
The State of Missouri has a dozen or so motorcycles road trips outlined on its web site and has numerous stops along the way at various points of interest. I wonder how the commercial stops got incorporated into the route planner??? That guide includes two motorcycle road trips, the
Jasper Disaster and the
Ozark Moonshine Run Scenic Byways. For the most part, the former is a shortened version of the latter. Of course, Uncle Larry chose the
Interesting Coloration
Crystal Dome - Harrison AR latter.
My first stop on Friday, October 21, 2016 was at
Mystic Caverns and its next-door neighbor, Crystal Dome, both in Harrison. I was the lone customer for the Mystic Caverns tour but was joined by four other tourists on the Crystal Dome tour. Each cave is a separate attraction, with a separate price tag, but a combination ticket is available. With only an occasional rare exception, a cave is a cave. Either you like them or you don’t. Personally, I find them interesting but am getting to the point where less strenuous cave tours are becoming just what the pulmonologist ordered. The tour guide was personable, walked very slowly and seemed to be very knowledgeable. In spite of his negligible tenure on Planet Earth, his narrative was akin to that of a sixty-year-old high school history teacher who had “been there, done that” too many times to count – that is, until he was asked a question. Then, he pushed the pause button, blossomed and became animated.
My next stop was at
Twin (or Triple) Falls, also near Harrison, which is rated as one of the Top 100 Waterfalls in the U.S. Whether the waterfall is a twin or a triple
depends on the phase of the moon. Just checking to see who’s paying attention! The information I harvested instructed me to turn off the paved road (AR 43) onto a gravel road at a sign, "Camp Orr Boy Scout Camp." So far, we’re good. No mention was made, however, that about a mile down the gravel road one encounters a second "Camp Orr Boy Scout Camp" sign. New information – turn right at that sign. I continued travelling straight, thinking that the second Camp Orr sign was a boundary sign. Fortunately, I encountered a couple of locals heading up the hill and inquired about the remaining distance. They got me on the right track. I backtracked to the turnoff and proceeded to the parking area. The road is gravel but is not a 4-wheel drive or high clearance road by any stretch. Just use caution. The walk from the parking area to the waterfall is short and easy. That makes the drive on the gravel road the fly in the ointment. IF there has been significant rainfall, this waterfall would be fantastic; HOWEVER, that was not the case on the day of my visit. You’ll have to think of the
recent weather conditions, weigh the cost/benefit ratio and decide for yourself.
I next stopped at the
Hilary Jones Wildlife Museum near Jasper AR, which actually is incorporated into the Arkansas Game & Fish Commission Visitor Center. The “museum” holds several interesting game mounts, some are head mounts hanging from the wall while others are full mounts displayed in a couple of dioramas. The attraction is worth a brief stop for the outdoorsman if driving past. Next up, the obscure
Alum Cove Natural Bridge in the Ozark National Forest near Deer AR. The arch is 0.4 miles from the parking area but also is incorporated into a 1.1 mile looping trail. I made it to the bridge (the trail crosses over the top of the bridge) and saw no prudent way to hike down either side of the arch to the base or the streambed for a better view of the bridge. This attraction was a disappointment and deserves all the attention and publicity it receives – very little. Moving right along, I stopped at the
Boxley Valley Elk Viewing Area near Boxley AR. The elk were doing what elk do in midday – resting a considerable distance from the tourists. That wasn’t a problem as my best views of
elk come in the crosshairs of my 30.06, which I have safely stored in Arizona. Someday, maybe again.
I had planned to make a stop at the
Ponca Elk Education Center in Ponca AR, but time was NOT on my side so I instead made a stop at the
Low Gap Café in Low Gap AR. As I approached the establishment, the owner, Nick Bottini (who studied at the Culinary Institute of America in New York), was taking a break outside. We chatted briefly, I went inside and got seated. This restaurant is in the middle of NOWHERE, but offers a menu that is reminiscent of any major city – Grilled Stuffed Portabella Mushroom, Chicken Bagliore, Pan seared Salmon, Tornadoes of Beef Oscar and Fried Frog Legs to name only a few. There is also a salad menu and a kids’ menu. Its slogan, "The Friendliest Place in Town," is not a collection of empty words. Low Gap Café truly is a fun place to dine. Like Nick told me, “If you make it good, they will come!” He opened the Low Gap Café in 2011 and apparently is still “making it good” in 2016. Low Gap Café is open only Thursday thru Sunday.
After all, he came her to enjoy the laid back lifestyle!
My second motorcycle route was the
Sylamore Scenic Byway. I had only one stop planned for the drive, that being
Blanchard Springs Caverns near Fifty Six AR. The U.S. Forest Service offers three different trips through the cavern. I opted for the easiest, the Dripstone Trail portion. Both the Discovery Trail and the Wild Cave Tour seemed a little bit beyond practical for an old man with leather lungs. The tour was okay but the demand was higher than usual, and I believe the group was larger than normal. That having been said, I lingered to take a couple of pictures early on in the tour, became stranded at the back of the pack and could hear nothing the tour guide was saying. No problem, I would rather have pictures I can look at next year than hear a narrative I couldn’t remember next week.
The third motorcycle route is labeled
Eureka Springs Backroads by the State of Missouri. Actually, I only completed about half the route, a quarter I had already seen and a quarter remains to be conquered by my eyeballs. This is a long, long story I will make very,
The Organ Is A Classic
Crescent Hotel – Eureka Springs AR very short. My niece (Helen’s daughter) told me I might want to give her uncle (on her dad’s side) a call when I was in the Eureka Springs area as she thought he and I would hit it off quite well. I called, and he and his wife met me at one of their favorite eateries for a buffet brunch. We did, indeed, hit it off very nicely, and, after brunch, they gave me a tour of Eureka Springs.
The most notable tourist stop on my personalized tour of Eureka Springs was the
Crescent Hotel. “America's Newest and Most Luxurious Hotel,” built at a cost of $294,000, opened on May 20, 1886. For its first 15 years, the Crescent Hotel was operated as an exclusive year-round resort hotel catering to the “carriage set.” Why were these elite so labeled, you ask? Prior to the mid-twentieth century, those rich folks could not be called the “jet set!” The Crescent boasted a stable with “a hundred sleek-coated horses” for the guests' riding pleasure. “Often as many as 75 riders could be seen making their way along some remote mountain trail - the ladies in their long skirts, hats and veils, mounted fashionably
on sidesaddles while the gentlemen were gallantly astride mounts with English saddles." Western saddles with their treacherous saddle horns were not allowed.
From 1908-1934 the Crescent Hotel operated as the Crescent College & Conservatory for Young Women during the fall, winter and spring months but continued to function as a hotel during the summer season. Due to tough economic times brought on by the Great Depression, the college closed in 1934, and the hotel was open only during the summer months. Three years after the Crescent College closed, the doors reopened for an alternate use, marking one of the most colorful eras in the hotel's history. Norman Baker, a charlatan who allowed himself to be called "doctor," purchased the Crescent Hotel and converted it to Baker's Cancer Curing Hospital. Baker had a fetish for the color purple, and many sections of the “hospital” were painted purple. Some purple remnants can still be seen on the chimneys on the rooftop of the hotel. Baker also drove a purple automobile and wore white linen suits with purple shirts and ties. People came from all over to seek “the cure.” Many came, many were treated, many died and a few of their
"Grandma's House"
Tour of Eureka Springs AR stories can be heard along with what happened to Norman Baker on the nightly Crescent Ghost Tour – unfortunately, I had to return to Harrison before the “ghosting” hour.
As my niece had predicted, her uncle and I hit it off splendidly, we had a very nice day and I got to shoot a couple of pictures of “grandma’s house” to share with my niece and nephews. Another of my niece’s uncles was unable to make it that day, but we all might get together when I’m back in the area watching some more leaves on a different group of trees lose their chlorophyll and fall from comparable limbs in preparation for a similar winter onslaught. Time will tell on that one.
The fourth, and final, motorcycle route was the
Peel Ferry Route. It gets its name from, ta dah, the Peel Ferry which sails from a point near, ta dah, Peel AR. The complimentary ferry was initiated after a dam was constructed and Bull Shoals Lake was filled. I suppose the ferry was more economical that a 1 ½-mile bridge. I’ve done the ferry thing before on several occasions (only once with the Pilgrim in tow) so that was
not a big deal. What was a draw was the pristine, national forest drive on the north side of the lake. For about twenty miles there were no houses, no billboards, no roadside businesses, no side road traffic – just trees and blue skies with a thread of black showing the way. That stretch was the highlight of the four motorcycle journeys of this week. I continued west through Branson, which is quite the opposite of peaceful and serene, and then south on US 65. When I reached Harrison, I made a stop at the 1929 Hotel Seville. Actually, I planned to have a sandwich and a beer in the hotel restaurant (both are available on the Internet menu) but was told the restaurant isn’t open for lunch. That’s pretty crazy. A few pictures later, I headed back to the campground.
My week in northcentral Arkansas was chock full of nice scenic drives but was short on attractions, particularly human-contrived attractions. Caverns, a waterfall, natural bridges and a colorful leaf or two made for a fine week of relaxation. Although I planned to enjoy more fall foliage than I was afforded, those colors will catch up with
me eventually. I met a restauranteur who has given up life in the fast lane for a slower paced Ozark lifestyle – and had a mighty fine prime rib dinner in the process. I made a new acquaintance with my niece’s uncle – that’s now four consecutive weeks of kindling or rekindling relationships. With the exception of those fall colors I mentioned, I got exactly what I had expected and exactly what I had desired.
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