Why Arkansas is all about the Frontier Spirit

Loved Tennessee. Might not have been the right temperature but crossing over the Mississippi River for the first and only time during this RoadTrip was a huge experience. The river is the main artery for everything that happens in the U.S. And on the other side of the river from Memphis is the huge state of Arkansas.

And there is another river, the Arkansas River, which divides Little Rock from the eastern part of Arkansas. It is a truly huge river, like most rivers in the U.S., which makes you wonder how the early founding fathers ever got across the vast turbulent currents. But they did, and in 1812 a meagre 12 people founded what today is called Little Rock, the state capital of Arkansas.

Quality of living in Arkansas is pertained to be one of the best in the United States. That meant we needed to find out why. Was it the huge poisonous centipedes, the snakes slithering all over the place, or were there really some beautiful places to go and visit in Arkansas? It felt very pioneering exploring new places. Often sparsely populated places.

Arkansas is a place to visit If you like cycling. There are also places to kayak. And if that doesn’t float your boat, then how about some shooting ranges? Or a combination of all of the above?

Nevertheless, Little Rock itself is not quite what you expect. I think I saw more cowboy hats in a crowd than anywhere else so far in the U.S., including Texas! More importantly, the evening I got there, I met the first person I ever met from Arkansas. In fact, I met many of them. I found out that most people are Republicans. Much like in Tennessee and Texas. They drank this unusual cinnamon laced shot which I later saw in Walmarts too, and they like to have quite a few of them. Not everyone, of course, but those that I met.

Topics ranged from the vaccine to Trump, but I won’t bore you with the intricacies. It was a real Southern welcome, and it was a great. The other unusual thing. I was starting to get used to having a swimming pool attached to your hotel / motel in almost every hotel / motel I’d stayed at so far. Nobody ever uses these pools from what I can tell, every single place I’ve stayed they stand as a reminder that they are there. Often next to the highway itself. But they are clean and well looked after.

In Arkansas none of the places I stayed at had a swimming pool. But the first hotel had a jacuzzi in the room. Not that I’d asked for it, but it did make the whole experience a bit more bearable. All hotel rooms have proper fridges too, some of them even have microwaves.

So, once you’ve got over the hotel by the freeway experience. Not recommended by the way. Then all you can do is explore the area. The snakes weren’t as scary as I thought, but then things escalated. The beautiful places and lack of bears and wolves does make you feel a little off guard. I was told about coyotes and other ferocious or venomous creatures, but so far, thankfully, so good.

Now there is another important thing to know about Arkansas. Their alcohol laws are supposed to be one of the most restrictive in the U.S. The lady at the reception desk at my lodgings in Hot Springs even reminded me when I checked in, to make sure that I’d bought all the alcohol I needed before Sunday. On Sunday there is no alcohol for sale in the State, apart from in bars and restaurants with ‘private’ licences. Bit like Norway. Enough to go mentioned, though. Except that residents of places like Hot Springs or Little Rock are often known to make the 2+ hour drive to another state to replenish their alcohol supplies.

A few days in Little Rock then a rather distressing drive through the hills on what can only be called ‘tracks’ (thank you Google Maps), and I arrived at Hot Springs.

The hangout of gangsters like Al Capone, and a town that in its time could have been bigger than Las Vegas today. Somehow things didn’t turn out like they should. And that’s not to diminish the beauty of the place. Well worth a visit when you are next in Arkansas ?? There really are boiling hot springs there. Bubbling up out of the ground at various locations across the town. There are some great bathhouses too. Only a couple of them. Most places don’t offer access to the water. And there doesn’t appear to be any demand from the public that I could see either (I was there on a weekend).

The architecture from the late 1800s and early 1900s is splendid though. Generally, one gets the feel that Hot Springs is a developed town. More so than Little Rock itself. Easy to explain. Hot Springs is not a destination in the U.S. right now. Even Little Rock, as a State Capital, is attracting investment and the talent that comes with it. However, this isn’t the case everywhere in the U.S.

So Hot Springs is the exact opposite of what you can expect in a frontier town. It has the infrastructure to hold far more people than it currently counts amongst its population. Drive a few miles in any direction from Hot Springs and you are back in frontier country again. Plots of land dotted with small bungalows or even Winnebago’s characterize the surroundings. It all boils down to one thing. You really need a car. A car allows you to be a pioneer.

And if you have a car, instead of walking up the hills surrounding Hot Springs to admire the view. You can take your pickup all the way up there instead. And many do.

It was on one of these hilltops that I met a rather startling looking ‘critter’. Apparently, the thing is poisonous too. If you are looking to find a beautiful crystal amongst the beautiful hilltop walks (it is renowned for them), remember to look out for ‘critters’, I was one of the lucky ones.

Hot Springs leaves you with a warm feeling. It’s a place you would go back to again. Maybe even for a little longer than a couple of days. Yet, all good things must come to an end, so I set off on my way to Texas. Where we will continue the story about the #DisruptionBanking #RoadTrip around the U.S.?