Before this trip, I had two states I had not yet visited: North Dakota and Arkansas. It's now down to one.
We left drizzly Memphis and drove a couple hours through rural farmland and small towns before finally reaching Little Rock. We stayed in the Argenta District in North Little Rock, in a very cool Victorian house AirBnB - our room was in the turret. We walked around the neighborhood for a few minutes, and somehow walked into a used furniture/antique shop. The owner was sitting around with some friends. They were very friendly, and when we told them we were visiting Little Rock from Denver, their response was a very perplexed, "Why?". They were extremely funny, and they gave us some drinks while we chatted.
We drove around downtown Little Rock, saw the Capitol building, stopped at a local Distillery, drove through some of the old neighborhoods, the downtown area, and the waterfront. After sunset, we enjoyed a beer and some food at the Flying Saucer.
The following morning, after a nice breakfast at a local restaurant in the Argenta District, we drove to the Capitol building to see the memorial to the Little Rock 9. It is a very touching memorial on the north side of the Capitol. From there, it was a short drive to the museum at the Little Rock Central High School. The museum told the heart-wrenching stories of the Little Rock 9 students who fought to attend the high school. What these young people had to endure was both tragic and inspiring.
While in Arkansas, we did want to experience a bit of nature, so we drove to Pinnacle Mountain State Park, where we got in a nice hike. We practically had the place to ourselves. On our hike, we even found a kneeling tree.
We decided to head back to the city so we could visit the Clinton Presidential Library. It is a really nice, modern building, directly on the waterfront. Excellent displays and historical touches.
On our drive back to Memphis for our flight home that evening, we stopped at a BBQ joint just off the highway in rural Arkansas. It was packed with truckers, which was a good sign. The BBQ was really good.
So, 49 states down. Watch out North Dakota. You're next.
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