This is our first private park in such a long time. We've been lucky enough to stay at beautiful public parks for weeks and weeks. Mark just reminded me that our last private campground was the one outside Fort Lauderdale, Florida. This one is much nicer than that, and there's hardly anyone here. I guess this town is famous for its Passion Play, which oddly does not start until the end of April (long after Easter, this year). But it's supposed to be nice for other things too--we'll see!
What a neat surprise. The historic part of town is big and beautifully preserved, all along the valley that was once highway 62 (nowadays 62 bypasses the old narrow road and is rather ugly, with a lot of 1970s motels). The old town is full of Victorian homes and businesses, built up by the lucrative curing powers of the 62 springs here (is the number a coincidence?). Luckily, when the depression came, folks stopped coming and the town was largely abandoned and thus preserved. It was a ghost town in the 50s, but in 1968 someone got the idea to start staging a passion play here, and it drew tourists, which brought the money back. Lucky again, the rebirth of the town coincided with the emergence of the historic preservation movement, and the results are really beautiful.
Here are some pictures; they can't give the full picture, to get that you have to wander the narrow streets up and down the valley walls.
Those fancy buses belong to Willie Nelson; he is playing here tonight in that stone auditorium to the left. darn--it was already sold out. I'd love to see inside the 1929 building, but Willie's big guys are already by the doors.
This was the prettiest spring house, Crescent Spring. At nearby Magnetic Spring is this sign:
I asked an old local, a trolley driver, if folks still drink the spring water here. He said no, the EPA says not to. I asked if the water changed, or if the standards did. He figured it was the standards that changed, but added, "but there used to be lots and lots of privies around here. There was a three-storey one over on Main Street."
We are staying out by The Passion Play grounds. It is a very big deal here and runs from April through October. That's just about the whole season of the Shakespeare Festival back in Ashland, Oregon (dozens of plays). But for this town, they only need one play to bring in the money; one play with a long, long run. Here is the entrance:
On the grounds of the passion play is a 40-foot sculpture of Jesus that might resemble the one in South America I think:
Also, oddly enough, on the grounds is a section of the old Berlin Wall! I'm not sure how it got here, but here it is:
And here's the sign describing it:
This has got to be the prettiest town we've seen on the trip. Utah was more spectacular, and Columbus had its Antebellum mansions, it was beautiful in its own way. But for my money, I love the hillsides and the pretty little tiny homes here, the stone slab sidewalks (3 inches thick), the pretty little Carnegie public library. It reminds me of Nevada City, California, but (unfortunately) more touristy, and there's more to see here. I'm glad we are here before the passion play begins in April. It was easy finding parking, and there is a trolley bus that runs all over town too. I really recommend visiting here if you are going to be in Arkansas. It's worth the drive.
So our fridge warmed up again today. Mark was not pleased. So we packed everything up and drove around the twisty roads up here for fifteen minutes, and the shaking seemed to get it going again. The temperature is back down to 36 degrees (we had to buy a thermometer awhile back so we can see the temperature in there from out here). Mark's trying to figure out why this keeps happening. He posted the problem on a bulletin board tonight and emailed some guy there to see if anyone has any ideas.
Tomorrow we head back south, to Little Rock, where we'll spend a day or so and see the new Clinton presidential library/museum. Also I think there is an exhibit on antique toys that Katie and I might like at the art museum there.
I almost forgot my favorite place here. This town has the best bead shop I've ever been in, and I've been in quite a few on this trip. It was tiny but their selection was fascinating and the woman there was making a great necklace and had lots of very interesting pieces there that she had come up with herself. A rather R. Crumb-ish advertising statue in the window told me it was gonna be cool. I bought a bunch of stuff, including a ring the gal made me on the spot, out of silver wire and Austrian crystal. Sounds chi chi, but it was less than $20, and actually kinda campy. I'll wear it and take a pic sometime.
Well this is getting really long. I better go. What a great surprise this place was. It was the recommendation of the woman who gave me the tour at the Mississippi University for Women in Columbus, so thanks Andrea, and thanks Norma!