Nacogdoches, TX to Shirley, AR – April 20-26, 2015

Two more days in Nacogdoches. There were a couple of things we didn't have an opportunity to see, due mainly to the rainy weather. So, off we went to take in a few more sights.

Before I forget, last week I mentioned the tremendous hail storm we had while in Nacogdoches. Here are photos of the damage to the truck. (Hard to see, but the dents are there!)

Our first stop was to the Ruby M. Mize Azalea Garden, which is a project of the Stephen F. Austin State University and the SFA Gardens. It was a beautiful day, so it was an enjoyable walk through the 8-acre garden. Construction on the garden began in an overgrown loblolly pine (common in the southeast US) forest in the winter of 1997; most plantings were completed 5 years later. Today, the garden contains 46 planting beds, 1.25 miles of accessible trails, all complete with 50 benches. (Yea!) In addition to the over 7,000 azalea plants (over 550 varieties), the Ruby M. Mize Azalea Garden is home to over 200 Japanese maple varieties, over 100 camellias, a wonderful collection of hydrangeas and a wide assortment of woody ornamentals rarely found. It’s one of the finest collections in the South. Because the azalea season varies, generally from mid-March to mid-April (depending on temperatures, cloudy weather and other climate factors), we missed the peak and came in on the end of the blooming season. Nevertheless, we did find color everywhere. Other blooms such as hydrangeas bloom May through August and camellias bloom October to February. The Japanese maples boast color through the Spring and Fall.

 Just adjacent to the Azalea garden is the Mast Arboretum. So, we crossed the LaNana Creek on a connecting pedestrian bridge and wandered through. The Mast arboretum (also associated with the University) is a 10-acre lush garden of trees, shrubs, vines, ground cover, annuals, perennials, and ornamental ground cover. It hosts over 7,500 varieties of plants and 20 themed gardens, including a children’s garden. Most of the trees and bushes weren't identified, but we did come across some (obvious) holly bushes of all varieties, and some magnificent sculptures.

Holly, a "Baldcypress" walkway, and a memorial to the fallen
Challenger astronauts

From there we decided to head to the historical Sterne-Hoya house in downtown Nacogdoches. Wouldn't you know—it’s closed Mondays. Dang! Anyway, we did take exterior photos (and scoured the internet for internal photos). Here's a bit of history of the house and its occupants.

The 1830 dogtrot house was built by Adophus Sterne, a prominent merchant and Texas Revolution leader. He and his family occupied the home until 1869 when he sold it to the von der Hoya family, where it remained until it was donated to the City of Nacogdoches in 1858 to be used as a library. (There’s a library "box" outside the home where books can be borrowed and left, as the need arises. Cool!) The interior of the home/library/museum depicts the history of the Sterne occupancy during the Texas Revolution, as well as the Victorian period of the Hoya family. The house is furnished with period antiques, family heirlooms, a Texas history library, and also has one of the earliest wine cellars in Texas. In the back yard are remnants of the original kitchen (which was outside the main dwelling) and the original well. To the rear of the main house was the servants’ quarters. Sterne also built a stable, smoke house, hen house, and corn crib on the property, but they no longer exist. Wish we 'gotten in to see the inside in person!

Top to bottom, L to R: Sterne-Hoya house, front and back; 3 furnished rooms in the home;
the "Texas Revolution library; the first wine cellar in Texas; remnants kitchen and well
with servant quarters in background

A couple of items of interest: Davy Crockett was a guest in the home for 2 weeks in 1835, and Sam Houston was baptized into the Catholic faith in the parlor of the house, thereby meeting the requirements of the Mexican government to settle in this part of Texas and own property.

Tuesday we packed up as much of the exterior stuff as we could, in preparation for our departure Wednesday. Dick had successfully transferred his cold/flu malady to me, so I wasn't feeling up to doing much. (Thanks, Dear!)

Wednesday morning we did final packing up (water, electric, loading the motorcycle—which we always try to do the day before we leave, but there wasn't room between us and our neighbor, so we had to load it after hitching up to the truck and moving back about 10 feet). We finally got on the road by 9:30 a.m., and headed to Shirley, Arkansas—a bit north of Little Rock—to Golden Pond RV Park. Roads were good, but lots of long haul truckers on Interstate 30. We stopped at a Pilot Truck Stop in Arkadelphia, Arkansas for fuel, and waited in line for about 20 minutes before we were able to pull up to the pump. Seemed like forever!

We arrived to Golden Pond RV Park by 5:00 p.m. after a 370 mile drive, the last 11 miles through the hilly and windy roads of this part of Arkansas.

Top to bottom, L to R: Golden Pond RV Park signs, me with host Phillip in office,
a view of the park, our site, the activity room, me overlooking the pond, and the
onsite "Chow Hall" BBQ shack

Golden Pond is a small 50-site RV park located in Shirley, Arkansas, that provides full 50, 30, and 20 Amp hook-up; free cable, electricity and WiFi. There are 8 pull-through graveled sites, and a few tent sites. Shady spots overlook the clear pond with boulder rock walls. Amenities include showers and restrooms, laundry, a camping store, activity and rec room, outdoor patio, full kitchen facilities, propane filling station, as well as walking trails and a fishing pond. Our hosts and owners, Phillip and Courtney Butts, purchased the park in July 2014 and are working to make quite a few improvements to the park. While this isn't a real destination park, it’s located in a very beautiful area, and there are things to see and do within driving distance. Oh, and there's an on-site BBQ shack, the Chow Hall, open Tuesday through Saturday with daily specials (as long as they last!). We had pulled pork sandwiches Thursday night and they were excellent!

I used Thursday as a catch-up day, to do laundry and stuff around the camper.

Friday the weather said rain, but we headed to Arkansas' Natural Bridge, located just 4 miles north of neighboring Clinton, Arkansas. This is not to be missed! This natural phenomenon is a 100-foot sandstone bridge—not an eroded archway. It was used as a bridge during pioneer days and saw cattle drives cross it, as well as wagons. The bridge itself is 120 feet long, and is over 12 feet off the ground.

The drive to the parking lot area was very steep with tight curves, but it’s worth the trip. At one end of the parking lot is a log cabin built in 1871, which now is the entrance to the bridge area and also contains a gift shop. The ranger who greeted us was very informative and provided lots of interesting information on the history of the bridge, as well as the area. A pathway leads from the back of the cabin to the bridge, but along the way you pass another cabin containing lots of antiques and pictures dating back to the early 1800s. Beneath the cabin is an old still—with a recipe for making your own moonshine should you wish! Beyond this cabin is the walkway to the bridge, with a picnic area with tables and benches along the way.

Top to bottom, L to R: Ranger cabin and entrance to the bridge walk;
2 shots of the Ranger cabin/gift shop; a sample of a Prim boulder;
the last are 3 photos of the still and moonshine recipe.

The bridge is located just beyond, to your left. Although you can no longer walk or climb up to it, you can still enjoy the beauty of the bridge and the area. Just beyond the bridge is another picnic area nestled beneath a sandstone overhang. And, there are a couple of caves among the rock formations.

Other curious natural formations are found here, as well. Prim boulders are strange, round, often nearly spherically-shaped sandstone boulders, found near the town of Prim, Arkansas, although they can be found anywhere within a 100-mile area. Many are found lying around at the surface. Geologists believe they’re formed by precipitation of calcite and iron minerals from ground water. These minerals precipitate in concentric bands, making that part of sandstone more resistant to weathering so that the boulders remain after the rest of the sandstone has eroded away.

The Natural Bridge of Arkansas

Antiques and artifacts in the 2nd cabin on property.

A lesson in how turpentine is made. Interesting!

Notorious Belle Starr took her place in history in this area, as well. Legend has it that she and her Cherokee common law husband, Sam Starr, hid out in one of the caves located not too far from the bridge, as they were attempting to elude capture for cattle and horse rustling, harboring outlaws, and other crimes. Riding her mare, Venus, and sporting velvet skirts and plumed hats while wearing a gun belt with 2 pistols, Belle played the role of a "bandit queen." They successfully eluded capture for almost a decade, but were finally caught for horse theft and sentenced to 5 months in federal prison in Detroit. After her release in 1889, outlaw Belle Starr was killed when an unknown assailant fatally wounded her with 2 shotgun blasts from behind. Much more information about Belle Starr can be found on the internet—of course.

After a breakfast of Belgium waffles and sausage, we decided to head 20 miles up the road to Mountain View, Arkansas—the "folk music capital of the world!"

Established in the 1870s, the town of Mountain View, Arkansas is famous for the preservation of folkways and traditional music. In the 1960s, a group of local folk saw the need to create a unique attraction here that would help keep the small community alive. Many residents at that time enjoyed playing and singing traditional "mountain music," and informal gatherings were common. To capitalize on the rich folk music and craft traditions, Mountain View hosted the first annual Arkansas Folk Festival in 1963. That first year brought over 2,500 visitors to the area. Music plays a vital part of the aura of the area as Saturday nights would find locals at a "pickin" in a neighbor’s house or yard. The custom continues today and once the weather gets warm (typically from mid-April through late November), musicians from as far away as Memphis join locals and play music late into the night hours outside around the town square. Bluegrass mostly, but a wide array of folk, swing, country and gospel music can be heard. Please enjoy the following 3 videos we shot of the local music and dancing:

"Will the circle be unbroken"

A local gal "clog dances" on a very small stage to folk music, Part1.

A local gal "clog dances" on a very small stage to folk music, Part2.

Clockwise from top: Mountain View Courthouse;
Mountain View plaque and time capsule; ironwork musicians;
new friends David and Sally; sign for Mountain View Music
House  (next photo) where new and vintage instruments are sold, and
music lessons are taught.

Music is the soul of the town, with a determination to keep the tradition alive through programs such as the Music Roots Program, where through the local school system, area musicians teach young people to play the old tune on traditional string instruments, including guitars, violins/fiddles, dulcimers, stand-up bass, and the fife/flute, as well as the "squeeze box." Several folk musicians hale from Mountain View, including Jimmy Driftwood (Jim Morris), who wrote songs such as "Battle of New Orleans" and "Tennessee Stud," and Grandpa Jones, who was a regular on Hee Haw and the Grand Ole Opry. Film and TV actor Dick Powell's childhood home is located on Mountain View's Main Street.

The afternoon was pretty neat, and we thoroughly enjoyed wandering through the town square, visiting the local shops, and trying out the local fudge. I met two fellows from Duluth, MN (of all places!) who were driving through Mountain View to deliver a vintage canoe so someone in a nearby town. We also met David and Sally from nearby Higden, Arkansas, and who visit Mountain View quite regularly.

Clockwise: banjos, dulcimers, violins/fiddles, stand-up basses, mandolins, guitars

All photos are of the folk groups playing throughout the town, including the clogger,
homemade bass, squeeze box, lap harp, fife, and dulcimer.

Dinner was at a local Mexican restaurant, Mi Pueblito. Because most Arkansas counties are "dry" we didn't get our margaritas, but did enjoy enchiladas, chips and salsa, all washed down with lemon water. What a wonderful day!

I should add an item worthy of note: On April 14, 1996 an F4 tornado tore through Mountain View causing major damage to the town, killing NFL quarterback Kurt Warner's mother-in-law and father-in-law. Another F4 tornado caused major damage on February 5, 2008 in the 2008 Super Tuesday tornado outbreak, the deadliest tornado outbreak in this area in 2 decades. Thankfully, the tornado that hit Vilonia, Arkansas April 26, 2014 did not affect Mountain View.

Sunday was spent relaxing and doing prep work for our departure Monday, when we head to Carterville, Illinois, to visit friends Marvin and Shirley, and to have work done on our 5^th wheel.

That’s it for this week. Stay tuned for more adventures as we continue to make our way north to Minnesota.

Hugs 'n' love,

RJ and Gail