William Jefferson Clinton (5/8/25)

 Paul and I have never been ones to have a specific “bucket list” of places we want to visit- we don’t need to get to all the states, or all the national parks, or all the presidential libraries- but that doesn’t mean we don’t enjoy visiting all of the above.   The last time we came through Little Rock, our focus was on Hot Springs National Park ( my least favorite national park, by the way). Since I felt no need to re-visit, we could focus on the William J. Clinton Presidential Library.

The library has a fair amount of information about both Bill and Hilary, starting from their childhoods.

Hillary grew up in the Chicago area, the oldest of 3. Even as a young child, she wanted to make a difference- a copy of her handwritten paper is on display and reads (in part)

                                                            My Future

When I grow up I want to have had the best education I could have possibly obtained.  If I obtain this I will probably be able to get a very good job. I want to either be a teacher or a nuclear physics scientist. Sometimes people as  me why I would want to be a teacher. The way I figure it though, is that the government  and adults are always talking about how the children of today are the citizens of tomorrow. With this thought in mind you have to have teachers to train the young citizens…

She attended Wellesley College for her undergraduate degree in Political Science, and received her  law degree from Yale in 1973. Soon thereafter she was appointed to the Impeachment Inquiry staff, in Washington DC, which advised the house committee regarding impeachment proceedings against President Nixon.

When Bill was elected president, she was the first professional woman to serve as First Lady, and the first First Lady to have her own office in the West Wing.

After his presidency she became the first First Lady to launch her own campaign for an elected office, which she won, in 2001, becoming Senator Hillary Clinton.

Bill Clinton’s childhood was completely different. He was born William Jefferson Blythe III in 1946. His father, William J Blythe, died before he was born and his mother later married Roger Clinton.

As a teen, Bill officially changed his last name to Clinton, in part so that everyone in the household would have the same last name (he has a younger half brother).

After receiving his bachelors degree from Georgetown University, he went on to receive his law degree from Yale, where he met Hillary Rodham, the future Hillary Rodham Clinton.

He started his political career as the Arkansas Attorney General, and by 1978 had become one of the youngest ever governors of Arkansas.

In 1992 he ran for, and won, the election for U.S. President, against George  H. W. Bush and Ross Perot.

Of course, many of the displays detail his political career, especially his presidency. Walking through the halls of photos and information plaques, I was reminded that there was much to like about Bill Clinton as a president. I suppose that is also why he easily won re-election. As a man, he certainly isn’t perfect, but I feel like he accomplished so much as the leader of our country.

Some of my favorite accomplishments of his:

The first bill he ever signed into law was the Family and Medical Leave Act.

In 2000 he established Vermillion Cliffs National Monument. I have hiked here many times- including our recent trip to hike the Wave. It is fantastic that this place is protected.

He worked on Welfare reform- his goal- ending Welfare as we know it,  and decreasing dependence on government subsidies.

He was the first president in decades to commit to a balanced budget. It took years but in 1998, for the first time in a generation, the federal deficit officially hit Zero.  We have not had a balanced budget or surplus since Clinton left office.

This is so huge to me- an amazing feat and yet once he accomplished it we perhaps should have insisted upon it from that point on?

Each president gets to decorate the Oval Office any way they want, which of course would make it more personal and comfortable for them.

The same is not true of the Cabinet Room. Taking a short break, Paul and I sat at the table in the cabinet room replica,  and were soon joined by a volunteer who was extremely informative.

The room has remained essentially the same for decades- with two exceptions. In 1970, President Nixon gifted a new table to the administration. The old table was rectangular, making it difficult for everyone to be seen by all others at the table. The oval shape works much better.

Also, each president can decide which two portraits hang on the wall.

Cabinet meetings are held an average of once a week, more if necessary. The record was during the Bay of Pigs, when President Kennedy held cabinet meetings daily, and sometimes twice a day.

The protocol of who sits where is not determined by seniority, at least, not seniority of the individual at the table- it is decided by seniority of the position. So, for example, the Secretary of State sits next to the President even if he has held the position for a week because the Secretary of State position is the oldest.

All along the corridor are displays of gifts given to President Clinton.  You might think that there would be rules against our President accepting gifts from foreign leaders, but it was George Washington who decided it was virtually impossible to say no to every gift that was offered by a head of state.

Instead, he decided that these gifts would be gifts to the American people. Most of them are housed in the National Archives, or in Presidential Libraries. (gift from Chihuly)

There were many more displays than I can describe here. These were the ones that were highlights for me.

As a side note, there is a kiosk where you can call up any date during Clinton’s presidency, and a picture will pop up with his schedule for that date. It was kind of  fun looking at random dates and also makes you realize how scheduled they can be….

We had a second day to spend in the Little Rock area and after spending an entire day inside, we headed for Pinnacle Mountain State Park. There is a 3 mile loop to a peak that can be done from two different sides. They both reach the pinnacle, but one is harder going down ( always more of a challenge).

Well, we chose wrong and spent a long but doable 1.5 miles going up to the pinnacle. The trail is mostly bouldering, which is fun, if it isn’t too steep. It was slow but fine on the way up.

The views from the top made it all worthwhile …

But of course the more difficult route was going down. Making sure we were not going to fall can be a challenge on a trail like this.

Ah well, all in all it was fun.

Moving into Arkansas (5/1/25)

 At this point in our travels we have decided several things- we want to go to the Clinton Presidential Library in Little Rock, and we really want to stop at the new National Park- New River Gorge National Park. Our “bookend” is our two week stay in Laurel Springs NC, to visit good friends that we haven’t seen in a long time. Our stay there begins May 14  so we have some time to see things along the way.

Our next stop was barely over the Arkansas border, in the small town of Fort Smith. I really liked this town, and the RV park we stayed in was new, and very well thought out.

In addition to housekeeping, we found time to visit the U.S. Marshal’s Museum.

The U.S. Marshal's Office is the oldest Federal law enforcement agency in the country.

 It was created in 1789 by George Washington when he signed the Judiciary Act of 1789.

 Their function was, and is, to support the federal courts and enforce the laws of the United States. Each judicial district has one Marshal, and however many deputy marshals are deemed necessary (some of them are even temporary).

Although one of their more noticeable jobs is to transport federal prisoners, it is just a small part of what they do. 

They are also responsible for apprehending fugitives, by whatever means they can. In 1985 Operation Flagship was put into play. Letters were sent out to 3000 fugitives, congratulating them on winning tickets to a football game. All they had to do was show up at a specific day and time to collect their tickets. Of course, once the fugitives were all assembled, they were placed under arrest. 144 fugitives were apprehended in this sting.

In the early days, there were also special marshals, called Frontier Marshals. As the name implies, they worked mostly out west where life was rougher and many of our states were just territories. Probably one of the most famous Frontier Marshals was Bass Reeves (apparently there is a TV show about him). Born into slavery, he escaped, and eventually became the first black deputy marshal west of the Mississippi. By some accounts he was responsible for capturing over 3000 fugitives. His intelligence and ingenuity seemed to be his most important weapons.

As more territories became states, the frontier was declared closed. So after 30 years as a deputy marshal, Reeves was out of a job. He finished out his career with the Muskogee Police Department.

Prohibition and desegregation were just two of the many areas where marshals played a huge role. In 1960 they were responsible for the safety of Ruby Bridges, a six year old black girl, as she attended an all white elementary school. They were also on hand to protect the first black man to attend a white university. Nothing was easy for these kids, so I give them a ton of credit for standing up. Ruby became an honorary marshal much later in her life.

The museum is very well done with several interactive displays – it’s  high on our list of best museums.

Leaving Fort Smith, our next 3 day stop was Compton Arkansas, in the Ozark mountains. No museum here, just hiking- and gorgeous sunsets.

This is the area where Buffalo River flows but its a bit early in the year to be on or in the water.

 

Our first hike was ok- 3 miles round trip to Hemmed in Hollow. If we had kept going we would have gotten a better view of the waterfall, but since we wanted to do another hike, we chose to turn back.

The second hike was much better- 3 miles round trip to “ Lost Valley”. This is a popular hike so we were certainly not alone.

The trail entailed crossing over a stream several times but luckily the water wasn’t too high.

The payoff for the hike was a couple of decent waterfalls and some cool rock formations.

Sometimes its better to have a person in the picture, to get some perspective.

Now it's on to Little Rock.

Love/Hate (11-04-11)

There are things I love about this lifestyle, and things I hate about it.
What I love about it:  2 days ago, I had my phone in my hand,  and was punching in the numbers to call an RV park in Texarkana, TX to make a reservation. As I am doing this, Paul says “Hey, there is a commercial on TV for the Louisiana State Fair- do a quick google and check it out, will you?”   So I do a quick “google” and I discover that the State Fair is in progress, and it’s in Shreveport, LA, a mere 130 miles from our current location.  After finding an RV park that has room for us, the decision was made, so, here we are in Shreveport, LA. 
   I am pretty excited about being here.   There is a Rodeo on Saturday night, and since I’ve never been to one, it’s been high on my list of Wants.  We now have box seat tickets to tonight’s rodeo. Sweet!  The other bonus is that by being stationary in a commercial park, I was able to get something shipped to me here- which leads me to what I (used to) hate about this lifestyle:
What I hate about it: Lack of internet.  This is one of the biggest issues that full time RVers have to address in some way.  There are many options, some cheap and somewhat unreliable, and some pretty expensive (satellite Internet), with several options in between.  Up to this point, Paul and I have chosen to rely mostly on campground Wi-Fi systems, and when that is unavailable, we tether to my AT&T cell phone. Lately that’s been a problem because apparently I have dropped my phone too many times and the connections are too loose to use to connect it to the PC.  Add to that the fact that AT&T coverage is not what we would like it to be, and my frustration level increases dramatically. AND, the speed of campground Wi-Fi systems slows to a painful crawl as more people try to use it.
    As I mentioned in my last post, at Devil’s Den we had neither cell coverage,nor internet.  Not that I think Verizon is perfect, but I do believe it’s much better than AT&T.  Devil’s Den was last straw for me.  I got on the phone with my personal Verizon Wireless Sales Consultant (who I have been reviewing options with for several months) and told him to ship my new IPAD II!  
The Ipad solves several frustrations for me.  Within hours of receiving it, I had activated a data plan for it through Verizon.  So, last night when the campground Wi-fi slowed to 1mbps, I switched over to my personal Verizon plan and I was back in business!  The other perk is that I will have a better internet connection to do research, as we travel down the road.  No longer will I have to rely on the small screen on my  phone.
And so begins our migration over to Verizon and Apple.

Arkansas State Parks(10-29-11)

                                                                       The last two places we stayed in were Arkansas State Parks, and I must say, they have some of the best I have seen.  Full Hookup, nice hardtop driveways that are long, and easily accessible.  The last one we were in, Crater of Diamonds State Park, even had great Wi-fi!  Devil’s Den State Park did not, however.  I didn’t even have cell signal.  We had to drive to the top of the hill to make calls and check email.  That situation was the straw that broke the camel’s back, for me, but I’ll get into that in the next post. So…..
Devil’s Den State Park:
According to the Ranger,, no one really knows why this park was named Devil’s Den.  I am guessing it has to do with some of the unique rock formations or caves, but that’s just a guess.
     There are a few reasonably short hikes in the park so our first day here we decided to do several of them.  We kind of put them all together to make one 8 mile hike.  In fact, we started at the campsite, so we didn’t even have to drive.  After hiking the Yellow Rock Trail with an elevation gain of about 400 ft, we continued on with the Devil’s Den Trail, which, we found out after we got there, is an interpretive trail, with numbered displays along the trail.  Of course, you have to buy the booklet in order to know what you are looking at, and the Visitors Center was too far away for us to bother going to buy one, so we just hiked the trail.
   
Usually there is a lake here, but it’s been drained in order to make repairs to the dam.  The pedestrian walkway over the river is also closed- and it’s clear that although the river is very low right now, it was flooded at one time, because the debris is still on the walkway that the flooding demolished.  Oh, and the caves are closed as well, due to the threat of White Nose disease- a disease that is wiping out bat populations all over the country.
     Our second day in the park was our “big hike” day.  We had to register with the Ranger in order to hike the Butterfield Trail.  They wanted all kinds of information from us, including wanting to know what we are carrying for safety equipment, (cell phone, GPS, flashlight) and they also gave us tips- like, “shut off your cell phone (since there is no service) to conserve the battery in case you get lost”.  The hike loosely connects with the route that the Butterfield Stage Coach line took back in the early days, and most of the trail is in the Ozark National Forest, not the state park.  We loved the sign at the entrance assuring hikers they will get lost if they don’t have a map.  And they really aren’t kidding.  We lost the trail 2 or 3 times and had to refer to the map and the GPS repeatedly.  By the time the day was over, we had hiked about 9 miles.  It was a really difficult trail for me because so much of the trail was loose rock which is tough on my foot, and a little slow going because it would be so easy to twist an ankle.  It’s hikes like this that make me glad I have really good high profile hiking boots! 
    There were some interesting rock formations along the way and several “unofficial” campsites, like the one in the picture.  Sorta made us wish we had a tent, but then, the temperature went down to 32 degrees that night, so maybe not.
Crater of Diamonds State Park:
    
        Since we’re already in Arkansas, we figured we’d check out this park.  It’s one of those unique experiences that you take advantage of because you happen to be there and it’s available.  Crater of Diamonds is literally a crater that is full of diamonds.  It’s the only diamond field in the U.S  where the public can dig for diamonds, and keep what they find.   They charge about $7 per person to dig for the day.  The day that we were there, there were at least 3 diamonds found, and since it became a state park  in 1972, there have been over 29,000 diamonds found by park visitors.  Did we find one? Nope, but the 10 year old girl we met did.  In fact, she found two.  We did have some fun trying, having gone there with the understanding that it was  going to be a muddy, dirty day. There are two methods of diamond sifting-the dry method and the wet method.  We chose the wet method because you can sift the dirt faster.  They plow the field once a month to stir up the dirt, and it seemed pretty clear that after the plowing, or after a rainfall, would be the best time to look for diamonds, but we’re not going to stick around that long.
       Of course, most of the diamonds found here are small, or reasonably flawed, but there have been many that were over 5 carats, and one of the diamonds here was rated as a “D” perfect diamond,  a one in a billion diamond, the likes of which most gemologists never see in their lifetime.

Buffalo River National Park, AR (10-25-11)

                                                             There’s nothing better than spending a day on the water, and that’s what we did Tuesday, when the weather was beautiful-sunny with temperatures in the 80s. .  We rented canoes with an outfitter that also provides a shuttle service, and off we went,  canoeing 4.5 miles down the Buffalo River.  Paul took the steering position, which left me in the “just paddle when I tell you to” position. Along the way we took breaks to eat lunch and to just enjoy the day.  We got a glimpse of a Bald Eagle, soaring among the many vultures that flew overhead.  We tried sneaking up on the turtles as they were sunning themselves on the rocks, but weren’t very successful at it.                   

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

          Lest we get bored,  every once in a while we would come upon some “rapids”.  I use the term loosely, but there was some swift moving water that required some planning on how we were going to get through it.  Several times it involved Paul yelling “paddle!! No, on the other side!!”  So much fun!The water was crystal clear and beautiful, which allowed us to watch the turtles and fish and sometimes made it easy to dodge the many boulders lurking just beneath the surface.

Because we took the short trip, we had time to hike in the afternoon.  We did the relatively short hike (3.5 miles) to the Indian Natural House, basically a cliff overhang that was used by Indians so many years ago.

 

We knew the weather would be taking a turn for the worse soon, so we got up early the next day to do the other hike that we were really interested in doing.  Armed with our cheat sheet of where the building and mine ruins are located, we headed to Rush, the local ghost town.  A town that was founded based on the zinc that was discovered underground. A town quickly built up in the early 1900s, and during World War I, zinc mining reached it’s pinnacle here in Rush.  Unfortunately, after the war, the price of zinc plummeted, which sadly caused the mine to close and townspeople to slowly drift away.  In the 1950s the last store closed, leaving a handful of residents to cope on their own, until the last of them left in the 1960s.


Apparently I forgot to take pictures yesterday.  I think it was because I was too busy looking at the GPS because we kept losing the trail. Everything is quite overgrown, and the terrain is very hilly and wooded. Twice we had to turn around. Well, once it was because I refused to cross over the steep hill of loose gravel that looked like a landslide waiting to happen.  I did get one shot, of Paul exploring a mine opening.




True to the weather forecast, the rain arrived late yesterday and has not left the area yet, so today was spent doing projects.  Paul’s project list is back up to 14 items, so he was anxious to start tackling something.  With no TV, cell phone or internet, I spent my day going through all the pictures from our trip over the last 2 years, deleting the ones I don’t need to keep.  Believe it or not, it took me all day. Tonight I tried a recipe I have for microwave brownies and it actually worked pretty well!  It only takes 6 minutes to cook them!

Eureka! (Springs, AR) 10-14-11

     I was going to say that it will probably take a while for us to get back into the swing of being on the road, but the truth is, we slipped back into our lifestyle very quickly and effortlessly.  Already our plans are changing daily- just the way we like it.  If we really wanted to stick to the plans we made, of course, we would, but we usually enjoy the fact that we can change them at will.   Our original idea was to go to Branson, MO and meet up with some friends, but they didn’t go to Branson.  They went to Eureka Springs, AR instead.  And so, here we are in  Eureka Springs, relaxing and having a great time with our Escapee friends.
   The other night we all made a dish and congregated at our trailer to enjoy an awesome Mexican dinner, complete with Margaritas ( of course) and something different that we all tried.  Paul and I love to cook with Hatch Chilis, and we found, along our travels, a wine made with them, so we bought it.  We finally opened it the other day and all 6 of us tried it and decided that it wasn’t terrible!     

    Eureka Springs looks like a very interesting little town, but Paul and I have only done a drive by type of exploring.  Maybe some other time we’ll spend a day walking around investigating what the town has to offer.  The terrain here is very hilly and the roads are very “twisty” which makes for an interesting, if not challenging, drive (especially at night).  I love this little suspension bridge, but I am glad Paul does the driving. There wasn’t much room for the dually on this one!

   Yesterday we ventured up to Branson for the day, which was about a 60 mile ride, but with these lovely roads, it was almost an hour and a half drive. We had tickets to see “The Six”. the #1 show in Branson for 2011.  The Six are six brothers who perform together, using only their voices for not only the singing, but all  the instrumental sounds. The show was pretty good, since I think we are all easily entertained!


      Once the show was over we had to check out the Tool store whose reviews said it was “SO MUCH BETTER than Harbor Freight Tools”.  I am not sure any of us would agree with that, but each of the guys did leave the store with a bag of stuff, so I think they enjoyed the hour they spent in it!
    We topped of the day with a trip to Branson Landing and dinner at the White River Fish House.
Today the weather has changed drastically, from 80 degrees two days ago, to 37 degrees last night.  It’s still in the 40s out there today, and the wind is whipping!

Hot Springs, Arkansas




walkway to the 7th floor of the Arlington Hotel

 

   Whenever possible, Paul and I have decided we love to adhere to the 2-2-2 rule.  That is, travel no more than 200 miles a day, finish driving by 2 pm, and stay 2 nights.  Once we left Memphis, it was a little over 200 miles to get to Hot Springs, and we got there early enough in the day so that we could do some exploring.  We checked out the National Park Visitors Center which is in a restored bath house and is a museum of sorts, giving people an idea of how the bath houses operated back in the early 1900s.



Yesterday was one of those absolutely perfect days.  The weather was perfect- about 65 degrees and sunny and everything went just how we wanted it to go.  We started off by hiking about 6 miles or so in Hot Springs National Park.  Basically we walked through the woods, over the hill and into the town.  This trail actually ends at the 7th floor of a hotel! The hotel is built into the hillside and at the7th story, there is a walkway.  That's also where the pool and hot tub are. If we had only known, we'd have brought suits. 



      We ate lunch in town (another strange thing to do on a hike) before trekking the 3 miles back over the hill.  Once there, we got the truck and drove it back to the Arlington Hotel.  By this time it was 4 pm and at 4:30 there was going to be Christmas caroling in the hotel lobby.  The lobby is huge and set up with small bar tables, so Paul and I ordered Margaritas and waited for the music.  The hotel really does it up nice, providing free refreshments- coffee, hot chocolate, cookies, etc.  The music was great- they handed out song sheets so everyone could sing along.

      After the music died down we headed outside.  The hotel is right in the middle of the town, where all the shops are and it was "Gallery Walk" night, which means all the stores stayed open later.  We strolled around the town, wandering in and out of stores, and also got to see the town Christmas lights light up.  We never did eat dinner that night.

So, Hot Springs is, of course, known for its hot springs.  They were used years ago therapeutically, mostly before the modern  medicines and antibiotics we have now.  The water, when it comes up to the surface from deep in the earth, is about 140 degrees and about 4000 years old.  Its full of minerals that are supposed to be good for you.  Obviously the water has to be cooled down to a usable temperature, but its illegal to cool it with non-hot springs water.  Many of the springs have been capped to protect them, and the government controls the water, supplying the bath houses and anyone else who wants to drink the water.  The bath houses are all in a row on the same street. Beautiful old buildings. There are also several dispensing fountains throughout the town, and everyone is free to fill up whatever containers they bring. 

      Our venture into a Bath House took place this afternoon, after going for a long walk in  a local state park.  We chose to keep it simple and just utilize the main "hot tub" rooms at one of the bath houses.  They have 4 huge hot tubs, all set to different temperatures and you can move from tub to tub as much as you want.  That really is the simple route.  The bath houses mostly cater to people who want private massages, tub soaks  and whatever, but I wasn't really interested in going that route.

The weather here has spoiled us and caused us to change our plans for our next destination.  Well, actually, the weather forecast for Oklahoma City did that.  The temperatures there will be in the 20s at night, with possible snow on Tuesday, so we are bypassing OK and heading for the Dallas area instead.