As we left Queen Wilhelmina State Park, our GPS took us down a narrow highway with a warning sign that warned of a "Crooked and Steep" road ahead. It wasn't exaggerating! It was one of the crookedest and steepest roads we have ever seen, and also one of the narrowest roads we've ever taken in the motor home. What a way to start a driving day!
We have been in the western edge of Arkansas, and today's drive actually dipped us into Oklahoma (where the speed limit went up by 10 mph) . . .
and then back into Arkansas for our destination in Fort Smith, Arkansas.
A city with a name like Fort Smith must have a fort somewhere, and we went in search of it. We found Fort Smith National Historic Site, right in the middle of town. The fort walls are long gone, but a few old buildings remain. In the background is the old fort barracks--re-purposed into a jail--then re-purposed into a courthouse--then re-purposed into a national historic site visitor center. They are all closed now because of Covid restrictions.
We were still able to wander the old fort grounds, and peek into the fort commissary--which was re-purposed into living quarters at some point of its history.
The courthouse is where Judge Isaac C. Parker presided. His nickname was "the hanging judge" because he sentenced 160 people to death without a means for appeal. Our outdoor walking tour took us to the gallows where those inmates were hung. While other buildings here might have been re-purposed over the years, there's not much else one can do with a structure that includes trap doors in the floor.
We actually walked through this area on a second day, and we noticed a small crowd gathering on the lawn. We also saw men dressed in period uniforms standing around one of the cannons. It was a strange sight to see their military garb from the 1800s topped off with their 2021 Covid masks.
How lucky can we be? We arrived just in time for the 2:00 park program. It included a very informative talk from the park ranger, explaining the details of how cannons were used in battles, as well as the ammunition choices that he displayed on the table in front of him.
Then they fired that cannon right in front of us!
National park regulations demand that the cannon must cool for ten minutes. So the ranger used that time to describe the specific job that each soldier will perform to keep this team working through a battle. Now we knew to watch each man's mission, as they fired the cannon a second time. The re-enactors are required to wear ear plugs, but you can see their reaction to the repercussion as the smoke cleared a second time.
We visited this area twice because it is close to the downtown farmer's market on Saturday morning, and it's also a nice beginning or ending point for the walk along the river. We walked the trail to the confluence of the Poteau and Arkansas Rivers in Fort Smith.
Fort Smith is home to another present-day fort. We are actually staying at the William O. Darby Campground, right beside Fort Chaffee. We visited the Barbershop Museum one afternoon, and learned about the part this fort played in more recent times. We found out that our timing was great once again, as this museum is rarely open. Run by volunteers, it has been closed for most of the past year.
The main reason that people come to the Barbershop Museum is to see the chair where Elvis Presley got his first military haircut when he came into the army at Fort Chaffee.
Elvis was only at Fort Chaffee for his processing for several days. In fact, the army delayed his haircut and shots until he finished the movie he was starring in. They brought him to Fort Chaffee under the cover of darkness, but the press and their cameras still found ways to take pictures of the entire process.
That's how Denisa could stand beside a picture of Elvis's picture here in the barbershop.
The last two barber chairs aren't from the original military barbershop. They were moved here from another local shop. Their historical significance is that Bonnie and Clyde, the infamous bank robbers, got their hair cut sitting in those chairs.
Fort Smith has had a military presence ever since it was established. That is probably the reason it was chosen as a national veteran's cemetery location. We have driven through several of these cemeteries across the country, as a solemn reminder of the men and women that fought for the freedom that we enjoy.
During our three-day stay, we found one other "fort" in Fort Smith. We visited the river walk next to the Arkansas River and found this great bike/hike trail that is sponsored by FORT--Friends Of the River Trail. We started next to the Arkansas River . . .
and then headed over a pedestrian bridge . . .
to find that it connected to miles of paved trails. This trail sometimes went along the highway . . .
and along tree-lined creek beds. We started our ride with cloudy cool weather, and had to remove our jackets as we enjoyed the blue skies during our 15-mile ride.
Along the way we rode our bikes around the brand new U.S. Marshall Museum. It's a beautiful building built in the shape of the five-pointed star that marshals wear on their badge, and it will be opening soon.
We also rode under the sweet perfume of locust trees in full bloom. This is one of Denisa's favorite smells, as it reminds her of the big locust tree in the back yard of our first house. Mark went off-road to snatch a stem of blooms so she could smell them all the way home.
Of course, Denisa stops to take wildflower pictures even on a bike ride. We're used to white daisy-like flowers, but these had pale pink petals.
Our only wildlife sighting was this blurry blue bird, singing a sweet greeting as we approached on our bicycles.
We didn't even know this bike trail existed when we started out this morning, and it took us all the way to a tiny town park on the edge of the river with a view of an elevated train track section.
We rode our bikes all the way to the abrupt end of the trail, and then headed back into Fort Smith on this very nice (and level) biking opportunity made possible by the FORT (Friends of the Recreation Trail).
Besides the nice level biking trail, we also found the FORT had built wonderfully unlevel bicycle paths for the more talented cyclists.
Mark tried parts of the trick course . . .
but Denisa knows her limits. She was satisfied to ride her bike through the children's course of tunnels.
Likewise, Mark rode his bike down the winding path to the amphitheater stage that is built on the Arkansas River . . .
while Denisa was satisfied with her decision to stay at the top of the train depot with the words "Fort Smith" emblazoned over her head.
During our three-day stay in Fort Smith, Arkansas, we had good timing in finding several "forts"--Fort Smith National Historic Site, Fort Chaffee's Barbershop, and the FORT bike trail.
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