2/27-3/2: Arkansas

One of my (Nicole)'s dear friends from high school lives in Little Rock, Arkansas with her husband. Naturally, this was top choice of where to stay in this state! Last time I was in Arkansas was for their wedding, so I didn't get to see much of the area that time around. I'm glad we could this time!

Our time in Arkansas started right as we crossed over the line from Tennessee when we stopped at a wildlife refuge. There was no one at the visitor's center, so we weren't sure if we should continue on or not. Thankfully we did!! There were SO many turtles sitting on logs throughout the water. Then when they got scared they would jump off, sometimes 2 or 3 at a time. It was funny to watch ;) About halfway down the road, we noticed what looked like a large squirrel. We watched it and watched it...and couldn't figure out what it was (especially since it was pretty far away!). Then it clicked; we were watching a BEAVER!!! How cool is that?! I've always wanted to see one in the wild!!!

Then began our Little Rock adventures. My friend had just had hip surgery, so we worked to balance spending time with her and sight seeing. :) Our first night there we enjoyed a yummy Greek restaurant that they treated us to! The next morning we attended their church and then went out for delicious burgers that we were also treated to. What a blessing!

*Alyssa with their cat Sam

Some of the highlights of our time there included going to Hot Springs, Arkansas as well as the Clinton Presidential Library and an amazing bridge. Alyssa and I ventured about an hour to Hot Springs to check out the national park there. Whenever there is an opportunity to add a stamp to our passports we will do it! We accidentally left all of our money back at the house, but thankfully had enough gas and found a parking meter with 2 hours on it. Thank You, God, for watching out for us, even in our forgetfulness. The hot springs were nothing like we had expected, but fun all the same. The hot springs area was actually the first land set aside by the government to preserve, but did not become a national park until after Yellowstone, so it cannot be considered the first "national park." The national parks was a row of buildings that have been around for quite some time (and before them wooden buildings) where people would come for healing from various ailments. Across the street there used to be hotels where they would stay back in the day. We had the opportunity to have a private tour of one of the high end hot springs buildings. There was quite the regime that people went through 2-3 times a day including 20 minutes of soaking, drinking water from the spring, doing something similar to a sauna, etc. A lot of what we saw reminded us of things done in physical therapy now. It is also where the idea of cleanliness for the hospital came from. Doctors were required to provide mercury treatments to some patients. This was known to not be the best, but similar to chemotherapy now, they didn't know other options. After a time though, doctors were experiencing the mercury poisoning symptoms because of constant exposure, so many took their skills and began working at hospitals. Hospitals at the time were seen as the place you go to die because of the high infection rates. Doctors coming from the bath houses were used to being around water all the time, so they regularly cleaned their hands. They continued the habits while at the hospitals...and people started noticing that the patients they worked with had a higher survival rate. Changes started happening at the hospital. Over time, they put the bath houses out of business! We both found this fascinating!

One night my friend showed us a really neat bridge. She even walked up to it on her crutches!! (Umm...it was quite a ways...we both think she was a little crazy to attempt it. ;) ) The lights on the bridge made experiencing it in the dark incredible. It was a special treasure we never would have found without our hostess. :)

We spent our final day in Arkansas exploring Little Rock. Our hostess brought us to a fun market to eat lunch where we enjoyed both Thai and Chinese cuisines (our favorites!). Then we ventured to the Clinton Presidential Library. We had never been to a presidential library before, despite going to church across the street from the Nixon Presidential Library for 2 years! It was fascinating to learn about Clinton from this perspective. They had copies of his daily schedules, a replica of the Oval Office like he had it during his terms, items from his growing up years, and many other things. We now want to visit all 9 of the presidential libraries!

(There was a short trail right outside the library that we walked on!)

It was such a blessing to spend these days in Arkansas...our 49th state!!!! Thank you, Dave and Laurel, for being such incredible hosts!