June 13-15, 2006 - Mountain View, Arkansas

Hi Everyone,
We left Hot Springs and drove to a really out-of-the-way place called Mountain View, Arkansas. Dad picked it out because of the Blanchard Springs Caverns and it was a really neat place. The drive up on little "red" roads was steep and curvy... However, after we got there we found that it was the center of old true country music. Every evening in the town square musicians (and wanna be musicians) come down to the square just like they were coming for a game of "pick-up" basketball. They just sit down with some other musicians in some section of the square and they start to play music. No electrical instruments, everything must be acoustical. Also, no songs after 1941. (They want to keep the heritage of the old music alive, and after the men returned from the war and radio was introduced to everyone the true nature of the local music couldn't be guaranteed.) Everyone brings a lawn chair and just moves around from group to group listening for as long as each one wants. We were there for a couple of hours!

The next morning we went to an "outfitter" to canoe down the Bufalo National River. It was set aside in 1972 as a National River to preserve its beauty and keep it from becoming commercialized. We parked our car at the haul-out point and the outfitter took us by bus to the put-in point. They provide the canoe, the life jackets, the paddles and a trash bag. The water was warm, the day was sunny, the scenery was BE U TI FUL. The river flows about 2 mph and our section was about 4.5 miles long. It was a really fun afternoon.

Then we came back to the motor home and got ready for a concert just up the hill from the RV park. Again, all old music played on only acoustical instruments but much more professional this time!

This morning we went to the Blanchard Springs Caverns and took the "a" tour. (The "b" tour included 700 steps and steep winding walkways. The "c" tour included a harness, hard hat, rope and light and took you to undeveloped areas of the cave.) The "a" tour was approved for wheelchairs and strollers... The "a" tour was really nice. The cave was only discovered about 50 years ago and has been a national park for only 35 years or so. It is very big, very pretty and very nicely lighted. The guide was great also.

After that we came back, hooked up the motor home and headed to Springdale, Arkansas, for (can you believe it??) some more motor home repair work!

We are now parked in the Wal-Mart parking lot and I am doing this with the battery power of the computer and the Verizon internet hookup!