Nature Holds Strong, Waltons Give Some Back

AROUND FAYETTEVILLE, ARKANSAS – As much as we like our friends who are Arkansas graduates, we came to Fayetteville not to see the university but because it is convenient to two other spots. Our in-law Dan said to us years ago that if we ever got the chance we should visit the strikingly beautiful Buffalo River, a National River in the northwest of the state, and the first National River in the US.

And we had read a good bit about the remarkable Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art that Alice Walton created, and largely funded, on the outskirts of Bentonville, just up the road. She’s the daughter of Sam. Walton’s Five and Dime, opened by Sam in 1950, is now part of the Walton Museum on Main Street in Bentonville. It was decades later that Sam began to pursue his Walmart vision, so Walmart, among other things, is a 0 to 60 in three seconds story.

Walton's Five and Dime: It all started here in 1950.

On Wednesday we drove east to the Buffalo River area, and it is every bit as beautiful as Dan said. It didn’t hurt that the rain had stopped and the locust were blooming. Then there was the roadrunner that ran across the road! We hiked the Lost Valley Trail, and partway in met a delightful man, Roy, who had paused to “catalogue” the wildflowers along the trail. Roy, 80, has made himself into a first-rate amateur botanist. He said he is also a self-appointed proponent of the region. It was a great gift to walk the trail with him as he described the plants and the natural history of the area.

Ponca, the heart of the Buffalo River area.
The population number refers to humans. 

Cece enjoys the Buffalo River.

Dogs find a way to illegally enjoy the Buffalo.

On the Lost Valley Trail.

Roy and Gus enjoy talking and walking.

In the nick of time we remembered we were in poison ivy country, and everywhere we looked, there it was. We are both highly susceptible. We think we dodged that bullet. And because dogs are not allowed in the Buffalo National River Park, they were saved as well. But we haven’t dodged the ticks on this trip. We’re watchful now for any signs of Lyme disease. And, so far, no red bug bites.

On this tree, the Virginia Creeper is attempting to hide the Poison Ivy.

Gus is no fan of Walmart the corporation, but we must give the family credit and thanks for the museum. It is, first of all, an architectural gem, designed by Moshe Safdie. And the (costly) collection, which includes paintings from Colonial times to the present, is incredible. It is now an international destination.

Such a beautiful space.

Frank Weston Benson's Summer Day

A Rothko

Marvelous design

Thomas Hart Benton

We ate well in Fayetteville without breaking the bank. Three spots we’d recommend are Hugo’s (full of college students and parents), A Taste of Thai (full of local residents), and Pesto Café (very real Italian). Although Gus continues to try to find some wait-staff who knows what piece of chicken the “second joint” is, he has had no success, even in Tyson country.

What a joy to visit two such marvelous places in two days!