What's so Funny About Arkansas and Oklahoma?

Ah, the soothing sounds of jack-hammers in the morning! In an attempt to recreate my vacation serenity, I took a walk in my neighborhood this morning. In spite of all the city noise, it was pretty OK. There were birds and flowers and it was misting, which created the illusion of fresh clean air.

I know most people's vacation destination lists probably do not include Arkansas and Oklahoma, but I'll tell you what, these places have a lot going for them. They both have lots of nice State Parks, and lakes (real ones that weren't made by the army corps of engineers), and wildlife, and mountains. Not big mountains, but mountains nonetheless. Where we stayed, at Mt. Nebo, I think the elevation was about 1200-something. That reminds me, on our way home yesterday, we drove through the confusingly-named East Texas towns of Mt. Vernon and Mt. Pleasant. These are places where the speedbumps and the fire-ant mounds are competing for the honor of highest elevation. I imagine a long long time ago, the town's founder saying to his wife, "Hey, Marge, maybe if we call this place Mt. Pleasant, lots of people will pioneer themselves on out here and we'll have ourselves a town!" And who wouldn't want to live in a place called Mt. Pleasant? If I was in charge, these kinds of bad town-naming practices wouldn't be allowed. It's just false advertising.

Anyway, at Mt. Nebo, it was delightfully cool and had REAL fresh clean air, and big tall trees, and no noise except the wind and the birds. You don't realize how loud the city really is until you are in a quiet spot in the woods. And right now, Arkansas is covered in Indian Paintbrush. I recommend a drive in Arkansas on State HWY 7 between Russellville and Hot Springs. The road winds up and down hills through the Ouachita (Wa-chi-tah) National Forest. Very very pretty. Arkansas is doing something right. It used to smell like cabbage, so improvements have clearly been made.