Exploring Arkansas

Gaston's White River Resort near Bull Shoals, prides itself on being ranked America's number one trout fishing resort. –Having its own airstrip and award-winning restaurant helps…but the other factor is their signature "shore lunch" they offer with all the fixins, including of course – the trout you catch. There was a time when traveling the two-lane highway is all there was in America. We take a backroads tour from Little Rock to Memphis along Highway 70 and relive the "fun" that travel used to be. Every second weekend in October, the World Championship Quartz Crystal Dig is held in the Ouachita Mountains near the Quartz Crystal Capital of the World – Mount Ida. Coco's happens to be a five-star Mexican restaurant, attached to a gas station, that's in the middle of nowhere near Cabot.

The B-17 "Flying Fortress" played a vital role during World War II. A few of the planes are still flying and one flew in at Conway's Cantrell Field to give visitors a once-in-a-lifetime flight. Red Bluff overlook in the middle section of the Buffalo National River near Gilbert, is a popular spot for both photographers and hikers. Historic Calico Rock on the White River has a lot to offer including its own crime lab for students! The White County Pioneer Village in Searcy is a wonderful educational setting that depicts early American life from the 1880's to 1930.

The Castle on Stagecoach in Little Rock is actually a fairy tale event center, making children's fairy tale dreams come true, complete with horse and carriage rides. The "crag" in Jamestown near Batesville is a rock climber's paradise with many different routes up the "crag" for different skills. The Arkansas State University Museum in Jonesboro is definitely more than meets the eye, with artifacts from pre-historic Native Americans, exhibits depicting the state's natural history and cultural heritage; plus a replica of a Mastodon skeleton. The oldest continuous existing town in Arkansas happens to be Batesville. The historic downtown district and the historic home district are the two main attractions.

Located in a remote area of the Ouachita National Forest southeast of Mena, Bard Springs offers a small scenic stream and day-use picnic/recreation areas. -During winter's frigid temperatures, the two waterfalls along the stream turn into a spectacular ice display. The Four States Auto Museum in Texarkana has all the antique cars and classics - from Model T's to a 1965 Mustang. The Fort Chaffee Barbershop has been restored to the way it looked in 1958 when Elvis Presley enlisted in the Army and got his GI buzz haircut - "The haircut heard 'round the world." Muse's Country Store south of Heber Springs --circa 1937, is a place where memories are shared, and where you still open your soda bottle with the built-in bottle opener on the machine.

The Galaxy Connection in Hot Springs is the result of one man's vast collection turned into a Star Wars and Superheroes museum. –At the end of the tour you get to suit up like a Jedi and participate in a light saber duel! Highway 123 Falls is an impressive waterfall just off Highway 123 in the Ozark National Forest north of Hagarville. Welcome, Arkansas is just a stones' throw away from the Louisiana state line southwest of Magnolia. The Mammoth Orange Café in the shape of a huge orange in Redfield, has been an iconic attraction since 1965 and is still going strong.

The "Sandstone Castles" are actually caverns cut into the side of a bluff in the Richland Creek Wilderness of the Ozark National Forest near Lurton. Housed in an old country-style railroad depot, the Ruland Junction Toy Train Museum in Heber Springs is a family collection spanning more than 90 years. Arnold Layne is the "Fiddleman" of Bentonville – not only can he play ‘em..he's made nearly 300 of them since 1944. The Big Creek Cave Falls area south of Jasper is a wonderland of waterfalls, caves and mountain streams.

The Long Ridge Middle Bloyd Sandstone formation located in the Ozark National Forest, north of Hurricane Creek Wilderness, is a unique and eerie crevasse area that you'd normally find out West somewhere. Rafting on the nationally designated Wild & Scenic Mulberry River adds a little bit more of an adventure twist versus floating it in a canoe or kayak. The Jacksonville Guitar Center is more than meets the eye - back from the main showroom is one of the most extensive vintage cowboy guitar collections in the country. The Ranch North Woods Preserve is the Nature Conservancy's newest preserve, bordering Pinnacle Mountain State Park in west Little Rock. It features 234 acres of fields, forest, wetlands and 1.7 miles of the Little Maumelle River. What a fisherman experienced on Lake Conway back in 1952, which became known as the "Lake Conway Monster" may very well have been the inspiration for the classic 1954 Hollywood film - "Creature from the Black Lagoon.

Bluffton was once a thriving community northwest of Clinton. Now it's the Bluffton Preserve under The Nature Conservancy and an ideal place for swimming, fishing, hiking, camping and floating. Pogue Springs near Mountain View, along North Sylamore Creek has been a well-kept secret hideaway for peace and solitude. Historic Cane Hill in northwest Arkansas is just that - boasting 16 structures that are on the National Register of Historic Places. Since 1960 the Susie Q Malt Shop drive-in at Rogers has been packing in the customers - and no wonder, with menu items like the 'Big Daddy' burger and the "Big Pig" pork tenderloin, plus malts and shakes—its 'happy days' all over again!

Toltec Mounds Archeological State Park is where Arkansas's tallest Native American mounds are preserved. The Edible Insects program at DeGray Lake Resort State Park is one of the most popular summertime presentations. Storm Creek Lake located in Mississippi River State Park, is a tucked away gem within the St. Francis National Forest. Little Grand Canyon is a unique rock formation area in southern Arkansas, which truly does resemble The Grand Canyon. Camp Mitchell is a popular church summer camp atop Petit Jean Mountain, with a history that goes back to the early 1940's.

Housed in a new facility at Hampson Archeological Museum State Park in Wilson, are artifacts from the "Nodena Site" which was inhabited by late Mississippian period Native Americans. Black Bass Lake is a hidden gem down a dirt road within the city limits of Eureka Springs. The Tontitown Grape Festival celebrates the town's Italian heritage and is one of the oldest festivals in the state, beginning in 1898. Electric Island is a special oasis in the middle of Lake Hamilton in Hot Springs, which is why it's protected by The Nature Conservancy as a Nature Preserve.

Ritter Farms in Marked Tree grows a lot of crops, but sunflowers are the main attraction. Their crop of sunshine is available in various retail outlets. A tree house that cost 1.8 million dollars is got to be something extra special. –And that it is, at the Great Tree House Adventure at Garvan Woodland Gardens in Hot Springs. Lee Creek Reservoir Recreation Area near Van Buren offers fishing, boating, hiking and mountain biking. La Petite Roche Plaza in Little Rock features the “little rock” of the capital city's namesake plus the Junction pedestrian-cycling bridge. The Bridge Rock Trail at Shoal Bay Park along Lake Dardanelle, features a wonderful sandstone natural bridge.

Multi-state fiddle champion Mary Parker of Mountain View began playing fiddle at the age of 5; she now plays six musical instruments plus sings and dances – and yes, she's making quite a name for herself around the country. Village Creek State Park near Forrest City has not one, but two lakes that are popular with anglers and kayakers. The Wings of Honor museum preserves the history of the Walnut Ridge Army Air Field, which was one of seven Army flying schools in Arkansas during World War II. They are a phenomenon near "Y" City in west Arkansas – huge boulders called "erratics" that really don't belong there because of age difference and composition compared to the local shale and sandstone outcrops.