Rewinding Arkansas

There's something about the backroads countryside in southern Arkansas that feels like going back in time. The creeks and rivers are natural and picturesque, and you can drive for miles and miles and never see a chain store. When I drove through a town called Delight, I saw a sign announcing that it was Glen Campbell's birthplace. I have only the most pleasant associations with Glen and his music, so it was a cheerful thing to see the sign announcing the connection between him and where I was driving. Here's a video where he mentions Delight, and shows off his gee-tar playing skills: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUBhE00h9U0

Although Hot Springs has a lot of chain stores and restaurants, the downtown area does not. It's quirky and touristy and unique. I made an appointment for a private mineral bath at Quapaw Bath and Spa, then went there the day before to make sure I knew where I could park my beast. The bath was nice, and then I was invited into the cool-down room and given an ice cold damp towel for my face. OMG, the cold towel was amazing. It brought all the relaxation of the bath right to the surface and I walked out a little bit floppy (in a good way). These photos were taken at Quapaw. One is of a private bath and the other is of the cool-down room.

For a few days now, since I was deep in the heart of Texas (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rcrK0U7RDIk), I've occasionally seen a great big sign on a great big building near a small town that says "Cowboy Church." Given the looks of the buildings, it seemed plausible to me that "Cowboy Church" is a nickname for the rodeo, but today I finally remembered to look it up and discovered that it is actually a church. It's not a parody of a church, even though the description of it in Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cowboy_church) sounds to me like it could be a parody (particularly the part about baptism):

"A typical cowboy church may meet in a rural setting in a barn, metal building, arena, sale barn, or old western building, have its own rodeo arena, and a country gospel band. Baptisms are generally done in a stock tank. The sermons are usually short and simple. Some cowboy churches have covered arenas where rodeo events such as bull riding, team roping, ranch sorting, team penning and equestrian events are held on weeknights."

West of Jonesboro is a place I've wanted to see for a long time, the Buffalo National River. It's one of the few remaining undammed rivers in the lower 48 of the United States and the scenery is spectacular. I won't visit it on this trip -- I'm feeling more eager to get home every day. It's on my to-do list for a future trip. https://www.nps.gov/buff/index.htm