2,232 miles to Arkansas (and more)

Hey guys! I just got back from a great road trip, and I thought I’d share some of my photographs. Don’t forget to scroll to the bottom of the post for a map of my itinerary. I left the Denver Metro last Friday afternoon and set out to drive all the way to Wichita after my shift at work. I wasn’t sure I had it in me, but I made it in one shot (+ gas and pee pee stops).

First stop: Wichita, KS

First time there. I first made my way to Wichita State University and explored the grounds around the arts museum. Plenty of sculptures and then… this amazing mural! The artist is none other than Joan Miró. I invite you to read more about it here. What a sight to see! What’s next? Gary Pendergrass’ “Village.” I later learned the guy also has some of his art in Lucas, KS. I’m not surprised! I visited Lucas a while back and could totally see the resemblance in the style. My next stop was El Sueño Original on the north side of Wichita, the biggest hand-made mural in the world. The gems you find when you are on the road…. I then took a stroll along the Arkansas River and saw the Keeper of the Plains, the Exploration Place and the Wichita Troll (took me two go-arounds to find that elusive little dude!) before hitting downtown and the Arena District. I visited a few breweries but seemingly forgot to take photos. You know what happens when I’m in my other element! (Don’t miss the panorama special of the Keepr of the Plains with the Arkansas River made up of 5 photographs).

Tulsa, OK

After witnessing what I “investigated” to be multiple wildfires along my path towards Tulsa, OK finally settled down not far from the Arts District of Tulsa. You can tell it’s an “up-and-coming” neighborhood. Not super bad but definitely not quite there yet if you know what I mean. No disrespect. Just an observation. HOWEVER, I felt that part of town was rather authentic and interesting. I, of course, had to make a stop at the Center of the Universe and hear myself echo. That place is WILD. Period. I’ll let you see the rest of the stuff. Nothing too impressive, but I should mention that the Blue Dome District is named after…well… that blue-dome building. It used to be a refilling station during the Route 66 days. Also, I chose to do a little B&W action for this series. I felt the colors except for the two predominantly blue highlights did not bring anything to the table.

Bentonville, AR

All right. So I’m probably going to get some heat for saying this, but this was my least favorite town of the whole road trip. Now, I know people rave about the food and all in Bentonville, but I’ve had better and more variety in the many places I have lived. Also, I really feel this town is just fabricated and fake. It’s like Sims meets Pleasantville, meets… Walmart. Gross. I know Walmart is injecting a bunch of money into Bentonville to make it livable so they can justify mandating companies that do business with them to maintain an office in town, BUT COME ON! It’s like Disneyland but without the fairytale -for adults. Don’t get me wrong, I did find at least two great breweries in town, and I hear the nature part of it all (and mountain biking) is great. However, I will not be going back. ha! That much fakeness gets me depressed. That being said, I really think that everyone should be investing the little money they have in Walmart because, with the amount of buildings/campuses, etc. they are building, they definitely are up to something REALLY big.

Fayetteville, AR

After being in Bentonville for a few hours and what seemed for way too long in the end (despite the pretty good ramen I ate), Fayetteville was rather refreshing. Unfortunately I picked to visit on Easter weekend… and it’s in the Bible Belt… and it’s a college town. But still, I could just feel how great that town is. The main square is a bit touristy yet charming, The university is stunning. I’d go again in a heartbeat. The beer was lacking a bit except for one brewery, but frankly that’s not why I travel. That’s just an added bonus. Hey I even got to see Bill and Hillary Clinton’s first home. Ha!

Little Rock, AR

I don’t think I spent enough time there to really forge an opinion. However, I will say this: The river walk is really cool with all the sculptures. I then got to see Central Little Rock High School where the Little Rock Nine became the first Black students to be enrolled. I will feature the photos in a separate post as they are part of NPS. Don’t miss the panorama of the river though!

Hot Springs, AR

This is a bit of a tricky one because I usually post NPS sites in different posts. The whole downtown area is basically one giant National Park so there will be some overlapping. I got there midday on Monday and started exploring some of the bathhouses then decided to have a beer at the ONLY brewery in a National Park and the only brewery using hot spring water to brew their beer, Superior Bathhouse Brewing. The view from there is pretty awesome as their beer garden faces the Arlington Hotel. I was originally planning on staying at the Arlington, but I’m glad I didn’t. Later that day, I visited the historic hotel and found a very outdated building. You could tell it must have been great in its heyday, but it hasn’t really stood the test of time if I may say so myself. They are working on restoration, but I’m not sure that will make any difference. The goal is obviously not to modernize it, but again it’s terribly outdated. I think I was more impressed with the rather majestic facade. Quick note on the last photo of this series: It’s not a great photograph, but I had to include the Ohio Club. It is the oldest operating bar in all of Arkansas. It opened in 1905, and I can’t even imagine how much it’s seen throughout the years!

After Hot Springs, I made my way over to Fort Smith, AR where I visited Fort Smith National Historic Site. I’ll feature those photos in a separate post.

Oklahoma City, OK

We are getting closer to the end of the journey. I was originally going to skip OKC, and what a mistake that would have been! I had a great time there! Great people, architecture, nature, food, beer, etc. I even made point of treating myself to a porterhouse at the iconic Cattlemen’s Steakhouse. That city, though rather small, has it all! Don’t miss the panorama of the canal in Bricktown (4 photos stitched together). My last stop in OKC was the Oklahoma City National Memorial, which I will post separately.

Ponca City, OK

This spot was not planned… but it was the last stop of the trip before making the 10/11-hour drive back to Arvada, CO. I did that in two legs. I just didn’t have it in me after visiting OKC in the morning and Ponca City in the afternoon. In Ponca City, I mostly visited the Marland Mansion and stopped by a pretty cool brewery called Vortex Alley Brewing on the way out of town. E.W. Marland owned Marland Oil and controlled about a tenth of the oil in the world. Read more about the history of the Marland Mansion and the Marland Family here.

Somewhere east of Russell, KS on I-70

I stopped in Russell, KS for the night before getting back on the road for the last 5 hours of driving. I was trying to find a gas station along the road, but the nearest city was a bit far. However, I did see a pretty cool sunset picture opportunity.