Trips to Crystal Bridges museum, the Crater of Diamonds Park, Fallingwater, the Flight 93 Memorial, and Roadside America, the largest miniature town in America. I like eclectic things.
Crystal Bridges brought me to northwestern Arkansas. I was not sure what to expect, but Alice Walton built a billion dollar art palace in the Ozarks and she sure got her money's worth. Free admission, but I paid the extra fee to see the Chihuly exhibit, which was worth twice the money. Exquisite American art, from the beginning through the 21st century. I budgeted about 5 hours there, could have stayed 10. The building and grounds are only a decade old but they are nestled into the landscape like they have been there a hundred years. Loved it, worth the whole trip from Texas.
The grounds and the art were to die for. I loved it. I will go back.
Here are some things from the Chihuly exhibit, both interior and exterior. The exterior pieces were magical...you walk down the beautifully landscaped paths in the woods, and suddenly a gorgeous installation would appear before you. At the far end was a food truck with popsicles, a gift from above on a hot, steamy June day.
near Murphreesboro, Arkansas
I had to leave Crystal Bridges to head to Crater of Diamonds State Park. There were no spaces at the campground there, so I stayed 30 miles north at Daisy State Park, a lovely place. Here is my view...
That's the 30 acre diamond field in the distance. Nothing but dirt, sun, and rocks. No diamonds for me...no patience to sit in the 90 degree heat and humidity to dig. But lots of kids seemed to be having fun. I lasted about an hour, then grabbed a shower at the campground and headed back to Texas. Diamond mining is as glamorous as it looks.
Talk about exciting--I found a rock that looked like Uluru (Ayer's Rock) in Australia. I had seen the real one about 3 weeks earlier.
near Mill Run, Pennsylvania