Arkansas and Oklahoma

It seems like its been centuries since we were driving through Arkansas and Oklahoma, but really it has only been one week! We were lucky enough to stay with our friends Alana and Lisa in their lovely home in Maumelle, AR. THANK YOU A and L for your hospitality! After a lovely grilled dinner with our hosts, we took a long walk with dog and ducks around the main park in the city, looking out for goslings and the dreaded chiggers (thankfully neither of us got bit). The highlight of the visit was the excellent coffee with cinnamon in the morning (a new discovery), great conversation and entertainment by Nico the pup, and the amazing lunch offered to us for the road (sausages and wonderful pasta salad which made us feel very loved and taken care of. Our conversations that night confirmed to us that this trip will be definitely one of spiritual and communal discovery. Everyone we've met so far is grappling with similar challenges: thinking about the environment, the catastrophe in the Gulf, the role of the spirit or the divine in bringing about transformative change, and the ways we as humans can foster a new commitment to balancing and revitalizing the energetic ties that bind us all (plant, human, animal) together.

We were surprised by the beauty and varied landscapes of both Arkansas and OK. On our way down I-40 we took a small hour detour to check out the backwaters of the Ozarks. We drove across the very very wide Arkansas river, meandered around the Mt. Magazine area and came upon Paris, AR with a fabulous mural mixing the Eiffel Tower with backwoods imagery. The very very white town also had a frightening court house that reminded me of Gregory Peck's stand against oppression (albeit sentimental) in To Kill a Mockingbird. On our way out of town, we stopped for a pack of three dogs (two dachshunds and a beagle) crossing the road on their country journey - very much like Disney's Homeward Bound.

By the time we arrived in OK, we were ready for a bit of relaxation and happened upon one of the many native-owned rest-stop/trading posts. This was owned by Cherokees and had a somewhat sad looking buffalo and baby to say hello to, and a mamoth gift shop with handmade items mixed in with stuff from Pakistan. Here we bought some beautiful sweet grass braids. We were very excited to be driving through the many different nations that have their land along I-40. Other observations included the excellent driving skills of Oklahomans (even in rush hour in OK City) and the serious beauty of the plains. Both Jess and I felt drawn to the rolling fields and small hills and gullies that marked the landscape of this state - much more dynamic views than we had imagined. Also, the weather was perfect which nixed my desire/fear of getting caught in a tornado. We were surprised about how much we loved OK. We ended up staying in Clinton at a cheap Super 8, and were welcomed in to the well stocked but not too well visited supermarket of the tiny town on Route 66. Take a look at these pictures and stay tuned for our next installment about the Panhandle, Land of Enchantment, and AZ.


Crossing the Mississippi into AR

Humongous Pentecostal Church outside Little Rock

Arkansas River in the Ozarks (photo doesn't capture the immensity)

Paris

Oklahoma


We know this is wrong, but we couldn't resist the kitsch.

Sad Buffalo (made me literally cry). However, I've heard that all buffalo look sad, so maybe this wasn't a state of exception.