The Arkansas nobody knows... yet

By Christine Tibbetts

June 27, 2009 10:15 pm

— Never heard of it. Don’t know anybody who’s been there. Never knew I wanted to go.
That’s what I thought about some Arkansas places, and I was wrong.
This is a tale of discovery and delight, and the notion that amazing vacations happen trying something new.
My Arkansas newbie experiment took me to a diamond mine, lodge-ranch-getaway, Ozark folk center and Delta blues community.
Interesting places to overnight in or near each of them, so lingering works too. Why cling to familiar-style hotels?
New to me isn’t always unknown to others. I was astonished at the crowds from all over the nation mining for diamonds in an Arkansas State Park in Murfreesboro.
Average daily treasure seekers: 1,500 to 1,800. Astounding to me.
They were serious, slogging in the muck in May and believing a great find was imminent. “Finders keepers” is the rule in this 37-acre field.
I went to the Tower of London to see the Crown Jewels; why not go to Arkansas to see the most perfect diamond the American Gem society ever certified. That’s a perfect grade Triple Zero, meaning ideal cut, “D” color and flawless.
It’s on display in the visitor center, where geology classes and exhibits happen too. Where better to go to sharpen diamond-searching skills?
Someone found a one carat 11 point white diamond May 30. Semi-precious amethyst, agate, jasper, quartz, calcite and barite crop up too.
Over the years, finders have walked away with six, seven and eight-carat diamonds, and in 1924 the biggest of all: 40.23 carats.
That makes believers out of people; just watching them, hunting and trusting, is a remarkable vacation experience. Crater of Diamonds State Park lures old folks, children, baby boomers, people with mobility issues.
This is North America’s only diamond area open to the public, says Park Interpreter Raymond Cox, with an average of 600 diamonds found each year. Maybe anything’s possible, any day.
This park is a people’s place; commercial mining hasn’t worked well here, but the remnants of a mineshaft, guardhouse and mining equipment can be seen.
The first diamond was found in 1906 and the state made the land a park in 1972. Since then, 25,000 diamonds have been found.
Camp at the park in one of 59 sites with water and electricity, or book a few nights at nearby Timber Lodge Ranch.
Personality is what you’ll find in this year-old, family-run operation. People and animals. Living and stuffed.
Scott and Corey Thomason set the friendly tone; seems they both love to hunt, hence the bear, mountain lion, wolverine, deer and elk trophies on the walls and poised as if to run in the main room.
Stories go with these, and she’s the one to talk to about bears.
“Hunted one on my honeymoon,” Corey says. “Would have got it except my guide was lazy.”
She’s sensitive to other honeymoon desires too and happily removes the prey for wedding receptions, if asked.
Live animals extend the Timber Lodge Ranch experiences; I might have expected the sheep, goats, donkeys and even the albino peacock, but this place has zebra and buffalo too.
Pretty sure I never slept near zebra before.
Everything is fresh, clean, new—and reflecting the enthusiasm of this family, which includes three young daughters, grandparents and assorted aunts.
They used to be in the timber business; now they say they’re in the business of sharing what they like with visitors.
Even have a chapel that seats 150.
Choosing a holiday here gives what travel trend researchers report most people are seeking: an authentic place offering personal experiences, reflecting the nature of a place.
Arkansas is also about Hot Springs and Little Rock, interesting cities within an easy two-hour drive of Timber Lodge Ranch, but a couple of days with a real family, doing something they think has value — and is fun for them — is a completely different kind of holiday.
Hiking the foothills of the Ouichita Mountains suits me; traveling partner G.W. Tibbetts drove an ATV on a guided tour with Scott, on trails through the 800 acres and along the banks of the 40-acre lake.
He fished for bass, crappie and tilapia too. Catch ‘em and ask the family to cook your fish for dinner.
Scott and Corey are stocking the land with quail and deer, and pheasants may be next in line.
Cook for yourself or schedule meals in the wood-paneled dining room with big tables and bench seats.
Go to downtown Amity one morning for breakfast at Trudy’s because meeting the locals is part of the experience. Loggers, highway workers, neighbors discussing the weather and whatever.
Three cabins with multiple bedrooms and full kitchens, and a bunkhouse sleeping 10 carry out the bear, fishing and western moods.
Look for paddleboats, whirlpool tubs, billiards, ping-pong, foosball and flat screen TV.
Holding on to that Arkansas sense of place is easy at the Ozark Folk Center. Requires a twisty-turny several-hour drive to Mountain View in the misty blue Ozark Mountains with clear streams, limestone bluffs, deep valleys and hardwood forests.
Highway 65 North to East 16 and then North on county road 9 is the route. Shirley, population 337, is one of the landmarks and when you see Take a Break bed and breakfast, you’ll know you’re close.
Watch all the signs along the way because they’re fun. Wooly Hollow, Pickles Gap and Toad Suck Park stayed in my memory.
Suck in your muscles at the left turn to the Folk Center; that sign points the way to Round Bottom Access.
I made this a day trip from Little Rock; now that I know something, I’d stay a night or two to hang out with the people.
The state park’s Folk Center and the Mountain View downtown are equally charming, filled with people doing what they like and happy to talk about it.
In between them is a great dulcimer shop where Jim and Betty Woods shape walnut and cherry to make the instruments and pluck engaging tunes on request.
Brooms, dolls, chairs, baskets, quilts, candles, soap, jewelry, guns, knives and shawls are among the treasures being hand made in 24 Folk Center buildings.
This is living history really working. The spinners, weavers and carvers consider their products utility pieces, needed for everyday living in the 19th century Ozark Mountains.
Some are masters and some apprentices. Broom maker Shawn Hoefer taught me that an amateur in his craft is a tinker and the professional a squire. Sort of elevates my notion now as I sweep.
In the music shop Bruce Fernimen and Dan Thomas were loving life, picking their guitars and singing tunes, and stopping with delight to invite visitors to join in and children to make an instrument.
Master herbalist Tina Marie Wilcox danced me through the heritage herb garden; she loves those herbs so much she couldn’t possibly just walk. Learning with her is all about enthusiasm and delight, but I’ll confess I haven’t made poke salad soup yet.
Exchanges like this happened for me in every shop so a couple of hours weren’t enough.
Cabins on the edge of the woods are Wi-Fi, have two queen beds and a mini-fridge and TV. That would make it easy to stay for the evening music in the 1,000-seat auditorium.
Acoustic guitar, five-string banjo, fiddle, mandolin, autoharp, mountain dulcimer, picking bow and spoons fill the stage with jig dances, square dancing and ballad and gospel singing.
Downtown Mountain View is loaded with interesting shops and art, including the Arkansas Craft Gallery. Plenty of personality.
“All pickers welcomed” says the sign on Aunt Minnie’s Porch, next door to the ice cream shop. Music and licking were happening.
Saturday nights the Folk Lore Society offers free music and dancing, and surely some stories.
Ironworks, antiques, music stores, pretty little parks and bed and breakfast inns abound around the square and cabins are nearby.
I wandered in the Inn at Mountain View, a pretty pink place with 12 guest rooms, antiques, quilts, embroidered linens and a front porch full of rocking chairs, knowing I could easily amuse myself here for a while.
There’s a pretty B&B named Magnolia Hill in another Arkansas potential destination: Helena in the midst of the Delta. Go for the music, and the radio. Really.
Blues musicians did so in the 1930s and ‘40s and today the Delta Cultural Center on the Mississippi River tells their stories with audio and video exhibits.
Kind of a quirky – but appealing – spot in Helena is the Phillips County Museum – interesting when you know it was established in 1929 with fundraising help from Mark Twain!
Getting on the radio’s the big experience. King Biscuit Time is the longest running daily radio show in history, says KFFA AM 1360 owner Jim Howe.
Nov. 21, 1941 was the first show and local King Biscuit Flour said they’d endorse the show if blues artist Sonny Boy Williamson endorsed the flour.
Daily shows still feature live music and more than that — Sunshine Sonny Payne started hosting the show in 1951 and he’s still a big presence.
Payne opens each broadcast at 12:15 p.m. saying, “Please pass the biscuits.” Apparently no coincidence the Delta deejay in “O Brother Where Art Thou” says that too.
Sometimes it’s history I connect when I travel, and sometimes pop culture.
Always it’s something wonderful.

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