Wok N Roll with us...Bob and Teri Along with Atlas and Kalani: Little Rock, Arkansas September 12, 2018

Having never been to Arkansas, we were pleasantly surprised by its natural beauty. It has been nice too to finally turn off the air conditioner and enjoy the sounds of nature. We camped in a Corp of Engineers campground with our campsite on the banks of the Arkansas River. There is a wonderful bike path there complete with repair stations along the way.

The State Capitol was completed in 1915 at a cost of 2.2 million dollars. A lot of money for 1915. It is a beautiful building. The front entrance doors are made of bronze and they are 10 feet tall and 4 inches thick. In order to keep these uncoated bronze surfaces shining as the architect envisioned, the doors are polished by hand, inside and out, each week. The cupola is covered in 24 karat gold leaf. Just about every direction one looks is marble imported from Alabama, Colorado, and Vermont. Because Congress is not in session, the Supreme Court, Senate, and House were in the process of major renovations. We were able to peek inside the House while the construction crews were working. The only public artworks commissioned for the Capitol are the four Heerwagen Murals. Paul Martin Heerwagen, a Bavarian-born artist and interior decorator from Fayetteville, Arkansas completed the four murals in 1914. We have included the one entitled Religion in the pictures.

The Arkansas Old State House is the oldest surviving Capitol building east of the Mississippi. Although the building was moved into in 1837, the building was completed in 1842. The Old State House hosted the admission of Arkansas to the Union, was the site of a fatal knife fight between two legislators and was where Arkansas voted to secede from the United States and join the Confederacy. Later it served as a medical research center for hookworm and malaria and the site of two acceptance speeches by the President of the United States. The building is constructed of bricks made by slaves that were then covered with plaster. Today this building is the site of the Arkansas museum which contains very little Arkansas history, rather, within the walls are an eclectic mix of articles from all over the world. We have provided a couple of pictures to provide a feel for these oddities.

Like all Presidential Libraries, the Bill Clinton Presidential Center is a building established for preserving and making available the papers, records and other historical materials of the U.S. President. Beyond that this, like other Presidential libraries, have become tourist insights into the views, accomplishments, and lives of those in the White House. This museum contains a timeline of Clinton’s career as well as 16 policy alcoves that provide in-depth information on such aspects as education, health, crime, the environment, the economy and more. There are various letters displayed that were written to the President by world leaders and celebrities. Within the library are pictures and information on Clinton’s youth as well as many gifts received while in the White House. Various binders to peruse are available that contain the President’s daily schedules. Of note is that every minute of the President’s day is planned often in 5-minute intervals and that includes any leisure activities too such as watching a football game. The building design contains open bridge like trusses and it cantilevers over the Arkansas River. The architect successfully echoes Clinton's campaign promise of "building a bridge to the 21st century".

The desegregation of Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, gained national attention on September 3, 1957, when Governor Orval Faubus mobilized the Arkansas National Guard in an effort to prevent nine African American students from integrating the high school. These individuals would go down in history books known as the Little Rock Nine. They later attended after the intervention of President Dwight D. Eisenhower. By the end of September 1957, the nine were admitted to Little Rock Central High under the protection of the101st Airborne Division (and later the Arkansas National Guard), but they were still subjected to a year of physical and verbal abuse. This high school is still in operation today, however, its student body is almost entirely African American as the demographics of the area have greatly changed over the years.

The Arkansas Governor’s Mansion was built in 1950. The home is not often open to tours as it is currently the home of Governor Asa Hutchinson and First Lady Susan Hutchinson. It is located in an area known as the Quapaw District that contains some beautiful homes built from 1880 to 1920.

While in the downtown area, we really enjoyed a simple meal we had at 'Three Folds Noodle and Dumpling Company'. We only wish this restaurant were located in our hometown.

We leave tomorrow for Bentonville, the birthplace of Walmart.