The drive from Tulsa to Fayetteville was only two hours, so I got there on Saturday. I checked into my Airbnb early and had dinner at the West Mountain Brewing Company, where I got some writing done.
Sunday the weather was a sticky 85 degrees, so I went for a swim in Beaver Lake, just north of Fayetteville in the Ozarks.
Lots of others had had the same idea, so I found the little beach crowded with families barbecuing and kids screaming and splashing in the water. Despite the fact that it was only mid-April, it felt like the first day of summer. But when I waded into the water, I found it bracingly cold - refreshing, but not somewhere I wanted to stay for long.
I took the back roads on my return trip, driving past picturesque pastures with black cows peacefully munching the emerald grass.
As I approached Fayetteville, the sky turned a vivid salmon pink.
Monday was the hardest, most frustrating day I’ve had so far on this trip. I already wrote about it in my post OVERWHELMED so I won’t rehash it here, but it was unpleasant.
Tusesday evening was low key. I played Alien pinball at a basement barcade called Pinpoints and made a trip to Andy's Frozen Custard.
On Wednesday, I walked to a 4 block stretch of Dickson Street which is home to most of the bars frequented by students from The University of Arkansas. It was dead. I grabbed a slice at Tony's New York Style Pizza and chatted with the bartender Emma, who raved about her hometown of Houma, Louisiana. I hadn’t decided yet where in Louisiana to stay the following week, so I chose Houma based on her recommendation.
After pizza, I decided to return for more pinball. I was walking across a small intersection when the light turned yellow. Out of nowhere, a white pickup truck behind me accelerated to catch the light and turn left, clearly not seeing me. I caught it in my peripheral vision and jumped back, the driver’s side mirror missing me by mere inches. I yelled shocked profanities at the driver. The truck slowed enough to make sure I was still standing, then kept going. I shared a WTF look with another pedestrian and kept walking.
It had been a while since I'd had such a close call, and my heart was racing. As I walked, I ran through different scenarios of what might have happened if I'd been hit. None of them were good. While lost in my reverie, a giant bug flew into my eye with so much force I felt it bounce off of my eyeball. The night just wasn't going my way. I decided not to push my luck, turned around, and went to bed.
The next night I returned to Dickson Street to check out someplace new and found that the students had come out in force on Thursday. One club had opened up large doors along the side of the building and were blaring awful dance music to a crowd of models from the Douchebags-R-Us catalog. Another place was doing scream-araoke loud enough to make my ears bleed. I enjoy a good party, but not this one. I found an out-of-the way spot for a quiet bite and called it quits for the night.
BENTONVILLE
Friday, I got an early start and drove up to Bentonville to go to the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, which had been recommended by several people. The museum was built in 2011, a $500M+ project funded primarily by Alice Walton, heiress to much of the Walmart fortune.
Bentonville is known for being the home of Walmart. In addition to construction of their new headquarters, they have been pouring money into the community to make it more enticing to talent they want to attract.
It's a cute little town, but Bentonville currently has the most active construction cranes per capita of any US city, and the fifth highest home prices in the state.
Crystal Bridges is a sprawling 201,000 square foot complex on 120 acres of trees and trails. It was designed by renowned architect Moshe Safdie, and is home to Frank Lloyd Wright’s Bachman-Wilson House.
I opted out of the house tour because I don’t have much of an eye for architecture - that’s my brother's speciality. Plus, when I visited Taliesin West in Scottsdale, I discovered that Frank Lloyd Wright designed houses for people his height - 8 inches shorter than me.
Crystal Bridges, as its name suggests, primarily showcases American artists. The most valuable painting in its collection is Georgia O’Keeffe’s Jimson Weed / White Flower #1, which the museum purchased in 2014 for $44.4 Million.
It’s home to art ranging from the 1700’s to the present - everything from portraits of George Washington to installations made specifically for that space.
Notable artists include Norman Rockwell, Roy Lichtenstein, Andrew Wyeth, Ruth Asawa, and Jean-Michel Basquiat. I’m not generally a museum goer, and outside of street art I've never been much of an enthusiast, but it was impressive.
The most memorable experience however was the Infinity Mirrored Room by Yayoi Kusama. It consisted of a narrow pathway zigzagging through a small room with mirrored walls and colorful globes hanging from the ceiling. They let people enter it alone for one minute at a time. The effect was disorienting and magical.
I could have stayed much longer at the museum. They had a short term exhibit called Exquisite Creatures by Christopher Marley I really wanted to see, but I had to get back for a couple of work meetings.
(not my photo)
Saturday morning I packed up the car again and gassed up at the Kum and Go on the way out of town (my inner 14 year old laughs at this every time).
South of Fayetteville, the day turned overcast and drizzly, but the green landscape popped with patches of bright wildflowers.
Despite it being the hardest week of my trip personally, I had been happily surprised by Arkansas.
My excitement grew the further south I got. I was about to return to one of my favorite states for a long-time fucket list item: Jazz Fest.
Yes, and…
Matt
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