You got it, ANOTHER great trip to Arkansas...but was it our last? :( (Fayetteville: lease)

[Tyryztoll]

Well, folks......this one may have been all she wrote for us in The Natural State. We fell in love with Arkansas in October of '15, tried to move there last March, and have kept visiting every chance we had along the way. I do have one very good job lead in NWA that came about after I attended a job fair this past October and really hit it off with the facilities director of radiology, but even though they said they definitely wanted me aboard I won't know if they have a position for me until sometime after the New Year. Prayers needed and accepted for that. If I can't get the job we need this time around we will likely be headed back to the upper Midwest, because we have had 2 tough years in Texas and have decided not to make our permanent home here. We've already stayed a year longer than we wanted to, so when our lease is up in March we are moving somewhere.

So I wanted to make what could have been our last trip to Arkansas - at least for a good while - one to remember, and I succeeded in doing that. I decided to take us back to NWA so we could experience the Lights of the Ozarks in the Fayetteville Square, and that was worth the drive by itself. The kids LOVED it, and so did my wife and I. I call my wife "Lady Christmas", because she adores the Christmas season and begins playing Christmas music in September....so if you've seen Fayetteville's display you can only imagine the extent to which she was basking in her element there. It was like something out of a movie....strangers passing by and wishing you a Merry Christmas, vendors with hot chocolate, cotton candy, etc., horse drawn carriages......even camel rides! There were sidewalk musicians, and of course Santa and one of his reindeer were there for the kids to have pictures taken with. The lights themselves were absolutely brilliant....much more so than in the photos I've seen of the event previously. The air was cold and crisp (around 30), which lent itself to the occasion also. We stayed a little over an hour, but I could have stayed longer and just kept circling the block. Great, great experience, and you simply must go if you enjoy anything Christmas related.

Stayed overnight in Fayetteville and set out the next morning to explore the region west of the 49 corridor and over to the Oklahoma and Missouri borders, as we hadn't seen that vicinity before. We grabbed hot cups of Starbucks and set out west on 16 from Fayetteville and drove that route up to Siloam Springs. Once again I was so thrilled to discover you barely have to be outside the town limits before the countryside turns and becomes that one of a kind Arkansas beautiful. 16 wound through a section of the Ozark National Forest, and then we came into Siloam Springs, which was much bigger than it looked on the map, and has one of the neatest little downtowns I've seen in the state. One section even reminded us of Bourbon St. in New Orleans with the 2nd level facades that ran the length of the buildings. It was all decorated and I wished we could have seen it at night as well, but we had to move on.

From there we went up 59 to Gravette, and then into Missouri where we came upon another great little downtown in the city of Noel. Cut east back over to 71 from there......that drive was very remote, but of course totally scenic, and then we took 71 down into Bella Vista, AR, which we had never really explored before. We went up off of Cooper Rd. and looked at what seemed to be an older neighborhood, and man was it hilly in there! Beautiful, but almost too hilly for us (in correlation with any potential living space), as we prefer a somewhat more rolling setting with big hills adorning the background. Drove by the country club and saw a lotta die hard golfers out there swingin' em' on a windy 40 degree day!

For our stretch run we went down to Springdale and took 412 east out to the Spring Valley/Hindsville area, did some looking around Savoy and Goshen, and then headed back west through Springdale, out to Siloam Springs again and then into Oklahoma to continue home. I've said it before and I'll say it again.....that hwy. 412 stretch is SO us......and we were doubly thrilled to see it was just as pretty on the west side of 49 going toward OK as it is to the east. We just adore the rolling meadows, the forested hills, and the mountain views in the distance. What a great area that would be to settle in! We are keeping the dream alive until it is dead and buried, folks!

Anyway...we obviously hope and pray that we'll be back in Arkansas soon as residents, but if once again it isn't meant to be I gotta say that this past year exploring The Natural State was worth every single mile we traversed within its borders. We saw SO MUCH incredible beauty, met SO MANY wonderful people, and made SO MANY great memories there. Discovering Arkansas made a very tough 2 years in Texas easier for all of us, and no matter what happens we will always remember and tell of your state in such fond fashion. God bless and keep that wonderful, Natural State!

[CraigCreek]

Awe, you just made me homesick for one of my ancestral states! So glad you had such a great trip - next time you're in NWA, be sure to visit Prairie Grove, especially since you appreciate history. The battlefield park there is filled with historic structures which were in danger of demolition on their original sites, but which now form a lovely little "village".

Hope you become Arkansans in 2017!

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by Tyryztoll

Well, folks......this one may have been all she wrote for us in The Natural State. We fell in love with Arkansas in October of '15, tried to move there last March, and have kept visiting every chance we had along the way. I do have one very good job lead in NWA that came about after I attended a job fair this past October and really hit it off with the facilities director of radiology, but even though they said they definitely wanted me aboard I won't know if they have a position for me until sometime after the New Year. Prayers needed and accepted for that. If I can't get the job we need this time around we will likely be headed back to the upper Midwest, because we have had 2 tough years in Texas and have decided not to make our permanent home here. We've already stayed a year longer than we wanted to, so when our lease is up in March we are moving somewhere.

So I wanted to make what could have been our last trip to Arkansas - at least for a good while - one to remember, and I succeeded in doing that. I decided to take us back to NWA so we could experience the Lights of the Ozarks in the Fayetteville Square, and that was worth the drive by itself. The kids LOVED it, and so did my wife and I. I call my wife "Lady Christmas", because she adores the Christmas season and begins playing Christmas music in September....so if you've seen Fayetteville's display you can only imagine the extent to which she was basking in her element there. It was like something out of a movie....strangers passing by and wishing you a Merry Christmas, vendors with hot chocolate, cotton candy, etc., horse drawn carriages......even camel rides! There were sidewalk musicians, and of course Santa and one of his reindeer were there for the kids to have pictures taken with. The lights themselves were absolutely brilliant....much more so than in the photos I've seen of the event previously. The air was cold and crisp (around 30), which lent itself to the occasion also. We stayed a little over an hour, but I could have stayed longer and just kept circling the block. Great, great experience, and you simply must go if you enjoy anything Christmas related.

Stayed overnight in Fayetteville and set out the next morning to explore the region west of the 49 corridor and over to the Oklahoma and Missouri borders, as we hadn't seen that vicinity before. We grabbed hot cups of Starbucks and set out west on 16 from Fayetteville and drove that route up to Siloam Springs. Once again I was so thrilled to discover you barely have to be outside the town limits before the countryside turns and becomes that one of a kind Arkansas beautiful. 16 wound through a section of the Ozark National Forest, and then we came into Siloam Springs, which was much bigger than it looked on the map, and has one of the neatest little downtowns I've seen in the state. One section even reminded us of Bourbon St. in New Orleans with the 2nd level facades that ran the length of the buildings. It was all decorated and I wished we could have seen it at night as well, but we had to move on.

From there we went up 59 to Gravette, and then into Missouri where we came upon another great little downtown in the city of Noel. Cut east back over to 71 from there......that drive was very remote, but of course totally scenic, and then we took 71 down into Bella Vista, AR, which we had never really explored before. We went up off of Cooper Rd. and looked at what seemed to be an older neighborhood, and man was it hilly in there! Beautiful, but almost too hilly for us (in correlation with any potential living space), as we prefer a somewhat more rolling setting with big hills adorning the background. Drove by the country club and saw a lotta die hard golfers out there swingin' em' on a windy 40 degree day!

For our stretch run we went down to Springdale and took 412 east out to the Spring Valley/Hindsville area, did some looking around Savoy and Goshen, and then headed back west through Springdale, out to Siloam Springs again and then into Oklahoma to continue home. I've said it before and I'll say it again.....that hwy. 412 stretch is SO us......and we were doubly thrilled to see it was just as pretty on the west side of 49 going toward OK as it is to the east. We just adore the rolling meadows, the forested hills, and the mountain views in the distance. What a great area that would be to settle in! We are keeping the dream alive until it is dead and buried, folks!

Anyway...we obviously hope and pray that we'll be back in Arkansas soon as residents, but if once again it isn't meant to be I gotta say that this past year exploring The Natural State was worth every single mile we traversed within its borders. We saw SO MUCH incredible beauty, met SO MANY wonderful people, and made SO MANY great memories there. Discovering Arkansas made a very tough 2 years in Texas easier for all of us, and no matter what happens we will always remember and tell of your state in such fond fashion. God bless and keep that wonderful, Natural State!

of course we will keep praying that the perfect or certainly acceptable job will show up for you. Sounds like you did a lot in just a few days. Yes, Bella Vista is hilly, that is both its charm and its downside. It is a constant love hate game many of us feel daily.

[Rock Climber]

Very good post.

Downtown Siloam Springs is very cool. There's a small whitewater park near Siloam Springs on the Illinois river that is really cool. I read that they are about to totally revamp the little downtown park in Siloam and add an amphitheater. There are also big plans for City Lake in Siloam, adding several miles of mountain biking trails an other amenities.

It gets overshadowed by the other cities in the metro, but Siloam by itself is a cool little city.