[bkern1989]

Originally Posted by Luvvarkansas

You will definitely enjoy that drive! I'm not sure there is a better option.

Great! Thanks!

[latunafish]

Originally Posted by bkern1989

Hopefully I get a reply, because this will be my first Fall here in Arkansas and I want to experience it the best I can! I live in Bentonville, and from a bit of research, I have decided what drive I will take when I take my Fall drive. I plan on driving South on US 71 past Fort Smith to Highway 23 in Elm Park where I will follow Highway 23 North all the way up to Eureka Springs. Will I enjoy that drive, or does someone have a different, possibly better option for me?

you really need to make this drive in the fall, to see the leaves, in the winter, to see the landscape, and in the spring, roll your windows down for this one.

[bkern1989]

Originally Posted by latunafish

you really need to make this drive in the fall, to see the leaves, in the winter, to see the landscape, and in the spring, roll your windows down for this one.

During the Winter as in after a snowstorm? What exactly am I looking for during the Spring?

[latunafish]

during the winter, when the leaves are gone, you can really see the terrain. it is just another view that is blocked by all the foliage.

this past spring, i spent a weekend traveling the same area, but it snowed for 3 days in may. it was beautiful, but not the normal spring trip i had envisioned.

take a spring float on the buffalo river and you will get the picture! if you only have a few hours, take the ponca to steel creek float. if you have most of the day, take the ponca to kyle's landing float. normally, spring is the only time that there is enough water to float this section.

[Luvvarkansas]

Yes, winter in the Ozarks is great also, for the reason given by latunafish. The huge boulders are also visible, and are something to behold. I love rocks! And the vistas are also wider because of the leaves being gone.

In the spring, the new leaves on the trees are all different shades of bright green, the redbud and dogwood trees are blooming madly, the water is usually rushing in all the rivers and creeks, the cutest wildflowers you've ever seen are carpeting the ground everywhere, and the air has a magical quality to it....probably the reason latunafish said to roll down the windows!

Every season is great in the Ozarks....the only less-than-great time is during a hot summer, when there has been no rain and there is not much water running anywhere. But even then, it's beautiful....from inside an air-conditioned car! Of course, if you like swimming in lakes, there's always that in the hot summer time. And plenty of beautiful state park lodges with nice swimming pools.

[ArkansasSlim]

I too like to drive, and look, in the winter when the leaves are gone, and especially when there has been a light "dusting" of snow. Once, in those conditions, I was driving a road I had traveled many, many times over the years. From the "corner of my eye" I saw a structure up in the woods I had never seen before. I stopped, backed up, and saw an old road/trail going to it. Of course I had to check it out and found an abandoned old, probably early 20th Century, farm house. As I checked it out, and continued looking through the woods, I saw three or four others of the same vintage. I never tried to find out the history, but I suspect it was an extended family community that over the years was abandoned for reasons unknown to me. That's the reason my profile states; "I gotta go see it"

[Luvvarkansas]

LOL @ Slim....I'm the same way! Looking at old, abandoned houses is just my type of thing....I don't know why. I always enjoy imagining how the people lived there. And sometimes it makes me sad, when it's a nice old house that could have been saved.

[slingshot]

Sorry yall, but I had to post just to change the number of replies to 667. Thanks, carry on. I know it says 668, but on the full list of threads it said one less.

[ArkansasTgirl]

Is it a coincidence that the 666th post of the exploring Arkansas thread coincided with the government shutdown?

[ArkansasSlim]

FriendlyFeller - 666 & shutdown - Now that explains an experience I had out in the boonies yesterday. I was way out in the middle-of-nowhere and heard a very strange "rushing" sound. It seemed to be coming from everywhere; above, below, and all around. When I got home I realized what it was. I found out the shutdown had been lifted and the sound I heard was a sigh of relief from people all over the world.