After we left Memphis, we spent a little bit of time exploring Arkansas. We spent one night in Little Rock, which seems like a pretty happenin' little city. We camped on the Maumelle River, near where it empties into the Arkansas River, and had a nice kayak ride that afternoon around an island. We narrowly escaped a frustrated blue heron; I didn't even know they lived that far west. Since there was a burn ban in effect due to dry weather, we couldn't have a campfire, so we spent our evening downtown! We found an awesome brewhouse and camped out, enjoying peoplewatching and listening to the guitarist singing covers
The next day we packed up again and headed westward to Hot Springs, Arkansas. This was a really neat town. Half of downtown is a National Park, and consists of all the old bathhouse buildings from the turn of last century. During this "Golden Age of Bathing," it was fashionable for wealthy Easterners (including lots of New York gangsters) to recuperate and relax in the mineral-rich hot springs waters, and be pampered in the elaborate bathhouses. We camped in the National Park campground for a few nights, and got hit by such a big storm it made headlines across the country. There was hail, heavy rain, and scary winds. We miraculously got out of there with our tent intact, and only mildly damp sleeping bags.
After exploring Hot Springs, we headed northward to our next farm! We spent a week at Ozark Alternatives, also known as Great Spirit Farm and Orchard, in Fayetteville, Arkansas. There we were hosted by Paul Chapracki and his partner Amanda, and their two sons, Oliver (6 y.o) and Isaac (3 y.o). This was a 25-acre farm community, nestled between housing developments on all sides. Originally it was a 100-acre family farm, and slowly got chiseled down to its present size. Also on the property are about 20 small houses that are rented out, so there's quite a tight-knit little community there.
Our main project during that week was to help build a greenhouse out of recycled materials and straw bales. We spent an afternoon helping deconstruct a Habitat for Humanity house, in order to get some building materials from there. Those materials were turned right around and used for building the greenhouse, along with a bunch of old windows. We learned how to build walls with straw bales, and how to stucco with a cement mixture. The farm regularly hosts workshops so community folks can get involved and learn about projects like this, so last weekend, about ten people showed up to help and learn as well. It was really encouraging to see that kind of enthusiasm; a lot of the people there had plans to try something like that out as well. The Chaprackis plan for the greenhouse is to start veggie plants early in the springs, some of which they will sell, and some of which they will plant for themselves.
Besides working on the greenhouse, we spent some time doing garden work, including harvesting radishes, tomatoes, and Jerusalem artichokes. We also planted radishes and leeks, weeded, and watered. They sell their produce through a local cooperative grocery store, and it was really encouraging to see how that was working for them. We also spent a lot of time playing with the kids, including going trick-or-treating with Batman and Robin.
Here are a few pictures from the farm.
Connor and Oliver planting leeks.
Planting leeks with the boys.
Cleaning out the pepper patch for winter.
Denailing plywood.
Greenhouse work site.
Building the East wall!
Working on the West wall.
Learning to stucco.
Stucco-ing.
Capital Rock
In the canyon.
Castle Rock.
Lighthouse Rock
Palo Duro Canyon.
After our hike.
The next day we hit the road again, destination Albuquerque, New Mexico. But along the way, we stopped at the Cadillac Ranch, near Amarillo. It's an art installation on the side of old Route 66 from the 70s sometime. Now everyone pulls over to spraypaint on it. We had to leave our marks.
Cadillacs
Making my mark.
Christy's contribution.
In Albuquerque, we visited Connor's cousin for a few days. We spent an afternoon exploring Old Town Plaza, which is all old Spanish adobe buildings and Pueblo jewelry shops. It was really interesting to see that architecture and history still in the middle of this city. We also went to the Albuquerque Museum of Art and History, which had a couple modern art exhibits, and a four-century history lesson about the city. Yesterday was Christy's 23rd birthday, so we spent the day getting excited about some anthropology! We visited Petroglyph National Monument, which is just outside the city. It preserves thousands of carvings in volcanic boulders. Some carvings were made as long as 2000 years ago; some were made as recent as the past few hundred years. There are tons of different symbols and pictures, lots of swirls, birds, people, faces, handprints, and other animals. There was even one of Kokopelli! It was very, very cool to see, and Christy was especially happy to find out that the first anthropologist to do research on all the carvings was a woman in the 1930s. What a badass.
Albuquerque
Old Town
Old Spanish church
Chilis drying
Petroglyphs!
So, that brings us to here and now. We're planning on leaving Albuquerque this afternoon, and headed north towards Santa Fe. We'll be camping in the Santa Fe National Forest for the next few days, using that as a home base to explore a few of the national monuments and parks around that area. The potential plan for now is to make a little loop in northern New Mexico and southern Colorado in the next couple weeks, then fly home for Thanksgiving and Christmas! So, we'll be home on the East Coast from November 22nd through January 5th, then flying back out to Colorado to continue our trip. So, we'll see (almost) everyone soon!
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