Buffalo National River

This morning I left Beaver Lake and the Eureka Springs area for Little Rock.

Along the way I stopped at Buffalo National River for a hike. After a fight led by local advocates to reject construction of a dam, The Buffalo National River became the first national river in the United States on March 1, 1972. It is one of the few remaining free-flowing rivers in the lower forty-eight states. A documentary, “First River: How Arkansas Saved a National Treasure” presents the history of the Buffalo National River from the 1960s to the present day.

As I was getting organized for the hike, Sheri and Barry and their three dogs, Thumper, Mister and Little Bit pulled up. I asked them which hike they were taking and found it was the same route I had planned. I asked if I could tag a long and they happily agreed. Over the hour or so it took us to complete the 2.5 mile hike, we got to know each other a bit and explored a variety of topics. Sheri, a personal nutrition consultant, is originally from California, but moved to Arkansas to care for her mother. Barry, a software engineer, is an Arkansas native. It was a very pleasant hike - the temperature was a comfortable 70 degrees and I was able to hike in shirtsleeves for the first time this trip. Sheri and Barry then invited me to join them for lunch at the Skylark Cafe in the town of Leslie, population 441. Leslie is a very cute town and we had excellent salads for lunch. I really enjoyed meeting these folks and appreciated the opportunity to spend some time with them. This interaction typifies my experiences so far on this trip.

Tomorrow I will explore Little Rock.