From Zeroasterisk

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Here is a little more background on what we're doing, plus contact information

or were you looking for [activities of possible interest]? (a broader, shallower list)

Contents 1 MOUNTAIN VIEW 2 THE OZARK FOLK ART CENTER 3 BLANCHARD SPRINGS CAVERNS 4 FLOATING THE BUFFALO 5 OTHER CLOSE BY SIGHTS YOU MIGHT NOT WANT TO MISS.....

MOUNTAIN VIEW

http://YourPlaceInTheMountains.com and http://www.ozarkids.com. After dinner is a good time to wander down to the town square where various local musicians jam in nightly (free!) evening concerts. We were there on a Tues. night which should be pretty slow, but 3 different performances were going on, spaced out far enough apart to not bother each other. We mostly watched a family group with one talented young lady, who appeared to be about 15 and could play 5 or 6 different instruments (and sing), accompanied by 4 other musicians, mostly relatives. All very informal and laid back. People just bring their lawn chairs and form a circle around them or sit/lean on the low stone wall of the courthouse square (which we did, though it's not as comfortable as a chair). After the concert we took a quick tour of the shop windows facing the square. Just off the square for $13, Brickshy's Backstreet Music Theater has shows Th, F & S (featuring either Leatherwoods, River Rat Band or Homemade Jam).

THE OZARK FOLK ART CENTER

http://ozarkfolkcenter.com is open Wed.-Sat., 10 am to 5 pm, and has a Craft Village with over 20 demonstrations of Ozark mountain pioneer crafts, such as quilting, basket making, pottery, blacksmithing, plus an herb garden. Save some money for the Homespun Gift Shop. Beginning at 7 each evening (Wed.-Sat.) Ozark music performances, feature a variety of traditional, acoustic music from the southern mountains of the US. It's again a pretty informal affair ~ the audience is even invited to come up on the stage 2 or 3 times to join in on dancing a jig (no, we didn't!) and they generally have each group play 3 songs. They even had one of their workshop classes (on auto harp) do a number which was fun, because we had watched a little of their workshop earlier in the day. Not nearly as glitzy as the performances in Branson, but charming none the less....the performers come out and visit with the audience during intermission and after the performance.

Side benefit: it costs a lot less than the performances in Branson! Rates and Charges for 2006

Admission is the same to Crafts Village OR Music Auditorium: $9/adult, $6/child 6-12. Family pass $25 (2 adults and all children under 18) 1-day combination ticket (for crafts and music) $15.50/adult, $8.25/child 6-12. Family pass $40 (as above).

BLANCHARD SPRINGS CAVERNS

(1-888-757-2246) http://www.fs.fed.us/oonf/ozark/recreation/caverns.html Just 12 miles N on Hwy 14, or about 20 mins. from Mountain View is a wonderful attraction. We didn't take the cave tour this past summer, but we drove on into the park and checked out the spring & Mirror "Lake" (a dammed pool, really ~popular with the trout fishermen!) and were blown away! Both are an easy walk ~ there's even a handicapped parking area for the boardwalk to the lake. The spring comes out of a small cave and falls down to form the stream, surrounded by wooded slopes on both sides, of course...VERY pretty. We then checked out the picnic pavilions and decided the smaller one was the perfect size for our group, complete with restroom right next door, BBQ grill and both electric lights & outlets. ($20 to reserve between 9 and 4, or 4-10, or $30 for all day--we will bring a box fan and extension cord) Both bldgs. appear to be relatively new and look nice. A short easy walk behind the pavilion is the amphitheater framed by a really high stone bluff where Rangers give nature programs at 8:30 pm. (Anybody up for a talent show?) There are also large mowed grassy areas adjacent to all this ~ great for Frisbee golf, badminton, etc. Ideal! There is a campground at the park, but no cabins (drat!). The cave at Blanchard Springs, open since 1973, is rated one of the 10 most beautiful caverns in North America, and offers 3 different tours: An easy 1 hour handicapped accessible "Dripstone Tour" (lots of nice cave formations) , a more difficult 1 1/2 hour "Discovery Tour" for the able-bodied (For either of these tours, the fee is $7/adult and $3/child, 6-15) There is also a $65 "Wild Cave Tour" for the really fit and ambitious ones, which lasts 4-5 hours. They need a minimum of 3 people to book the tour. Bring boots to protect the ankles, & backpacks for food and water. They furnish helmets, kneepads and gloves. (Check with Karen.) They have a spacious air-conditioned Visitor Center there with an open gift shop on one end a bunch of comfortable seating on the other. We fell in love with this park!

FLOATING THE BUFFALO

http://www.HarrisonArkansas.org should be on our list of worthwhile things to do as a group! While you can canoe on the White River, we preferred the warmer, shallower, family friendly Buffalo--America's first national river, (steeped in history), which offers clean waters, high bluffs, wooded hillsides and nature at it's best. We used Wild Bill Outfitters (who could resist?) www.ozark-float.com, at Hwy. 14 at Hwy 268. You decide how long a trip you want, and pay for it: $40 for canoe (2 person) or kayak(1 person) plus $3 per person shuttle fee. Then you drive your car to the takeout point and they send a bus to pick you up and take you to Spring Creek to launch. We went 7 1/2 mile trip, getting out at Dillard's Ferry (Hwy 14 bridge, w/single clean vault toilet) and it took just over 2 hours, no goofing off or stopping for a picnic lunch. Adding 1 1/2 more miles would put you out at Buffalo Point on the West end of the campground for Buffalo Natl. Park, where there's a bath house and potties, plus pavilions for rent (I think). Plan ahead to wear stuff that can get wet, and store valuables, cell phones, cameras in waterproof bag. PS -You get fined if you leave your canoe at the wrong takeout point. - Hide quoted text -

OTHER CLOSE BY SIGHTS YOU MIGHT NOT WANT TO MISS.....

• Good Old Days Vintage Motorcar Museum in Hardy, AK. Daily 9am to 5 pm, Sunday, 12:30 to 5 pm. Admission Adults $4, 12 and under, $2.50. (870-856-4884)
• Mark Martin Museum and Gift Shop in Batesville AK, located inside Mark Martin Ford. (1-800-566-4461).
• The Ironworks on the Square in Mountain View --www.stoneiron.com Showroom and Retail Outlet for Stone County Hand Forged Ironworks.

Tues. through Sat., 11am to 5 pm.

• Sodie's Fountina and Grill in the Depot in Flippin, AK. www.sodies.com An old-Fashioned Drug Store Soda Fountain at Hwy 178 at Hwy. 62-412. A little off the path, but their mocha espresso shake was to die for, complete with a cherry perched atop the whipped cream!

Of course there's a myriad of other sights and activities to do in Arkansas, and Eureka Springs and Branson are not too far.

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