September 24, 2008 - Eureka Springs, Arkansas

My major destination for today was Eureka Springs, Arkansas. Since the goal was to get home to the Northeast, obviously, going from Missouri to Arkansas is counterproductive. But, I wanted to see AR nonetheless. Last year, I only saw a tiny portion of the state in the northwest area.

I also visited a little bit of rural Missouri. I headed to Monett through some very twisty roads. You absolutely must pay attention because there are no guard rails and it's a long drop off. Night driving on these roads is probably not a good idea. At a certain point, the GPS again had me floating through empty space. It told me to turn left, then corrected itself after I had driven around ten miles. The GPS just does not like the Ozark Mountains.

After crossing into Arkansas, the road to Eureka Springs was also quite twisty. Guard rails were present more often. The drop-offs were much higher in this area. The GPS did not seem to have a problem with the roads there.

Eureka Springs is a tourist area. There are lots of little shops and hotels. There are tour buses as well. One hotel had a German restaurant. I started having fond memories of Leavenworth, Washington. I wished I had had time to eat there but I had a long drive to my next hotel.

Finding the Thorncrown Chapel
My first destination was the Thorncrown Chapel, which is a chapel made primarily of glass. There is metal and wood to support it. This is a nondenominational chapel in the woods. I missed the sign for it when I first drove into Eureka Springs. It's a few miles west of Eureka Springs. There is a tourism office and I was able to get directions and a map of the area from one of the tourist staffers.

Thorncrown Chapel
When I arrived at the Thorncrown Chapel, there was a greeter. She asks everyone where they come from before explaining the rules of the chapel. When I explained where I came from, she asked what I was doing all the way in Arkansas. I explained that I was finishing up a cross country trip (I forgot to mention that I was still 1,200+ miles away from home). The Thorncrown Chapel is a "sit down chapel." Photos are allowed but you must be seated. In the short time that I was there, a lot of people came in and out to pray. See the photos.

Eureka Springs
I briefly drove by the interesting shops in the downtown section. By the time I got to this area, they were mostly closed.

Eureka Springs has a play of our Lord's Passion. It was not being shown on Wednesdays, but is available other nights. There is an entire street named after the play. The area is huge and there are lots of vendors surrounding the play area.

Beautiful fountain
Before entering the play area, there is a beautiful fountain of the Holy Family. There are lots of gorgeous flowers surrounding the fountain. I've never seen most of the types of flowers that were present here. See the photos.

Chapel and piece of the Berlin Wall
Once I got to the statue area, there was a small chapel and a large piece of the Berlin Wall. I recall once seeing a very tiny piece of the Berlin Wall in school shortly after it came down. But this was the largest piece I've ever seen. See the photos.

The statue
Finally, I saw the statue. It's a simple statue with our Lord's Arms outstretched. There is also a viewing area of the Ozark Mountains nearby. See the photos.

The long drive to Mountain Home, AR
My hotel room for the night was in Mountain Home, AR. This was about 100 miles east. I was used to interstate speeds and figured this would be about two hours maximum. When I checked the GPS, it was well over two hours, bordering on three. There are no interstates and it was getting dark. I was a bit nervous about the drive, considering the twisty roads I encountered. But, I trusted in God and began driving. Thankfully, there were no twisty roads at this point. There were some mountainous areas in the distance. At one point, a large coyote considered crossing the road. I did not want to hit yet another animal. Thankfully, the coyote decided to wait until I passed by.