Fayetteville to Lake Ouachita

When leaving Fayetteville I had to choose once again. I was heading south and had the choice of the interstate 540 or the winding and slightly longer highway 71. It wasn't a tough decision. I chose to wind.

If you keep your eyes open as you drive around the country you will often find smaller highways that connect two destinations that are roughly parallel to the interstates. These are the old highways that were the arteries of the of the country. Before the interstates were built, everything that didn't travel by rail went over these roads. Route 66 isn't the only place to drive to find the experience of driving through the past, it just happened to have a song written about it. Like Route 66, the feeder highways are dotted with tiny burghs and punctuated with derelict remembrances to past prosperity. Gas station/diners with curved walls of glass brick, architectural novelties calling to the passing traveler:

"Stop, stop, pull over your car

there's food and fuel and rest.

Pull over your car, come stop a while,

our pie's the very best."

For many of these, the pie is there no longer. The people who lived and prospered under their rafters are gone; taken away by the interstates; and the new tenants have no concern for leaky roofs, broken windows and rotting floorboards. Agents of nature claiming eminent domain, they fly past the shattered glass and creep in under the foundation making their homes in the detritus of yesterdays glory. The ultimate victory of the cockroach expressed upwards through the tree of life.

If you are traveling for pleasure, try always to take the extra time to use the smaller, older highways you will find it worth the effort. Travel is not in the destination, but in the getting there. The faster you get there, the less you are actually traveling, no matter what the distance.

Back to the drive.... Highway 71 From Fayetteville to Fort Smith Arkansas winds right up against the Ozark - St. Francis National Forest, one of the most lovely parts of the Ozarks. The underlying structure reminds me of the Northern California coastal range. But instead of being clad in Manzanita, Scrub Oak, Bay Laurel and Redwood , these hills boast Red and White Oak, Hickorys, Dogwood and Pine. . . oh yes, and there is no ocean nearby. Though I am driving through this time in Spring I imagine the colors in the Autumn must be incredible, try the second or third week in October.

The small Route 71 runs from Fayetteville to Alma, Arkansas where it crosses under the interstate and dead-ends into another old feeder road, highway 84. This is where I turned left (east) and proceeded deeper into Arkansas. Blinking past Mulberry and Toney I turned right again at the town of Ozark where highway 309 took me on eventually to Paris. I had lunch in Paris. It was at a forgotten diner/hotel with a rounded front that has been there since the 1940's. The food was forgettable, the pie was chalky… but the iced tea was excellent. It will not bring back memories of France, but it has a character of it's own & is worth a look-see maybe get a sandwich togo and pack it as a lunch. Out of Paris, 309 climbs up to a razorback ridge with delightful views on either side. The lunch you packed will come in handy, for when you get up to the top and over a bit there is a nice picnic area to park and enjoy the view.

After lunch, drive, drive, keep driving on. . . switchbacking up to the top of Magazine Mountain. At 2,753 feet above sea-level, it is the highest point of the Ozark Mountains. I stopped at all of the outlooks and looked out into the hazy distance. This is not the crystalline air of the Rockies at 8,000 feet. It was muggy and the atmosphere was dense. Like trying to view the future, the closest ridges were visible, almost discernable in detail, but the far-off horizon was hazy and undefined. I'm sure there are days when the air is clear and you can see all of the way to Louisiana but today was not one of them. The drive down to Havana is an easy one and in Havana there is a place that has bicycle tours of Mt Magazine. That would be a great thing to do for an afternoon. Plan a day for it!

Once at Havana, turn left on highway 10. Belleville, Danville and Ola where they have Lake Ola Dale. Ola is a fraction of a town. There are remnants that imply there was a fair amount of economic activity at one time. A medical clinic, now overgrown and disused. Nice, old-style, brick retail buildings. Even a spur line on the train track that brushes against the town. Keep aware as you leave Ola because you have to find a right turn, then a left to get onto Highway 7 which take you on the scenic route into the Ouachita National Forest, switchbacking over mountain ridges and curling through deep, green forests. These are National Forests that are filled with use. There is fishing, camping, boating, hunting, hiking, mountain biking. . . all kinds of activities for the folk who like to be out in nature enjoying themselves.

This is what I had in mind, a few days at lake Ouachita, swimming, hiking and relaxing. My map showed there was a campground on the lake somewhere by Hot Springs Village. Unfortunately my map was a tiny bit fuzzy on the details of how to get there.