Apartment Inspection Time

which means more traveling through the roads--many of them dirt and gravel--of NW Arkansas.  Even with the heat, it is so pretty here.

Last Wednesday, we visited Van Buren and Prairie Grove.....

We stopped at this small cemetery we had found on our last trip and took pictures of recent burials.

As usual, there are some fun Church signs along the way.  Can't argue with this one.

This--I had to google when we passed it.  Yes, it is a THING!  You have to be 21+ to attend.  There will be lots of beer, bands, and yes, BBQ steer testicles to eat! We will not be attending.  These are the little regional things that you would never know about unless you lived here.

As we headed home, we turned the corner and stepped on the brakes to avoid this herd of cattle who apparently had found an open gate from their field.  They were pouring out as fast as they could go!

This mural is in Ft. Smith.  They have amazing murals throughout downtown and as well as in most of the small surrounding communities.

We stopped at the National Cemetery in Ft. Smith where individuals from both sides of the Civil War and all conflicts since then have been buried.  The conflicts are listed on the back of the marble slabs.  It was a sobering list.

The art work on this mill's stacks is amazing!

On the side of a box car next to the mill...we had to drive around so I could get a good picture....

...of this beautiful mural on the front of the container.  It boggles my mind to think about the talent and work that goes into something like this.

Sunset on Wednesday night.....

Thursday--off to do apartments in Ft. Smith and Greenwood.  This was the treat this time.

Plus we provided a treat for those with super clean ovens this time.  5 of the seven earned the special treat.

First time ever, we saw a train on the train tracks and moving in Ft. Smith...Gary was so excited that he drove around the block to catch the train at its next street crossing!  It is a good thing we all like trains.  (My dad would be so proud.)

We headed out of Greenwood a different way and found this city park with a vintage bridge.  The city had bought the bridge years ago from another city and just stored it until they found the right place for it. It is now a walking bridge over the Greenwood Reservoir. 

Nothing like sightseeing in missionary clothes..

Flags and religious signs everywhere.  At first, it was too much for me.  So different from what I was used to, but now I like it and use these signs to remind me to think about our Savior and what He means to me.

This sign went the extra mile and actually provided magnets you could take for your car or home.

Friday, we headed to Mena......this is from the hometown drive in where we had lunch.

After the apartment inspection and lunch, we headed to the first part of Hwy. 88 that we missed last time due to our car's GPS directions.

As we were driving up Hwy. 88, I noticed that our straws changed colors as we drank them--responding to the cold of the drink.  Ours went from yellow to green and Jena's changed from white to purple.  I can't tell you how fun I thought that was.  Sometimes my eight-year old self has to come out--simple things can bring such delight..

Humans added their own touch to the walls, road and sidewalks of this view area...not really an enhancement.

Nature does it better...with rows and rows of tree-topped hills.

Heading up the road to the fire watch tower, the camera caught the light in an odd way looking almost blue in the middle of the greens.

The Rich Mountain Fire Watch Tower.....

We then headed back down the road to find an even more remote cemetery that Gary had found on his computer....

passed this interesting group of caged roosters.  Gary's guess is that they might be fighting roosters which is why they are all housed in different little cages.  What do you think?

Even with the dirt/gravel roads, this cemetery had lots of plastic flowers on many of the graves. The whole two hours we were driving on these roads we only saw two trucks and both were forest service vehicles.  We did pass several ranches and farms so people do live way out here.

Roads not only had rocks and ruts, sometimes it was muddy as well.  Our car was covered by the time we were through. 

The roads were remote enough that Gary had to clear off a tree that had fallen into the road so that we could pass by.

What a fun bonus to enjoy these wonderful back roads in the hills of Arkansas.

And the apartment inspections were the best we have had since we arrived.  They did a good job getting their apartments ready...and we were tired when we got home on Friday evening.