Little Rock

Many of you know that we are used to be very involved with volksmarching and at one point were on a quest to walk in every state and every state capital.  We met that goal over 10 years ago with one exception, the capital of Arkansas, Little Rock.  We actually visited Little Rock about 15 years ago and drove to the start point.  Unfortunately, no one knew anything about the walk and couldn't manage to find the directions so that we could complete the walk.  So, we drove to Hot Springs to do a walk so we could check the state of Arkansas off of our list.  Therefore, all these years we've claimed walks in 50 states, 49 state capitals, plus the District of Columbia.  So when we knew we were heading that way, we put it on the list so we could - finally - complete our goal.

We pulled into the RV park to get set up.  This was a county park and since this was a first for us, we were a little apprehensive.  Especially since the rate was $22 per night.  But it looked just fine.  (phew)

No maps, no instructions, no nothing except "take a right over there and you're in site B-10".  Oh, and by the way - no WiFi.  WHAT????

Our biggest challenge on this journey has been inconsistent technology but we're managing.  Maybe not such a bad thing to spend a few days without WiFi.  

The site was nice.

We were one spot away from the Arkansas River.

The next day we headed downtown.  The walk was uneventful but at least we were, finally, done with our quest.  On the route we saw the Old State House which is where Bill Clinton announced his candidacy for President.

Then we visited the State Capitol.

We parked the car and filled the meter to give us about 45 minutes inside and off we went.  We were greeted at the information desk by a nice woman named Cheryl.  We told her a little bit about why we were visiting and she said there was a tour starting in about 30 minutes.  We explained that we had a limited time on the parking meter and she replied "I've got some time and would be happy to give you a private tour".  So off we went.

Cheryl, our private tour guide

She knew everything there was to know about the Capitol building.  She grabbed our phones and took pictures along the way.

The 4,000 pound chandelier that hangs in the rotunda was down for cleaning.  They only clean it about every 10 years and it was going to be down for a month.

The interior of the building was magnificent.  She knew every detail about the architecture, cost, etc.  And since she had our camera.....

One of the highlights was visiting the Treasury on the 3rd floor.  Although Cheryl knew that our meter time had expired, she insisted that we visit.  We walked in and met the two people working inside and then they escorted us to the vault and opened it up.  Yikes, there was a TON of cash in there.  It is in the Arkansas state constitution that state employees can cash checks whenever they'd like so there always has to be plenty of cash on hand.  Imagine Ron's surprise when Cheryl said "do you want to hold half a million dollars?"  Thinking there might be a catch, Ron nodded and the next thing he knew they handed him a cool half a mil.

What an experience even though they asked for it back.

Off we went to the Clinton Presidential Library which was a short drive away.  In fact, they had just started construction when we were in Little Rock before so it was nice to see it completed.

Once inside we saw quite a few artifacts.  The limo he used while president was on the first floor.

There was an exact replica of the Oval Office upstairs but, unfortunately, no photos were allowed.  It was much smaller than I thought it would be.  In fact, when the former president viewed it while under construction he thought something looked "off" so the staff measured the real office and found that the replica was 6 inches too small so they made some adjustments.

A table set with their china.

It was interesting to see a Christmas tree that Dale Chihuly once gave to them to display in the White House.

Being that one of our other hobbies is to see all of the presidential gravesites.  Of course, Bill and Hillary are still living but we did see where they are planning for their eternal resting spot.

Warning:  Shortly after we visited the future grave site of George H.W. and Barbara Bush they passed away.  So if something happens to Bill or Hillary in the near future, we are not taking the blame.

Back to the camp site where we spent a WILD night listening to the loudest thunder I have ever heard!