There And Back Again
There and back again: Eureka Springs, Oct 4th 2003
Note: Page is set for those folks that have to have 800x600 resolution.. *sigh*
I started out at noon, deciding that noon was a good time to start out.
I figured it would take about two and a half hours driving time, and since I had
no idea where I was heading, I figured I might as well be awake to get lost. It
had been about 17 years since I was in Eureka last time, and I did not take the
route that I was going to take today. It was an adventure through the back hills
of Oklahoma and Arkansas. Images of breaking down and having to trade sexual favors
with Bubba and his brothers to get my car back on the road did NOT enter my head.
I swear. Really they didn't.
Over cast and cool, packed with a carton of Merits and my trusty QT coffee cup, I
headed out the door at 11:23. So much for noon, but what the hell. What else was
I gonna do.
I drove the four miles to the entrance to 412, hit my trip meter to zero, and pointed
East. I was Eureka bound.
Now, anyone that's made a long trip by themselves know that the radio is an important
asset. It keeps you company and it can help relieve the boredom. Unless the radio
becomes really boring, then you turn it off and do things like work out Universal
Constants in your head (no.. that wasn't me). I spent most of my time listening to
my car wheeze and the road rumble, and watching for signs of imminent disaster.
Oh yeah.. and cussing out cars that tended to go slower than I did, and I was actually
following the speed limit for once. Having a car of doubtful abilities, I didn't
want to push the old girl too hard.
It was pretty normal, even passing the Toll booth for the Expressway (2.25, in case
you're wondering). Winding curves told me I was heading towards the Ozarks and when
I got to Siloam Springs, I knew I was in Arkansas.
Siloam Springs is a nice place. Quiet, no cops on the road, and only 2 stop lights.
A car passed me with a kid in the back, who nodded at me. I nodded back to him,
thinking, "hmmm... looks like Junior does NOT want to go on this family vacation"
They left the road when they turned into a Pizza Hut for lunch. Well, maybe Junior
got something he wanted after all. Probably not though. He just didn't look happy
Ok ok ok.. I'll get on with it. The trip was windy, twisty, hilly, boring, and I
wished I had someone along with me. Course, that would have just made it a bit
longer. I tend to be more careful when I'm carrying cargo.
The trip went fine till I got to Springdale. I didn't break down, I just got delayed
a billion times. Unlike that fine city of Siloam, Springdale had stoplights galore.
I hate stoplights anyway. When you go through Springdale, watch the signs. 412 makes
a couple of hefty turns. One Right, and One Left. The Left one is the tricky one
because it happens at a weird intersection. Fortunately there is a turn light for
the Lefties. Unfortunately, there is probably some moron in front of you that has
no idea what that light means. Did I mention that I hate stoplights?
Twisty Turns and a lovely river and more twisty turns and you come to where 412 turns
hard to the right. This is the intersection of 412 and highway 45.
Don't go right. Instead, take the lovely road 45 as it snakes it's way towards
Eureka Springs. It'll save you about 30 minutes or more.
Follow 45 till you get to the intersection of highway 12. War Eagle is to the left.
You want to turn right. So you do.
More Twisty Turny roads until you get to highway 23. You want to turn left, so you do.
Guess what? You're about 11 miles or so from Eureka Springs. And guess what else?
More Twisty Turny roads. You better like twisty turny roads, cuz you're gonna get them.
And as long as you're not stuck behind an RV going 25 miles an hour, it's a wonderful
ride. Very very pretty. Yes, I know I sound crabby, but it really is pretty. Next
time I'm going to stop about every 6 miles and snap a picture, because there are some
very lovely vistas and rocks and goats and farms and stuff like that there. I sound
crabby because my mind was on not dying, so I wasn't able to take the proper mindset.
When you go, make sure you put your brain on Vacation. The drive is not that dangerous,
and you might just miss something you've never seen before.
when I turned on to highway 12, I got stuck behind not only the RV, but directly
in front of me was a refrigeration tanker, one of those big ones that carry milk or
whatever to restaurants or dairies or places like that.
He was a good guy, trying to keep his speed up, but it's rather hard when you're pushing
and 20 foot tanker through hairpin curves.
Highway 23 twists and turns it's way to Highway 62. This is Eureka Springs. It was
just about here that the tanker decided to blow off a little pressure from it's tank
and snowed on me. I kid you not. From a vent at the back it shot snow up into the
air and it fell all over my car. Here's the picture:
The white specks on my windshield is from snow, not dust. See cloud of snow from Truck?
Turn right on Highway 62 and be prepared to go and drive and go a little bit further Her driveway is about 8 miles from the junction of 62 and 23. And about the Junction:
It's stupid. It's one of those things where highway 23 stops at the loop that 62
makes, so you have to watch and wait and make sure that nobody is going to hit you
and that you aren't going to hit anyone else, and if there is something going on that
day, like a CORVETTE rally (when I went there), or a Biker's Rally (when I went there)
you can expect to wait a long time, unless you get there about 4 pm, when everyone
else in town is eating.
By the way.. here's a link to the mapquest spot for Linda's Driveway. She has her own spot, and it's even marked "Driveway". It's in the center of the map. Pretty cool.
Lindas Driveway
A map showing how close she is to downtown Eureka.
Now, for those of you that believed Linda when she said that her driveway has red rock, you can believe her if you want to. There is red rock in it, just not at the beginning.
The Kettle Campground is right next to her. It's also on the same side of the road as she is.
I took this picture standing on the other side of the road, looking back from whence I came.
The sign to look for to show you where Linda's drive is looks like a really bad deer
If you don't turn immediately after the deer, you'll go past the cemetery and this sign, which is on your immediate right
Keep driving down the little dirt road, and you'll find her red rock
Keep going and you'll come to her house
If you're lucky(I wasn't), someone will be watching for you. Linda had decided to run
to the store about 5 minutes before I got there. It's ok. It allowed me the chance to see the inside of the Casino. You get to see the Casino if you miss the turn and go a little further down 62.
Here's Bob, watching for YOU. Me, I had to fend for myself
The house is lovely, spacious, and everything one might want to get away from all of it
and still be close enough to find it if you need to.
Here's some links to pictures of the house: Linda's Place