“Art in the Ozarks” was originally published in the July, 2016 issue of MotorHome Magazine. The featured photo was provided by Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. Unless otherwise specified, all other photos were taken by Mary and Jim Zalmanek.
Art in the Ozarks: From fine arts in Bentonville, Arkansas to performing arts in Branson, Missouri
Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas has been on my must-see list since November 6, 2011. That’s when I heard about it on “CBS Sunday Morning,” five days before it opened. My husband, Jim, and I agreed that next time an RV trip took us southeast of our home in Colorado, we’d detour to northwest Arkansas to see this treasure of art, architecture and nature. In June, 2015, we made the trip.
Crystal Bridges Museum, A Gift from a Walmart Heir
The driving force behind Crystal Bridges is Alice Walton, daughter of Walmart founder Sam Walton. The museum’s permanent collection spans five centuries of American art, including Asher B. Durand’s Colonial era masterpiece, “Kindred Spirits,” to Norman Rockwell’s iconic symbol of women working in factories during World War II, “Rosie the Riveter” and beyond.
An audio tour gave us the background on many of the artists and their works. My favorites were paintings by Maxfield Parrish and Georgia O’Keefe. Admission to the museum is free; however, we did spend money on souvenirs in the gift shop and a delicious lunch in Eleven, the restaurant named for the day it opened, 11/11/11. Five miles of hiking trails surround the museum. We walked on the Art Trail and the Crystal Bridges Trail, enjoying the sculptures along the beautifully landscaped path.
Walmart Museum
Bentonville has a charming downtown. Just across from the town square, the original Walton’s 5&10 is now the Walmart Museum. The museum has three parts: the 1950s store; exhibits that tell Walmart’s history and includes a replica of Sam Walton’s office; and the Spark Cafe Soda Fountain that sells ice cream. On a hot day, a scoop of ice cream seemed like the perfect way to cool off. As we were leaving town, we drove by a Walmart. We were so thankful for Crystal Bridges, it seemed only right that we spend some money there. Since then, every time I walk into a Walmart I say a silent thank you to Alice Walton.
Creeks Golf and RV Resort
We stayed in nearby Cave Springs at the Creeks Golf and RV Resort. We made it back to in time to play nine holes. The 18-hole course was in good shape. The fairways were a bit narrow; at least that’s my excuse for all the times I landed in someone else’s fairway.
Botanical Gardens of the Ozarks
Since our membership at the Denver Botanical Gardens gives us access to over 300 botanical gardens nationwide, we never pass up an opportunity to visit one. The next morning we drove to the Botanical Gardens of the Ozarks in Fayetteville. It has twelve themed gardens on six acres, and a 20-acre arboretum. We especially enjoyed the color and design of the Sensory Garden, the Children’s Garden, and the Japanese Garden. With preparations underway for a wedding later on that day, it was easy to see why a local magazine voted it “Best Place to Get Married.”
Terra Studios
We asked two college students we met at the Gardens what else they would recommend seeing in Fayetteville. Without hesitation, they responded in unison, “Terra Studios!” Even though it was out of our way, we programmed the GPS to take us there. It’s a whimsical art park billed as the “Home of the Bluebirds of Happiness.” In back of the gallery filled with pottery, jewelry, and art glass, we watched a glassblower make those famous bluebirds. On the grounds, we encountered dragons, ceramic cars on a miniature highway, giant chess and checkers games, a bear at a tea party, and “trash can trolls.” You know it’s a special place when even the clever trash cans are worth photographing.
Eureka Springs
We had considered driving the motorhome to Eureka Springs on our way to Branson. After reading about the winding, mountainside roads, we decided to leave the RV behind and visit in our car. Once we got there, we were happy with our decision. While there are several RV parks in and around Eureka Springs, we didn’t see many places to park an RV for a few hours.
Thorncrown Chapel sits just outside Eureka Springs on Highway 62. Voted one of the American Institute of Architecture’s top buildings of the twentieth century, the glass-walled sanctuary is 48 feet tall. We stopped for a few minutes of quiet reflection in this chapel in the forest.
Downtown Eureka Springs is filled with restaurants and shops featuring more art in the Ozarks. In one shop, a potter was giving demonstrations. I’d been tempted by Jim Young’s pottery in the gift shop at Crystal Bridges. After meeting him, I couldn’t resist purchasing a beautiful bowl as a gift.
Branson, Missouri
We trusted our GPS to get us from Cave Springs, Arkansas to Branson, Missouri. It took us through the lush Mark Twain National Forest and Roaring River State Park on a steep, winding, 2-lane paved road. I was glad I wasn’t driving, but Jim drove us there safely in our 26-foot Class A motorhome with a tow car. A better route may have been US Route 412.
America’s Best Campground north of Branson claims to be “city close and country quiet.” That sounded like a good combination to us. It served as our home base for five days as we explored Branson. As first time visitors, choosing a few attractions from hundreds of choices seemed overwhelming. We perused the Branson Vacation Guide and asked for suggestions from the Convention and Visitors Bureau and people at the campground. We chose a wildlife sanctuary, a museum, and two shows.
National Tiger Sanctuary
The National Tiger Sanctuary was at the top of our agenda. We were lucky enough to get a tour from the owner, Keith Kincade. He showed us his customized 38-foot Thor Outlaw Toy Hauler with large tiger decals on the outside and a tiger cage for transporting his animals on the inside. Founded in 2000,The National Tiger Sanctuary moved to their 100-acre facility in Branson from St. Louis in 2011. They currently have 32 big cats. They also do wildlife rehab, caring for injured animals like foxes and skunks. Since these animals will be released into the wild, they are not on display. Many of the big cats came from zoos or magic shows where they were confined to small indoor cages. Here they are free to roam in their 10,000-square foot enclosures.
The ratio of two to three staff to one cat permits a high level of care for the animals. While humans never enter the enclosures, each animal is spoon-fed a customized diet through a slot in the fences. The strength of these animals is evident in some of their “play toys,” a bowling ball bitten in two and a tire shredded to pieces. On our feeding tour, we watched staff member Mariah Morrison feeding nine pounds of chicken and ground beef to Mariah the tiger. We ended our visit with a 4×4 nature expedition in an authentic Swiss Army vehicle, exploring the natural, undeveloped beauty of the Ozarks.
Titanic Museum
The Titanic Museum Attraction got our attention when we drove through town. The building is shaped like the ill-fated ship itself, complete with an iceberg alongside. By telling their stories, the museum honors and respects those who lost their lives on the Titanic. When we entered the museum we were given boarding passes for actual Titanic passengers or crew on the ship’s 1912 maiden voyage. We were immediately engrossed in learning more about Jim’s first-class passenger, Major Archibald Butt, and my third-class passenger Leah Aks, and the living conditions for each class. We paused to admire the eight musicians who played to calm passengers and eventually went down with the ship.
Interactive exhibits gave us an idea of what it might have been like as we touched a real iceberg, tried to stand on sloping decks, and stuck our fingers in 28-degree water. My hand was uncomfortable after a mere 30 seconds. As a memento, we had our pictures taken as if we were standing on the Grand Staircase and on the bow of the ship having a king-of-the-world experience a la Leo Di’Caprio and Kate Winslet. In the Memorial Room, we searched the 2,208 names to learn if “we” — see how quickly we identified with the names on our boarding passes — were among the 712 survivors. I was happy to see that 19-year-old Leah and her infant son survived, but saddened that Major Butt did not.
It’s Magic!
Since we hadn’t seen a magic show in ages, we decide to see Rick Thomas, an illusionist. After headlining in Las Vegas for 15 years and performing in over 50 countries, Thomas moved his show to the Andy Williams Moon River Theater in 2014. In addition to unbelievable magic — really, I couldn’t believe what I saw — the show contained an entertaining mix of dance, music and comedy. Thomas made birds appear, multiply, and disappear. He cut a woman in half, and put her back together, of course. He levitated his dance partner, then made her disappear into thin air. I’m still wondering how he sealed an audience member’s watch inside a can in a locked box 30 feet or so from his location on the stage.
A Musical Family
The Duttons are a musical family that includes mom and dad, seven natural children, seven more adopted as teenagers, plus in-laws and a whole slew of grandchildren. They are also one of Branson’s most popular shows. Their musical talent won them a place in the finals of NBC’s America’s Got Talent in 2007. They play a variety of instruments including violin, banjo, mandolin, guitar, bass, viola, keyboard, and harmonica. For added interest, they played instruments behind their heads, and used their bows to play violins of the cast members next to them.
Table Rock Lake
Rainy weather had confined us to indoor activities for most of our visit in Branson. With so much to see and do indoors, it’s a great place to be forced inside. On our last day with only a light mist falling, we went to Table Rock State Park to ride bikes. The park sits aside the 43,100-acre Table Rock Lake, which has nearly 800 miles of shoreline. We rode the 2.2-mile paved Table Rock Lakeshore Trail. By the time we finished the ride, the sun was shining. The ride was short, less than 5 miles even with several detours. We considered doing it twice, but decided to eat instead. The White River Valley Trail System offers mountain bikers and hikers almost 12 miles of challenging, rugged terrain, but it was closed due to recent rains.
From the fine art in Bentonville to the performing arts in Branson, our trip to the Ozarks was an adventure beyond our expectations.
