November 1-10

We are usually back in Florida by the beginning of November but this year we decided to delay our return until December to begin our work camping positions for the Winter.

The first few days in November we stayed at Willow Beach COE Park in Scott, Arkansas.  As we got off the highway and approached the park I remarked to Monte that the area looked familiar to me.  There was a good reason for that because we had stayed at the same park back in May.

 

 

I guess it is inevitable that we will end up staying at places we had already visited as we crisscross our way across the country.

 

During our stay at Willow Beach we visited Toltec Mounds Archeological State Park.  The park protects an 18-mound complex with the tallest surviving prehistoric mounds in Arkansas.

We began our tour in the Visitor Center where we watched a short film detailing the significance of the mounds.

The people who built the mounds had a culture distinct from other contemporary Native American groups in the Mississippi Valley. 

They lived in permanent villages, building sturdy houses, farmed, fished and hunted.

These mounds were religious and social centers for people living in the surrounding countryside.

After wandering through the small exhibition room we walked the path around the mounds.

 

 

 

We moved on to Pendleton Bend COE in Dumas, Arkansas.   It rained both days during our stay at the park. 

We took a walk in the evening when the rain let up for a short time.

Our only other activity was to visit the Arkansas Post National Memorial.   

he Post was the first European settlement in the lower Mississippi River Valley. 

 It was established as a French trading post in 1686.

In 1804, Arkansas Post became a part of the United States as a result of the Louisiana Purchase. 

The Post remained an important strategic site militarily during the Civil War.  A massive defensive earthwork was constructed by the Confederate Army designed to prevent Union forces from going upriver to Little Rock.

In January of 1863 Union forces conducted an amphibious assault on the fortress.  Outnumbered by the Union forces the Confederates were forced to surrender.

Our only stay in Louisiana was at Poverty Point Reservoir State Park.  Traveling during the months of October and November has its advantages.  We were able to receive great discounts on campsites and get our pick of primo sites.

It rained four out of the five days during our stay at Poverty Point Reservoir State Park.

We took advantage of the decent weather day to visit Poverty Point National Monument. 

The site contains prehistoric earthwork constructed by the Poverty Point Culture that extends throughout much of the Southeastern United States.

The Poverty Point site is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Built between 1800 and 1100 BC, the Poverty Point site is made of earthen ridges and mounds.  A variety of possible functions include a trading center, settlement, and or a ceremonial religious complex. 

We began our visit by watching a short film explaining the significance of the site followed by a walkthrough of the exhibit area that includes numerous artifacts found at the site.

 

After leaving the Visitor Center we returned to our truck and took a self-guided driving tour of the area and walked up to the top of Mound A.

 

 

 

 

 

 

October 25-29

Rain and cold kept us inside most of our stay at the Spring Hill COE Park in Barling, Arkansas and then at Aux Arc COE Park in Ozark, Arkansas. 

We did venture out on the one sunny day we had while at Aux Arc to Fort Smith National Historic Site.

 

 

We began our tour at the visitor Center where we watched a short film detailing the significance of the fort and then walked through the extensive exhibit hall.

 

 

The visitor center is located in the old Barracks/Courthouse/Jail building. 

 

 

The exhibits focus on Fort Smith’s military history from 1817-1871, western expansion, Judge Isaac Parker and the federal court’s impact on the Indian Territory.

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

Judge Parker became known as the Hanging Judge due to the large number of convicts whom he sentenced to death.

Also on the grounds is a reconstruction of the gallows used by the federal court.  From 1836 – 1896, eighty-six men were hanged for the crimes of murder and rape.

 

After leaving the visitor center we drove a short distance to Miss Laura’s Social Club that serves as the Fort Smith Visitor Center.

Miss Laura’s was one of seven row houses that lined Fort Smith’s Old West red light district.   

The building is the only house of ill-repute on the row that survived a tornado.

The site, fully restored to its original grandeur is currently the only former bordello on the National Register of Historic Places.

Laura Ziegler, an enterprising prostitute, was able to get a $3,000 loan in 1904 to open the bordello.

Miss Laura’s Social Club became the most seductive brothel in a city with several bawdy houses. 

In 1910 a fire on Front Street forced occupants of the house to run down the street in their underclothes resulting in the event now known as “the night of the lingerie parade.”

Most of the girls who worked at Miss Laura’s were from farms around the area who came into town to get a job and make a living.  Prior to 1924 when prostitution was still legal in Fort Smith, prostitutes were required to pay a $5 certification fee each month.