The Difference a Detour Can Make

When Route 66 turned northeastward through Oklahoma City to the Round Barn in Arcadia and on through the Tulsa area toward Springfield and Chicago, these travelers made straight for the state line of Arkansas and the city of Fort Smith. Something about the call of home lured us ahead when we reached New Mexico and the map indicated "just a few more days..."

As has been the pleasure and delight of this trip, we have been spontaneous in making changes, staying ahead of storms, and finding more chances for adventure. Once we felt that we were "home," we decided to turn north out of Fort Smith and head for Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, the phenomenal creation of the Walton family in Bentonville with a stop-over in Fayetteville

  

I've Got That Tray - Razorback Stuff

We had dinner at Doe's in Fayetteville and, I guess, unless the Hogs are playing and everybody is in an upbeat mood, Doe's is like any other Entertainment District diner - loud locals enjoying each other's company over highly publicized, high priced mediocre food. The area is, of course, sold out for the Auburn-Arkansas weekend.

The leaves are somewhat colored by fall temps, but many trees are in the process of losing their leaves with most trees' leaves a rusty brown. The silver toned bare-leafed tree sculpture that welcomes visitors to Crystal Bridges is stunning.

At entrance of Crystal Bridges

William Cullen Bryant and poet commune.

After a marvelous morning at Crystal Bridges admiring terrific art pieces, I find that I still prefer Colonial American and Romantic eras of American art.

An exception for me is the admiration I have for the modern florals in oil on canvas by Georgia O'Keefe.








                                                                                                Crafted from a photo, the sculpture of an old man on a bench stopped us in our tracks with its absolute realism.

Another piece I really loved was the portrait of the family displaced by the Mississippi River Flood of 1927, especially since I had read the book about the Economic and Political Impact of that Flood.



We walked the short distance down the Tulip Trail to see he Frank Lloyd Wright house that had been reassembled on the site; it will open to the public in mid-November. I appreciate Wright's clean lines and how his houses are in tune with the surroundings.  Ever since college art class when I saw the Fallingwater house as an example of the finest in architecture during the 20th century, I've been a fan.  Then, Book Club read Loving Frank.


To culminate the trip, we made one more detour - an overnight at Branson, celebrating the trip, our return travel toward home, enjoying dinner and a show.