After hearing so much about the Crystal Bridges Museum of Modern Art in Bentonville, Arkansas my husband and I had tried on a couple of occasions to get down there to see it. We finally made it happen last week. After finishing our respective pickleball games on Wednesday and taking care of some business around the house (meaning everything had to look perfect in case a potential buyer wanted to look at it while we were gone), we took off down I-44. We found this amazing little barbecue spot in Aurora, Missouri to have supper. It was tasty, and the staff was so friendly!
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| Hog Tide Bar-B-Cue |
In keeping with my new mantra of "Make the U-turn", when I passed the field of cows cooling off as the sun went down in southern Missouri, I knew I had to turn around. I'm so glad we did.
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| bathing beauties |
We arrived at Crystal Bridges at 9:00 Thursday morning, though the museum doesn't open until 11:00. There are miles of trails in the 120 acres that make up the grounds, and from one of the trails you can walk all the way to downtown Bentonville. The museum takes its name from a nearby natural spring, and the bridge construction incorporated in the buildings. Thanks to Alice Walton of Walmart fame, there is no charge to enter the museum.
There were not too many people around, so we had fun exploring the trails, outdoor sculptures and water features. A Frank Loyd Wright house is there as well, so we secured tickets for a tour (also free of charge.)
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| Crystal Bridges |
We had lunch at the museum, and then headed to downtown Bentonville, which has a lovely town square. It is also the location of the first 5 and 10 store owned by Sam Walton. The museum there tells the fascinating tale of the history of Sam and Walmart.
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| Bentonville |
After resting a bit and having supper, we drove back to Crystal Bridges for some night shots. It was quiet and peaceful as we walked along the trails. At the entrance to the grounds there is a lighted sculpture called Buckyball. On this particular evening they were showing "The Wizard of Oz" on a portable screen. How fun!
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| Crystal Bridges at night |
Friday morning we made our way to Eureka Springs, Arkansas. I had not been there since Andy was a baby, so it would have been 1985. We first stopped at the Thorncrown Chapel outside of town. What a serene, beautiful place. It must be something to attend a wedding there.
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| Thorncrown Chapel |
We spent the rest of our afternoon in Eureka Springs, having lunch at the historic Crescent Hotel and walking around town. We stopped to visit Christ of the Ozarks, the second largest sculpture of Jesus at 67' tall, and then headed home to St. Louis.
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| Eureka Springs |
Another bucket list destination off the list!
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