Mountain View to Shiprock

I escaped the torrential rains and flooding of Little Rock, Arkansas for a small town in the northern central part of the state.  Mountain View has a population of almost 3,000 people and has declared itself the "Folk Music Capital of America."  I'm not sure how one determines such a thing.  But they say it, so I guess I believe it.

I drove about 115 miles up into the beautiful Ozark mountains in the rain.  Mountain View is gorgeous.  Just gorgeous.  Even in the pouring rain.  I found a cute little B&B right on the town square.  Most weekend nights in the warm weather the square is full of musicians, both professional and amateur, playing blue grass in groups.  I was there on a Monday but the helpful B&B owner recommended a good restaurant open for dinner and a bluegrass show.

[Crooked picture of the Wildflower B&B in Mountain View]

I had dry rub Memphis-style ribs at a place called Tommy's BBQ.  The owner was friendly and sat down to talk to me for a while.  He was curious about my e-reader and wanted me to demonstrate its workings to his wife because he thought she might be interested in buying one for herself.  The ribs were amazing.  The next morning, the owners of the B&B told me that Tommy is a former bodyguard for Elvis!!  How cool!

[Dinner at Tommy's]

Next, I attended a bluegrass show which featured three brothers, ages 13, 15, and 16, and their 19 year old friend.  It was HILARIOUS.  I was the youngest person in the audience by about 35 years.  The old folks tapped their canes and yelled out during the performance.  It was a good old country time.  And these guys could play!!

I left early the next morning, making a quick stop at Blanchard Caverns which are about 15 miles from Mountain View.  The caverns are a National Forest site and they are the largest and most interesting caves in Arkansas.  There are three huge chambers full of interesting formations and lots of water. 

After the caverns, I drove in in the bright sunshine west through the gorgeous Ozark Mountains and into the long, flat state of Oklahoma.  I camped west of Oklahoma City.  It was so windy that my tent blew away when I got out of it in the morning. 

After 12 hours of driving through Oklahoma, Texas, and New Mexico.  I ate my first ever Denny's breakfast and was pleased to learn that I could have ordered a bacon sundae there:

And long last, I arrived in Shiprock, NM.

[That's me and Nico outside the Silver Bean coffee shop in Cortez, CO]