My trip to the VA and more

I made it to the VA on time. Left home at 0700, was at the VA from 0900 till 1100. I road to Little Rock on I-40 to Morrilton then took 9 and 10 on into LR.

On the way, I noticed this cool new shopping center with Roman, Arabic, English and French influences. Its called the El Promenade along Chenal Parkway, it has an IMAX theater.

Coming back on 10, I made a detour to the North on 113 then 60 to Conway. Hwy 113 is all good, but I made the video below of my favorite part. Turn down the sound. I still haven't taken the time to fix my loud mic.

If I'm not mistaken, this old building was very near the Little Italy cuttoff.

After turning right on 60 heading into Conway. I found this old church at New Dixie, Ar.

The St. Boniface Catholic Church, Established 1879. http://www.dolr.org/parishes/parish.php?id=88 I thought it was a nice looking old church. Interesting, with some old bells outside and the graveyard on one side. By the way, I don't really care what kind of church it is, it could be a Muslim Masque for all I care. I just like history and taking pictures.

I visited my brother at the new Caldwell Toyota/Scion http://caldwell-toyota.com/Default.aspx. Which by the way is the first "Green" Car Dealership in Arkansas. They don't even have water in the urinals, how they work, I don't know.

After having a free coke and coffee on them, I took 60 W to the road that cuts through the mountain to 64. At 64, I made a West turn and then a left onto 319. At the end of this section of 319 is Cadron Settlement State Park. Below are two links. http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryID=1107 http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Village/7020/cadronpost.htm

The Cabin. Another view of the cabin.

You can probably see a tent shelter in the pic, which had some tables beneath it. They had something going on earlier in the day. The kiln was smoking hot and there was a campfire still smoldering.

Interesting, this was once the site of a court house. Am I reading this right? There was a massacre here in 1814. The Rebs last stand this side of the Ark River happened here? Also the Trail of tears, A french outpost, and a steam boat landing? Wow, this place really does have a wealth of history associated with it. Below are the plaque from the house. This is a park that for some reason I had never been to. To tell you the truth, I never even thought about a highwaybeing there, much less a state park. Its easy to miss. When on Highway 64 going East from Menifee, watch closely as you cross the bridge over Cadron Creek, 319 is to the right. Its a few miles out to the park. Not a very big park, but interesting with a log cabin with an informational walk including plaques about the history of the area, a river boat dock, bike trails, camping spot, pavilions, etc. This is a view looking West up the Arkansas River. Is that the Loch Ness monster in the lower left? (no its a bouy)