Ozark Trip Part 5: Final Days and the Breweries

For a more recent journey, see the American Midwest blog.

 

This is part 5 of 5.  You may be interested in reading parts 1-4 first. 

 DAY 7

The trip would last 8 days and 7 nights, of which three of those days were fairly heavy driving.  Our drive from Little Rock, AR to Evansville, IN was not an epic drive by any stretch of the imagination.  But at 421 miles, it was 22 miles longer than I like to drive on a casual road trip.  My original reason to land at Evansville was to visit Angel Mounds, a few miles east of town and another important and unvisited prehistoric site.  However, the site is closed on Monday and Tuesday, and our plans put us in town Monday night.  Had the mounds been open Tuesday morning we would have visited then and likely spent another night further up the road before heading home.  So a return visit here is needed.

We drove east across Arkansas to Memphis, turning north just before reaching the city.  This part of Arkansas lies very low, and we hit our lowest point here at 200' in altitude above sea level.  Parts of the drive were almost continuous swamp and bayou, with entire forests underwater for miles and miles.  This was interspersed with patches of farmland, the whole area being very flat.  Near Memphis we turned north, remaining in Arkansas, and driving on the west side of the Mississippi, which we finally crossed near Cairo, IL.  The river here marks the boundary with Missouri.

 

Crossing the Mississippi River near Cairo, IL.

 

Deb snags a shot of the river as we fly over it on a very fine old bridge. 

 

By 5 pm we were in downtown Evansville, IN.  It was sunny but the wind was howling, as it was on much of our voyage.  Our first stop was Myriad Brewing Co., a modern and easy going downtown pub near the river, where we enjoyed a flight of their ales.  Then it was off to our 5th riverfront park of the trip.  The park was busy despite the chilly wind.  We didn't spend much time here, but signs indicated that the trail continued all the way along the river to Angel Mounds, about 11 miles away.  Looking out across the river from the park was Kentucky.

 

 

The Ohio River flows past downtown Evansville.

Part of the downtown trail system in Evansville, along the Ohio River.  Not far from here the river is joined by the Wabash, encountered at Terre Haute on our first night.  Then, back down near Cairo, IL, the Ohio joins the Mississippi River.  The Arkansas River eventually joins the Mississippi, too, but much further south of where we were, southeast of Little Rock. 

 

There were several amazing houses in downtown Evansville. 

 

Our final stop was for dinner and another round of small pours, this time at Damsel Brewing, an all-female run establishment with some delicious (female-named) ales.  We had two orders of their spring rolls along with our beer (see next section, below).

 

Damsel Brewing in Evansville, IN.  Next to a very busy train yard.  This was our final big stop on the trip, where we enjoyed a flight and some spring rolls. 

 

DAY 8 

 

This was our longest drive, about 480 miles by the time we were home.  The previous night we had gone to a large grocery store to buy a picnic lunch for today, which we ate at a rest area between Indianapolis and Fort Wayne.  Traffic was horrendous, as was construction, in Indianapolis, but we squeezed through and even dodged a few thunder storms.  At 3 pm coffee time we pulled into Defiance, Ohio, stopping at Cabin Fever, an old and favourite downtown cafe (though it still looks new).  Then it was on to Detroit, to 8 Degrees Plato to round off my beer collection for this trip (I had been collecting at breweries along the way).  We sailed through customs at rush hour, and were home by 6:30 pm.

 

It had been a really fun, busy trip, our first in nearly 4 1/2 years (our last trip had been to Vienna in December, 2019).  We scored two new state high points, bringing our total to 7.  We visited two major art galleries, having enough time to enjoy them thoroughly, saw two new (for us) archaeology sites, and met two new friends in person.  In addition, Arkansas was a brand new state for us, offering a day atop a wonderful mountain, among other pleasures.   New cafes, new breweries, as well as old favourite cafes and breweries, came in addition to five riverfront park systems.  As I said, it was a busy trip, and very rewarding in so many ways.

 

No more trips are planned until possibly late August, when we might tackle three nearby high points, and then October, when we might return to New Mexico to watch an eclipse, among other things.  When we do hit the road, I will be sure to post here.  Thanks for the visit.  Feel free to leave a comment.

 

THE BREWERIES 

Moggers:  Most of the breweries were new to us, though I had been to three before.  I include Moggers here, though it is not a brewery.  However, it is a craft beer haven, and it is housed in the old location of the now defunct Terre Haute Brewing Co. (not the newer micro brewery with that name).  At the end of Day 1 we were aiming for the micro brewery, but found that their doors were locked on Monday and Tuesday.  Right up the road was good old Moggers, and we were soon comfortably ensconced at a table.  Flights were six tasters, of which Deb got one (but she did taste all of them).  The veg burger was terrific, as was the tap list and the available bottle selection.  If its your first time in T. H., I recommend stopping here first.  Check out their tap list before heading over to the other two breweries (if they are open on your visit--Moggers always is).

 

Our flight at Moggers. It included Bells 2 Hearted, Weihenstephaner Hefe (which I first had in Vienna), Founders Breakfast Stout, Quaff On Busted Knuckle Porter, Sweet Baby Jesus Porter, and Zombie Dust Pale Ale.

 

On tap on our visit. 

 

Inside the bar section of Moggers.  There is also a restaurant. 

 

Springfield Brewing Co.  My 3rd visit, and Deb's first.  They had a marginally good tap list today, though they were out of two I would have enjoyed.  We left with a six pack; 3 kinds of ale, 2 of each.  They have food, but we had a date with a little vegan grille in town later on.

Temptation in liquid form.  We enjoyed Walnut St. Wheat, German Pilsner, Oscura Mexican Dark Lager, and McDaniel's Drought Dry (shown above).

We brought home six cans. 

 

Mother's Brewing Co. is within easy walking distance of our previous stop in Springfield, MO.  Located in the old Mother's Bread factory, this is a high priority stop for craft beer lovers.  They have an enormous outdoor garden, and thankfully all the parents with children were out there.  They also have a great swag shop, and they sell a lot of their own beer.  We left with a six pack of coffee stout, one of the flight samples I drank on our visit.  One of the best tap lists for lovers of dark beer!

 

Good times ahead!  Just follow the arrow.
 

Their tap list goes on and on!  Deb glides through the ether with a gin and tonic (not on the tap list, but apparently available).

 

Dark ales 3, lighter ales 1.  The kind of score I like to see on my flight deck. Winter Grind, Imperial Grind, Say Hef, and Czech New Prague await our palates.

Next up came a lovely little place in downtown Van Buren, adjacent to Fort Smith, AR.  The small tap list at Pointer Brewery was still a good one, and the little main street felt welcoming and quite magical, especially with all the buildings lit up the way they were.  There was vegan food, too.  It was a Friday night, but our visit was relaxing and very much appreciated.

 

The flight at Pointer Brewery, Van Buren AR included Golden Doodle Blonde, Maltese Mango, Indian Mastiff IPA, and Irish Setter Amber. 

 

Next came two fine breweries in Little Rock, recommended by Luke.  First up was Lost 40, where we had dinner with Luke on our arrival night.  The next afternoon Deb and I visited Flyway Brewing on our own, before meeting up with Luke and Jenna for dinner near their home.  Both were great places, and quite busy.

In Little Rock.

 

Deb had the Radler, while I indulged in Druid Wild Stout, Rock Hound IPA, and Double Love Honey Dopplebock. 

 

Flyway Brewery is in North Little Rock, in an up and coming area of cafes and little shops.  This image is from their website, as I don't seem to have any photos of my own from here. Deb had their very popular Berry Wheat.  I had their Hefe, a very good Tripel, and Lord God, a triple chocolate stout.  It was heavenly!

 

Our last two breweries were in Evansville, IN, on our final night away.  First up was Myriad Brewing Company, where we enjoyed a delicious flight of four ales, and a bag of really good pretzels!  They had a great wall of brewery stickers from all over the US.  Their downtown location was near the Ohio River and the park system there. A fun stop.

In beautiful downtown Evansville, IN.

 

Our flight at Myriad.  Pretzels not shown.  The female bar patron shown on right sang along with every song that played while we were there. 

 

Damsel Brewing in Evansville, well outside of downtown.  It is run by an all female crew.  Our cutely named flight at Damsel.  See the board below.

The full tap list at Damsel.  We had no complaints to offer.  Our dinner consisted of two orders of delicious spring rolls. 

 

After a stop in Detroit before returning home, I returned with 33 beer.  4 were for Brandon, our neighbour, (and a pound of coffee) for keeping an eye on our place while we were gone.  For now, I will have to survive on beer purchased on the tour, as well as the breweries of Windsor and Detroit, which I haven't visited in far too long.  This is the end of the journey blog.  There is no more.  Good bye (for now).

Mapman Mike

 

 

 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 
 

Ozark Roadtrip Part 4: The Little Rock Experience

Note:  This series is in multiple parts; you may wish to read parts 1-3 first.

Day 5 Continued 

We were driving down from the highest point in Arkansas towards its capital city, Little Rock.  With a population similar to that of Windsor, we more or less knew what to expect.  Great cafes, brewpubs, restaurants, and a welcoming riverside park.  The bonus here was that I knew someone.  Luke and I had met on-line when I was writing my Ballantine Fantasy literature blog.  Luke had an interest in these offbeat fantasy novels published in the late 1960s and 1970s and edited by Lin Carter.  We later joined up on FB and kept loosely in touch.  Though our trip would certainly have included the Crystal Bridges gallery and the Arkansas high point, we likely would have skipped out on Little Rock without Luke there saying he would meet up with us.  I have a similar contact in Paris, France, and hope to meet up with him, too, someday.

 

Anyway, we had some really fun times in Little Rock on this trip, so I'm glad we came this far south after all.  We were heading for a 5 pm meetup with Luke at Lost 40 Brewing Company, on his recommendation.  We arrived one day after the tornadoes, but people were still packed into the brewery on our arrival.  Deb and I shared a flight, and we ordered two vegan sides of food.  We bought Luke a beer and his dinner, and had a great discussion about books, Little Rock, ourselves, and various other topics which I cannot even remember.  But we all seemed to get along just fine, despite the vast age difference.  His wife was having a weekend with girlfriends.  They had rented a cabin in a park somewhere, and she would be back tomorrow afternoon.

 

It was a couple of thirsty Canadian travellers who happily pulled into the parking lot here just after 5 pm.

 

Two literature specialists meet up to discuss world events (and to drink some fine ale).  One of them caught some sun today.  Luke is originally from the northeast US, but found himself in Little Rock, where he seems happy and very well settled.  We would meet Jenna, his wife, tomorrow, and get a (free!) tour of their unbelievably fun home. 

 

Day Six 

 

We were spending two nights in Little Rock, the first and only time on this journey where we would stay in one place so long.  Of course it went very fast.  We really only had that Saturday evening pub stop, and all day Sunday, to visit here, before departing for home Monday morning.  We began at the riverside on Sunday morning.  Spring was well advanced here, and the temps would reach 80 F later on.  The park was quiet, but there were people out and about.  We entered the park near the City Market (closed today) and performance stage, and spent a pleasant hour or so enjoying the views of the river, the gardens, and a lot of fun sculptures.  This was our fourth riverfront park of the trip so far (others included Terre Haute, St. Louis, and Fort Smith).  Except for the arch itself in St Louis, I think I enjoyed this park the most.  It had a cozy feel to it, but it did help that the vegetation was quite advanced here.  The Arkansas River isn't the Mississippi, but it is pretty wide, and several bridges cross it, including an old lift bridge now used only for pedestrians.  On the other side is North Little Rock, which is beginning to become a pretty hip area.  Downtown Little Rock itself, however, is pretty empty of fun places.  Despite several tall buildings and the State Capitol building, there are not many people places here to go yet, except  near the river.

 

Riverside park in downtown Little Rock, AR.

 

 

Old lift bridge now serves as a pedestrian crossing to North Little Rock.

One of many appealing sculptures in the park.

 

Little Rock Amtrak station, with a daily train to Chicago and Texas.  It was outside train hours, so it was closed. 

 

We are sitting at Muggs Cafe in North Little Rock, after our downtown park visit.  The free trolley started up at 11:40, coming out of its barn across the street.  We had no time to go for a ride on this visit. 

 

With some time to kill before our next archaeology centre opened up, we visited Muggs Cafe in  North Little Rock.  The mound site opened at 1 pm on Sunday, and it was only twenty minutes away.  Once called Toltec Mounds, since the discoverers did not suspect that the local natives could have built such a place, it is now referred to as Plum Bayou Mounds, and is looked after by the state.  We arrived shortly after opening.  The mounds are situated on an old course of the Arkansas River, in effect a small, curving lake.  Unlike Spiro Mounds, these were not dug up by looters, and so are in pretty good shape.  Two rangers were in the building, and there was a gift shop!  At the end I bought a tee-shirt.  The museum was good, and we lingered indoors for some time before hitting the trails.

Again this is a large site, with several miles of walking.  We chose the shorter Knapp Trail, which came with a free guide booklet.  It covered all the main mounds and included a boardwalk over the water, which lies just behind the largest mound.  Only 50 people lived within the embankment walls here, indicating that this was likely a major ceremonial centre for local tribes, with a small priest population on site.  It was populated and used between 650 AD and 1050 AD.  There are more than 20 mounds on site.  We ended up extending the Knapp Trail with another nature trail, this one a lot less dangerous and taxing than the one at Spiro.

 

Our trail.

One of the main mounds.

 

 

 Soltices and equinoxes were observed using one mound as the sighting platform and others as the line of sight.  Upon first glance the mounds seemed to be in an odd formation, but once standing on the central mound, the alignment can be understood perfectly.

 

Short boardwalk and main mound.

The boardwalk was a highlight of the trip.  The trees are cypress.

 

These are cypress knees, part of the root system.  Pretty damn cool!!

 

This marks my final photo, as my camera locked after this and became unusable.  So far I'd lost a precious ring, and now my main camera was kaput.  I was paying a price for my travels.  From hereon in, all photos are from Deb and our American phone camera.

 

 

Turtles on a log.

 

Rat snake in a tree, sunning itself, with main mound in behind.

Monsieur snake, very relaxed and enjoying the fine weather.  It was at eye level with us on the boardwalk. 

 

We were back in Little Rock close to our 3 pm coffee time.  On advice from Luke, we headed to Fidel and Company's Cafe and Roastery.  It was a fine day, and the main window was open to the world.  It was fairly busy but also quiet, and we enjoyed a longish rest.  We came away with a bag of coffee beans.  By a weird turn of fate, Luke was helping Fidel and others do some storm cleanup in North Little Rock at that time.

The hippest of hipsters enjoys a brew at Fidel's, in Little Rock. So did I.

 

Next stop was our second brewery of our stay here, this one back in North Little Rock, not far from Muggs Cafe.  Flyway Brewery had some very tasty offerings on tap, and we enjoyed our shared flight quite a lot.  We had a very friendly wait person, and we chatted with him at some length.  We kept in touch via text messages with Luke, and eventually headed to a restaurant back in Little Rock to be meet him and Jenna for dinner.  The Root Cafe had some delicious sounding vegan options, and Deb and I went splits on a generously portioned grilled tofu sandwich.  Jenna is a grade school teacher, and an artist and a music major, so we had a lot to talk about at dinner.  It was a beautiful evening, and the doors and windows were open wide.

 

Afterwards, it was a short stroll back to Luke and Jenna's home, where we got the grand tour.  I will just say that this older house is totally funky and livable, and would make a young couple in unaffordable Toronto extremely jealous.  I got to see Luke's Ballantine book collection on a bookshelf.  These were the books that had caused us to connect on-line many years ago.  His set is far from complete, but hopefully not for too much longer.  Even more special, we got to see his incredible collection of Transformers.  And I mean a collection!  An entire room with many shelves and too many Transformers to count.  A bit overwhelming on a quick visit.

Jenna and Deb, in their backyard.

 

 

It was getting late, they both had to work tomorrow, and we had a long drive ahead of us as we turned around and pointed ourselves northeast towards home.  Deb and I walked back to the restaurant where our car was parked, and then drove to the hotel.  For all intents and purposes the trip was now over.  However, we still had a fun stop or two ahead of us, as it would take two days to drive home.  So yes, there is a Part 5.  But it's mostly about breweries.  Join me if you so desire.

 

Mapman Mike

 

 
 

 

 

 

 

 
 

Ozark Roadtrip Part 3

Please read part 1 and 2 first.

DAY 5

 

We were in Arkansas, at the border with Oklahoma, just across the Arkansas River.  Today we would leave Fort Smith to visit a prehistoric earthwork site in Oklahoma, the first of two such sites planned for this trip.  I was very excited as we checked out of our hotel for the short drive across the state line.  I had heard of Spiro Mounds many years ago, and on visits to the Gilcrease Museum in Tulsa we had come across many original artifacts from these mounds.  The art is absolutely astounding, but the local museum at the site has only replicas.  Sadly, the Gilcrease Museum is closed until 2025.  They are building a newer, bigger Gilcrease.  Can't wait for that!!  In fact, as an interesting aside, the Crystal Bridges Museum is housing the Gilcrease permanent collection in their storage vaults, and showing a few of those pieces of art from time to time.  How do you like that, Wal-mart shoppers?

 

A painting depicting a raccoon warrior from Spiro Mounds.  Several contemporary paintings adorn the museum, including a large mural, all based on original artifacts unearthed here. 

 

The welcome tree and museum building at Spiro.  It was sunny, but a chilly wind was blowing.

 

A model inside the museum showing the museum, mounds, and marked trails.  We walked all of them today.  This is a huge site, well worth a visit. 

 

Many of the mounds discovered here were house mounds, with small structures built on top.  One of the reasons I love to visit these sites is to try and imagine what life might have been like here in the heyday.  Certainly not primitive by any definition, despite what early explorers believed.

A mostly falling down reconstruction of one of the houses built atop small mounds. 

 

 

Approaching the remains of one of the large mounds.  A great deal of looting occurred here in the 1930s, before any conservation laws were established. The mounds were dug into and practically destroyed.

Prickly pear cactus was discovered on the nature trail. 

 

We explored most of the mounds, and took a walk into the woods on the nature trail.  What a mistake that was!  I doubt Crocodile Dundee could have made it through here, but Deb and I just managed it.  Downed trees and branches, flooded sections, and really bad thorny things everywhere off trail keep us busy overcoming the odds of survival.  At one point I was completely stuck in thorns, crouched low and unable to move forward or backward.  If I had been alone, I would have been stuck there until who knows when.  But Deb managed to struggle over to my location and partially free me from the entanglement.  Ripped clothing and skin were our rewards for tackling this trail, plus that special feeling of accomplishment.  The hardy expedition continued for some time before we emerged (scratched and dented) back on safe soil.  That's nature (and her trails) for you.

Not much remains of a busy city today.

 

Overview of the mounds and trails. Brown mound was the main ceremonial mound.

 

Like many prehistoric sites around the world (not just Stonehenge), solstices were important events.  By standing at the center of the Brown Mound, equinoxes and solstices could be marked exactly by careful sighting with other mounds. 

 

Of over 2,000 prehistoric archaeological sites in Oklahoma, this is the only one open to the public.  And this one is looked after by one employee.  What does that tell you, dear reader, about Oklahoma and its funding model for its ancient history?  I highly recommend that readers Google "Spiro Mounds Artifacts" to see the kinds of things that were created here when the site was occupied by the mound builders, from around 800 to 1450 AD.  The Wiki article about the site is also quite good.

We spent the morning here, and were soon speeding back across the Arkansas River into Arkansas again.  We were heading for our second State High Point of the journey, and the one in Arkansas promised a bit more drama than the one in Indiana.  The state high point is atop Mt. Magazine, on a thickly forested knoll up there called Signal Hill.  We drove towards Paris, AR, stopping for a take away Subway sandwich in Charleston.  Deb went in and was served by a young gentleman Elvis.  We were going to take our food up the mountain to eat at a picnic area near our hike.

From several miles away we could see the mountain.  It was very big, rising up from the land like a distant whale.  In Paris we turned south on AR 309, a classic winding two lane highway that climbs up the north side of the mountain before dropping down on the south side, ending at Havana (there certainly are some interesting town names along the way in these here parts).  It only took about 20 minutes from Paris to reach our picnic area near the top of the mountain.  It was quite chilly up top, and of course a stiff breeze was blowing.  We ate our lunch alone in the grounds, then headed across the road to Mt. Magazine State Park (lunch was taken in a national forest), where a large, modern welcome centre awaited.  We got free park trail maps, purchased a hand made stick-cane for Deb, and I got a state park pencil and a high point pin for my hat.  What a haul!  It was a short drive along a paved forest road to the parking area for our petite hike to the top of Arkansas.  Only one other car was there, and that party was just ending the hike as we set out.  Being a Saturday, I had expected hordes of people, but it was pretty quiet.

The blogger himself, prepared to hike to Arkansas' highest point.  What a lovely day it was!

 

Deb with her new stick-cane heading up the trail. 

 

Looks like we made it!

Deb signs the 2nd register of trip, immortalizing our visit.  One person was here on arrival, but they left right away.  We had the high point all to ourselves.  Best of all, the forest sheltered us from the howling wind. 

 

After returning to the car, we took a scenic one-way loop drive, called "Cameron Bluff Overlook Drive."  This is the real deal, and made up for the fact that there are no views from the high point.  There are about three pullouts on this one mile scenic road, with views to the north.  There is a great feeling of being way the hell up here.  It was seriously windy, so our stops weren't as long as we would have liked.  After our drive, we headed back to Highway 309 to begin the descent and our drive to Little Rock.  But the south side also had a few surprises in store for us.  First, the scenic loop photos.

View from the first pullout on the scenic loop drive, Mt. Magazine State Park.  Looking north.

 

Deb tries not to go airborne in a serious wind.

 

The loop drive pull outs dish out some great scenery. 

 

Heading down the south side we came to another scenic pullout looking in the opposite direction to our previous views (south this time), and just afterwards we came across a wonderful little waterfall.  Then came the long drive (lots of back roads) to Little Rock, including our long and nearly fruitless search for coffee on the way.  We were in contact with Luke, and now on our way to meet up with him at a Little Rock brew pub.  Luckily for us we just happened to have a powerful thirst.  Join me in Part Four for our Little Rock adventures.

 

Looking southeast on the downward drive on Mt. Magazine.

Looking southwest. 

A characteristic section of Hwy 309, which crosses Mt. Magazine.

 

Hardy Falls is not signed, but can be seen from the road.

 

Deb's phone cam captures a solitary figure who noved in for a closer look.

 

Hardy Falls. 

 

Mapman Mike