8/12 Ft. Smith NHS to Bentonville, AR

We spent some time at the Fort Smith National Historic Site learning about Ft. Smith's place in the history of the west.  The footings of the wall around the fort are still visible so you can imagine how large the fort enclosure was.







In addition to being an actual fort, it was also the federal district court handling cases in the West for a while.  After the Civil War, bad folks were able to "hide" in tribal lands nearby - rampaging through the area committing crimes up to and including murder.  Kathy is next to a conveyance for prisoners.




Eventually local residents in areas where the criminals operated helped deputies capture the criminals who were then brought to Ft Smith for trial and execution.  Pictured are the communal jail, the courtroom, and the gallows (with list of the executed).

Coincidentally, there was a quilt displayed in the entrance hall of the visitor center, along with the information about how it was created.




















We also stopped at a number of quilt shops today all in AR;

  - one in Fayetteville

 - three in Rogers (although one was closed)





























 - one in Bentonville








and
 - two in Pea Ridge











At the last store, a gentleman was minding the store while the owner attended her husband's celebration of 40 years with WalMart - headquartered in Bentonville, neighboring Pea Ridge.









Finally, for the fourth time in seven days, we found another barbeque place.  This one is a store in a strip mall so the ambiance was different from a decades old free-standing building.  The aroma as we entered was still the same familiar smoked aroma and, if anything, these portions were an even better value.  The flavor was great!















There was one very unique aspect of the indoor décor:  it had the biggest ceiling fan we had ever seen.   Must have been at least eight foot long blades - 16 feet diameter (check it out using the 2' x 2' ceiling tiles to estimate the length).  It didn't circulate quickly, but provided a great breeze to the entire seating area.



Tomorrow to the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art.

Marty