Get Away From It All at Arkansas Inns
March 22, 2020 by Corey A. Edwards
Petit Jean State Park
Arkansas Bed and Breakfasts take the safety and security of our guests very seriously. We want your visit to the Natural State to be worry-free. Arkansas Inns are currently open and welcoming guests. We’re hard at work maintaining both comfortable lodging and official health recommendations like social distancing to make sure your visit is as safe as it is relaxing.
Come enjoy the beauty of our truly stunning state while also staying safe. Walk our forest trails, explore our natural areas, breathe in the fresh air, and get away from all the stress in Arkansas.
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Hawksbill Crag aka Whitaker Point
March 15, 2020 by Corey A. Edwards
Hawksbill Crag, also known as Whitaker Point, is one of Arkansas’ must-see outdoor attractions. The natural formation, located in Ozark National Forest, juts out from the bluff, some 150 feet above the forested valley floor below.
Whitaker Point is a popular natural area near the Upper Buffalo Wilderness Area, just inside Ozark National Forest.
The iconic formation is one of the most photographed points in Arkansas and has been featured in many publications. The stunning view over the river valley is particularly affecting in spring and fall.
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Toad Suck Daze Festival 2019
April 20, 2019 by Corey A. Edwards
Toad Suck Daze 2019 is coming right up, May 3rd through the 5th, in Conway, AR. This annual event attracts up to 150,000 visitors each year with live music, carnival rides, and of course, Toad Races!
Toad Suck Daze has been entertaining folks the first weekend of every May since 1982. What began as one man’s idea on how to forget the recession has become a beloved annual festival that attracts visitors from all over.
The event is named after a historic crossing on the Arkansas River, just outside of Conway. “Daze” was added as a play on the word “days” and to call out “the euphoria of spring.” The festival was originally held in Toad Suck Park but was moved to downtown Conway after spring flooding made the park unavailable one year.
The name “Toad Suck” itself, remains somewhat of a mystery. Theories abound as to the source. The most accepted theory is that, while steamboat crews waited for their loads to be transferred, they’d frequent a tavern on the spot and commence to “… suck on the bottle ’til they swell up like toads.”
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Explore War Eagle Cavern on Beaver Lake
March 31, 2019 by Corey A. Edwards
Hike beautiful lake trails and explore the natural underground formations of War Eagle Cavern on Beaver Lake in Rogers, AR!
The Ozarks are riddled with fascinating caves to explore but few have as unique an entrance as War Eagle Cavern.
War Eagle Cavern is a family operated show cave and one of the very oldest show caves in the state. The cave is located in a box canyon on the south end of Beaver Lake, making it reachable by both car and boat. For those enjoying Beaver Lake, the War Eagle Cavern dock is close to Devil’s Gap Inlet.
Approaching the cave, you’ll immediately spot the large, natural opening in the limestone. A wide, smooth pathway leads into the cave’s mouth, following the course of a crystal clear stream flowing from the cavern’s depths.
Inside, 4 miles and three stories of cavern system have been explored – with much more still waiting to be discovered!
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Saunders Museum – A Stunning Gem of an Ozarks Museum
March 15, 2019 by Corey A. Edwards
When you step across the threshold at Saunders Museum, in Berryville AR, you’re in for one heck of a surprise. This small town, Ozarks museum is home to a very large and historically significant gun collection.
How historically significant?
Well, the collection includes the guns that were owned by both Frank and Jesse James, Annie Oakley, Billy The Kid, and Sam Houston, to name a few. You can also see firearms owned by Cole Younger, Belle Star, Cherokee Bill, Wild Bill Hickok, and Buffalo Bill Cody.
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Visit the William J. Clinton Presidential Library and Museum
February 28, 2019 by Corey A. Edwards
Come to Little Rock’s Clinton Presidential Library and discover the life, times, and so very much more about the 42nd President of the United States.
William Jefferson Clinton was President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He also served as the Governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981, and from 1983 to 1992. The Clinton Presidential Center, in Little Rock, AR, provides a unique, in-depth perspective on the life and continuing work of President Bill Clinton.
Presidential Libraries preserve the papers, records, and other historical materials relating to the president they are named after. The libraries help to shed continuing light on a President’s term in office and the important issues of their career. Every president since Herbert Hoover has a Presidential Library.
While presidential libraries primarily serve as archives, most also manage to become tourist attractions. That’s certainly the case with the Clinton Presidential Library!
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Tour a Submarine at the Arkansas Inland Maritime Museum!
February 15, 2019 by Corey A. Edwards
Come to Arkansas and tour … a submarine? Yes, you read that correctly. In fact, Little Rock’s Arkansas Inland Maritime Museum has TWO, floating, World War II-era, Naval vessels!
You might be surprised to learn that you can tour a real, floating submarine in a land-locked state like Arkansas but it’s true.
The Arkansas Inland Maritime Museum doesn’t just have a “boat or two,” they’ve two historic vessels bookending World War II! Both the USS Hoga and the USS Razorback are here.
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The Odditorium – A Curiosities Museum in Hot Springs
January 18, 2019 by Corey A. Edwards
Strange taxidermy, voodoo dolls, mysteries of nature, and much more will intrigue and startle you at Maxwell Blade’s Odditorium and Curiosities Museum in Hot Springs, AR.
Are you fascinated by the weird, the mysterious, and the mildly morbid? If so, then you do not want to miss Hot Springs’ Odditorium and Curiosities Museum!
The ever-growing collection is owned and exhibited by Hot Spring’s illusionist and entertainer, Maxwell Blade. His collection of more than 300 rare and strange objects come from all over the world.
Previously housed in what was once one of the South’s only drive-through mortuaries, the Odditorium has since moved to Hot Spring’s restored and historic Malco Theatre.
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Step Back In Time at Prairie Grove Battlefield State Park
December 24, 2018 by Corey A. Edwards
Arkansas’ Prairie Grove Battlefield State Park is nationally recognized as one of America’s most intact Civil War battlefields. Step back in time with a visit and tour of the site of northwest Arkansas last major Civil War battle.
The Battle of Prairie Grove was fought on December 7th, 1862, between the Confederate Army of the Trans-Mississippi and the Union Army of the Frontier. The Confederates hoped to stop the Union’s Southern advance, with Fort Smith at stake.
Both forces were relatively equal and the battle, which saw fierce fighting and over 2,700 casualties, ended in a tactical draw. It was a strategic victory for the Union, however, who commanded the field after the smoke cleared. Confederate hopes for securing northwest Arkansas declined thereafter.
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Lakeport Plantation – Arkansas’ Last Antebellum House
December 16, 2018 by Corey A. Edwards
Lakeport Plantation is the last remaining, untouched antebellum home on the Mississippi River in Arkansas. It has successfully transitioned from slavery, to tenant farming, to a museum and historic site over the last 185+ years. And it’s still producing cotton.
Kentuckian Joel Johnson established Lakeport Plantation in 1831. His son, Lycurgus Johnson, took the reins in 1846. By 1856, the cotton market was providing well for southern plantation holders like Johnson. He built the large house on the property in 1859 and expanded the plantation to well over 4,000 acres by 1860. He also held 155 slaves.
The looming Civil War had other plans, however.
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