March 15- Off to search for Whitewater... I was frustrated in my search for things to see in Little Rock. There's a riverboat, but you cant ride it without a group. There is jazz at night, but we didn't know to ask. No one in the hotel knew ANYTHING about ANYWHERE in or around Arkansas... it was like the twilight zone. On the way out of town I started to kvetch to the folks in the gas station and a woman named Margaret knew exactly what I was talking about and suggested a detour to see Jean Petite. It turns out that Jean Petite was a young Frenchwoman in love with a man who was off to America around the time of the Louisiana Purchase. She followed him across the sea disguised as a man, made it as far as Arkansas before she was discovered. Unfortunately for poor Jean, she fell fatally ill and so they discovered she was a woman. Her only request was to be buried on the ledge of a beautiful mountain overlooking an Arkansas valley. They granted her last request and named the valley and a river for her. The ride was beautiful and the view was breathtaking. Just one turn off the road and there was the beauty. It seemed to be one park after another, each more beautiful than the next as we continued up Route 7. We stopped in Jasper on a whim. Although the first hotel wasn't open yet, they recommended we grab a bite at the Point of View restaurant, and we couldn't resist the pun. Although no one in the South seems to understand the concept of food that is not breaded and deep fried, we scored big time with some very nice people who told us where to go and what to see in the area. So this was the lesson, if we find the city is all booked up, we drive on. We avoid any town of any size in Arkansas and head for the small towns and ask anyone OUTSIDE of the city where to go and what to see. The beauty is everywhere in this state, but just OFF the main highways. We found a roadside motel to crash in, there is a phone, but no way to connect to my computer, no modular jack.

March 96 Trip