That Time We Snuck Into A Presidential Library Opening Ceremony

Today marks the 20th anniversary of the opening of the William Jefferson Clinton Presidential Center and Library in downtown Little Rock. And enough years have passed that I feel it's safe enough to finally admit that I tried to sneak into the opening ceremony....and made it.

But let's back up to 2004. I was a big fan of the Irish rock band U2, after having seen them in concert in Memphis during the 1997 Popmart tour. And I was thrilled when it was announced that half of the band would be performing at the opening of Bill Clinton's fancy new presidential library. But sadly I wasn't invited (I'm assuming the invitation was lost in the mail). I took the day off from work anyways, since the city had set up large TVs in various places downtown for people to watch the opening. I figured if I couldn't be there, I would try to get as close as possible.

The day before the ceremony, there had been constant reports of all the big celebrities arriving in town. Oprah was seen at the airport! Robin Williams was seen eating cheese dip at a restaurant downtown! My cousin is also a big U2 fan, and we decided to head to downtown Little Rock that night along with her husband. It was a complete circus there, like a giant party. There were throngs of people out, presumably searching for any famous people in the crowd. The only time I remember downtown Little Rock being this crowded and electric was at Bill Clinton's election night parties in 1992 and 1996.

I didn't see anyone famous in the crowd, just all the fancy limos heading to the Capitol Hotel and the Peabody. But a friend from college told me later that he was able to get into the Peabody and went to the bar, where he sat next to Bono. I wonder if Bono saw this sign when he got into town, and what he thought of the smaller sign next to it that just says "I love gravy!"



I remember my co-workers making fun of me when I said I was taking off work to go stand outside the opening ceremony. And it did seem like a really silly idea on the morning of the ceremony. It was just a miserable day to be outside - cold and pouring rain. We got there as the ceremony was starting. We saw the big TVs that the city put out but no one was standing in the rain to watch them. We put on some bright yellow ponchos and walked down the street towards the gate, trying to get as close as possible.

We walked until we reached the gate and the people who were checking for tickets. But they weren't really paying attention, the ceremony had started and there wasn't a line anymore. At the same time, there was a guy selling souvenir editions of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. We walked over to him and I bought a copy, and we noticed that we had moved past the ticket-takers. But they didn't notice us, they were too busy talking and smoking. So we all quickly agreed to just see what would happen if we continued on down the street towards the library.

We then made it to the security checkpoint, where there were some metal detectors. They waved us over, so we went on ahead. As we went through the detectors, one of the guards asked "Wait, do you have tickets?" And then the other guard looked at him like he was an idiot and said, "Um yeah, if they're here they've already shown their tickets." And with that, we passed through the security and were free to go inside.

We were only able to do this because of the heavy rain that morning. I doubt the ticket-takers and security wanted to be out in the deluge. And the huge crowd of people who did have invitations (at least 30,000 of them) were drenched.







There were some tents set up, and it seemed like a lot of the crowd was getting up and going to the tents to dry off and warm up. We were able to move through the crowd and somehow got really close to the stage where the performers would be (the area where the speakers were, which included four presidents, was presumably more restricted).



But we were able to see Jimmy Carter speak:



And then George W Bush:



After George W finished, it was time for Bono and The Edge to make their appearance. They strolled out on stage, right in front of us.



They performed three songs, the first was a cover of "Rain" by the Beatles. It was a fitting choice.



Then they did an acoustic version of "Sunday Bloody Sunday."



I was taking pictures with my old Pentax ZX-50, which was a film camera. Of course during the middle of the performance I had to put in a new roll of film. Someone next to me was kind enough to cover me with their umbrella while I tried to switch out the rolls.



Then they performed "The Hands That Built America," which was written for the Martin Scorsese film Gangs of New York.





Here's the video of the performance, it's crazy to watch it now and see myself in the crowd:



That's me!



We left after that, after getting fairly soaked in the rain. We walked by as Bill Clinton was giving his speech.



Which wasn't the only time I've ever seen Bill Clinton in person. There was also the time that I shook his hand when I was in 3rd grade and dressed up as Abraham Lincoln (but that's another story):



After leaving I immediately went to get the film developed at a One Hour Photo place and hoped that they wouldn't mess up the processing. This was back in the film days so I had no idea if these pictures actually turned out until I got them back from the store. It turns out some water got into the camera and some of the film messed up, but luckily most of the pictures turned out ok.

Looking back now, after all these years, I'm still amazed that we were able to get in. I'm grateful for the bored ticket-takers and the security guards who let us sneak through. I hope the Secret Service and Bill and Hillary don't mind, but we had a good time there despite the rain. Thanks!

An Unlucky Search for Fall Colors

While the fall colors around the Buffalo River were good this year, there really hasn't been good color in the rest of the state. It's been a weird autumn so far. A lot of trees are still green, while others have already lost their leaves. And then a bunch are just brown and burned-out looking after the dry summer.

I went to the Delta area around Keo and Scott in search of colors, but didn't see much. I went by my favorite little oxbow lake, but the tupelo trees were still mostly greenish.



But luckily there's lots of other things to point the camera at out there. So I made a quick stop at these silos, sitting under some dark storm clouds.



And then this old barn in Scott:



The wooden boards of the barn are weathered and faded, the metal roof is rusted and bent. It looks like part of it burned at one point, there are black scorch marks on one side. But the old barn is still stubbornly standing.







Nailed to the side of the barn was this old basketball hoop. Wonder how many years have passed since someone played a game here?



There was some life in the barn. There were some critters living inside, and some vines covered the front. There were even some flowers blooming, which made an interesting contrast against the aged and battered wood of the barn.



After that I drove back to Little Rock. I made it to downtown and there was a massive traffic jam on the freeway thanks to the I-30 bridge construction. I detoured and then made one last stop at another old building, this one also covered with vines.

Boxley Valley

Later that day, I headed out from our cabin and drove back towards the Buffalo River. But the fall colors were so surprisingly vibrant that I made several stops along the way. Like at this barn...



And this barn...



And this barn...



And this really colorful tree:



And then I made it to Boxley Valley, which is one of my favorite places to visit in Arkansas. It is a true photographer's playground, since it contains a great colleciton of old barns, homes and churches.



This barn was built in 1915.



And down the road is the old Beechwoods Church (built 1918).



Nearby is this old building, which has been called an old school house. It sits right by the parking lot to the Lost Valley trail, which was completely packed with cars.



I headed deeper into the valley, and stopped again at the old Boxley Mill. The gate to the Mill was actually open, so I hurried over to take a few pictures before the park rangers closed it back up.



The first mill here was built in 1840. The mill would then later be the site of a small Civil War skirmish. The current mill was built in 1870, and was in operation until the 1960s. It closed after a flood washed out most of the millrace.







One of the most prominent buildings in Boxley Valley is the old Boxley Baptist Church, which was built in 1899.



And then further down the road:











It was time to head back to the cabin, but I made one other stop at this old church:



The cabin we stayed at was perched right on the edge of the hillside, overlooking what is known as the Grand Canyon of Arkansas. And while it's not really technically a canyon (more of a valley), the view here does contain the deepest part of the Ozark Plateau. The overlook sits at an elevation of around 2,100 feet above sea level. It is about a 1000 foot drop to the bottom of the valley.



And one last shot, from the stairs that ran to the other nearby cabins:

Steele Creek

I really didn't think there would be good fall colors this year. There hadn't been a significant rain in two months. The rivers and creeks had all dried up, waterfalls were all a distant memory. Burn bans blanketed the region. But lo and behold, it turns out there were was some good fall colors in the Ozark Mountains this year. Somehow.

So we decided to make a weekend out of it and head up to the hills to see the fall colors. We booked a cabin near Jasper, and loaded up the kids (and the dogs) into the car like the Beverly Hillbillies. We arrived late Friday night, well after dark. But the next morning I woke up early, and snuck out without hopefully waking anyone up. I met up with my friend Zack, and we drove off to take pictures along the Buffalo River.

We went to the Steele Creek access, which is arguably the most scenic spot on the river. And while the water level was low, there was some really good fall color along the river.



I don't think I had ever seen the river this low before.







We arrived shortly before sunrise, and gradually we started to hear people at the nearby campground start to awaken. But it was a little surprising that there weren't more people there. Usually campgrounds are booked solid around the peak of fall color on the Buffalo, but there were several vacant spots there. We had no issue finding a cabin on short notice.









I forgot to bring the charger for the infrared camera, so the battery was almost dead. But I did get one shot from this spot:



It was crazy to think that just a few months ago people were floating canoes through here.







Later that day, I returned to the river with the rest of the family. Jonah was excited to try to skip stones in the small pools of water. Elliott, being a typical four year-old, was excited about being able to throw rocks in the water. As we were leaving, I stopped to get this picture of the trees set against Roark Bluff.