Capitol Christmas

Every December, the state switches on the 50,000 or so lights on the State Capitol and then has a fireworks show.  It's always a busy night, with hundreds of families crowding the lawn of the capitol.  This year was a bit different, the emcee of the night was 80s movie star Judge Reinhold.  But the kids in the audience seemed to be slightly more excited about seeing the Santa who made a brief appearance on the Capitol steps.  Also, a few of the adults around us didn't realize it was Judge Reinhold at first, they said they thought it was just a boring state judge going up to speak and tell corny jokes before the fireworks. 

The fireworks are set off directly behind the Capitol, and its a great place to take pictures (you just have to avoid the kids running around who like to bump into your tripod).



I headed back to the Capitol a few weeks later, on a rainy Sunday afternoon. The Capitol was open for people to come inside and see the holiday decorations, which include several large trees and even a place for Santa (who wasn't there, he was probably too worn out after trying to decide which state legislators were going to be on naughty list this year). This large Christmas tree sat in the rotunda, directly beneath the large crystal chandelier under the capitol dome.



The Capitol is now over a century old. Construction on the capitol started in 1899 and was completed in 1915.



The Capitol was actually built on the site of an old penitentiary. It's probably safe to say that the Capitol ended up being a much better use of the land than the jail.

Big Dam Bridge

Before I moved across the river into Little Rock, I used to make a bunch of visits to the Big Dam Bridge. My old apartment was just a few miles away, and I would try to head over anytime it looked like there might be some neat fog or a cool sunset. But in the two years since I've moved, I've only made a few handful of trips back out to the bridge. So on a rainy and foggy night a few weeks ago, I drove over to have a look. It's now actually been nearly ten years since the Big Dam Bridge has been open, and it's still a popular spot for people to go walking or biking. Although there weren't that many people out in the rain the night this was taken.

Searcy

The oldest documented church building in the state of Arkansas sits just outside of Searcy. It's actually near where my In-laws live, so on a recent visit I headed over to the church. It was pouring down rain, which I hoped would look neat in pictures (it didn't, everything just really looked really wet). But it's a neat old church, constructed back in 1856 at the intersection of two wagon trails. The church has been recently renovated and is in great shape, considering its age.



A few hours later we drove back through Searcy and went by the old White County Courthouse. The courthouse was built in 1871 and is believed to be the oldest functioning courthouse in the state.



It was pouring down rain when I took these, so please forgive me for one or two stray rain drops on the lens.

St. Louis

A few weeks ago we made a quick trip up to St. Louis.  Busch Stadium was hosting the first game of the US Soccer National Team’s World Cup Qualifying Campaign for the 2018 World Cup.  I’ve been to countless FC Dallas games, but never a National Team game, so we booked tickets before they all sold out and drove up to Missouri.  The US did manage to beat their opponent, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, with a score of 6-1.  I didn’t take my camera with me to the game, so I didn’t get any pictures of downtown St. Louis this time.

All the hotels downtown were either booked or were ridiculously expensive, so we ended up staying a few miles away near Forest Park. It’s a neat section of St. Louis – along with the large park there are many old historic buildings. The next day we stopped at one of them, the Saint Louis Art Museum. Located in Forest Park, the art museum sits in one of the only remaining buildings that was constructed for the 1904 World’s Fair. There is a lot of great art there (although it could definitely have more photography), including some places where it looks like the art is checking out the art.



We then went to the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis, which was just a few miles away. The massive church was constructed between 1907 to 1914, although the interior took much longer to complete.



Nearly every inch of space inside the cathedral is covered with mosaics. This is actually one the largest collection of mosaics in the world, containing 41.5 million pieces of glass in more than 7,000 colors, covering more than 83,000 square feet.





While construction on the cathedral ended in 1914, it took until 1988 to complete all of the mosaics.





After that we then went to the IKEA store in St. Louis, where we purchased a new dresser for the baby’s nursery. It’s been a few weeks since this trip, and I’m still slowly trying to figure out how to get the dresser assembled. The baby is due in two months, which will probably be about as long as it'll take to put it all together.

Little Missouri Falls

From the Cossatot River, I headed east towards a few other waterfalls that are nestled in the Ouachita Mountains. I left the paved road, and headed into the Ouachita National Forest. There were some really good pockets of fall color here, the best I'd seen this season. This was near Shady Lake.



The road began to run alongside this stream, which I think might be the North Fork of the Saline River. It was up and running high after some recent heavy rains in the area.



The next stop was Bard Springs, which is the site of a small Forest Service recreation area. People used to believe that the waters of Bard Springs had medicinal qualities, and two small dams were built here during the Great Depression by the CCC, along with a bathhouse and picnic shelters.



I've only been to this area once before, and I had forgotten how amazingly scenic it is. At one stretch, the dirt road heads up a steep hill while the creek below has carved a deep valley. The creek itself is crowded with boulders, and it looks like something that you'd find out West and not in Arkansas. I wanted to get a shot of it but couldn't find a good spot to stop. It's on the list for the next visit.

After driving down the bumpy dirt road I finally made it to Little Missouri Falls. This is a popular spot in the Ouachita National Forest, especially in the summer when its a busy swimming hole. The parking lot was full of cars, most of them from out of state (the majority of those having Texas plates).

The hike to the falls is short and paved, and there were some more good fall colors along the waterfall.



Like most waterfalls in the Ouachitas, the Little Missouri Falls isn't very tall. It's more of a series of cascades and stair-step waterfalls set inside a deep gorge.





From Little Missouri Falls I started to head home, but made one more stop at an old abandoned building in the small community of Hopper. Located near Caddo Gap, the old Hopper School was built in 1902. It's a large building, and it served several uses over its long life (including a community center, masonic lodge and a church).



The building was abandoned in 1960, when a new church was built next to it. But even after sitting empty now for several decades, the old building is still holding on (although who knows how much longer it will last).