Postcards from Arkansas! – Photos by Scott Sudduth
Want to take a trip through North Little Rock and the surrounding area? Read along and we will share some of our postcards from Arkansas. Keith and I felt like celebrities when we visited North Little Rock in early December. Everywhere we went, Scott Sudduth from the North Little Rock CVB took our photographs so we could remember all the wonderful things we saw and did.
A stop at the William Jefferson Clinton Memorial Library offered us a photo op in the Oval office. The 42nd President, you can learn all about the Clinton legacy. We enjoyed the library, but we had a blast at the fun Beatles exhibit and where we walked our own walk down Abbey Lane.
The Big Dam Bridge is one of the places we stopped. Originally intended to be called Murray Bridge, the Big Dam Bridge Arkansas spans the Arkansas River and Murray Lock and Dam between Little Rock and North Little Rock. We learned that it is open only to pedestrian and bicycle traffic. At 4,226 feet in length it is the longest pedestrian/bicycle bridge in North America that has never been used by trains or motor vehicles. Information about it states that this “big” bridge rises to 90 feet over the Arkansas River and 30 feet over the dam, then its span over the river is 3,463 feet.
Before heading to North Little Rock I knew about some of the local history, but I didn’t realize the Civil Rights history that occurred right here. Scott took us to Central High where the Little Rock Nine, nine black student first attempted to enter the high school in September of 1957. At first the then Governor blocked their entrance with soldiers from the National Guard. President Eisenhower used local police escorts to ensure that the students could go to school the way the law intended. We posed albeit in the midst of buses getting ready to pick up and a bus monitor moving us along the way. What an eye-opening moment thinking of those students fearing for their lives just to attend school.
When in North Little Rock, we arrived in time to attend the 75th Anniversary of Japanese Attack on Pearl Harbor. Along with the USS Razorback, the Hoga, a tugboat that was at Pearl Harbor and helped put out a fire and keep the channel open is docked in North Little Rock. During the ceremony Governor Asa Hutchison spoke and afterwards we had a chance to shake the Governor’s hand. Scott it only right that we pose in front of the beautiful iron gates that lead into the Arkansas Governor’s Mansion.
We couldn’t help ourselves, we had to pose with Grand Master H.U Lee. Besides his statue, there is also the amazing Songahm Martial Gate and other statues to see in this beautiful place.
A day or so after the Pearl Harbor celebration we had a chance to tour the USS Razorback. This World War II submarine was present at the surrender of World War II. The Razorback can be toured at the Arkansas Inland Maritime Museum.
Not far from our hotel the Wyndham new residential townhouses were going up. We were able to see some of the local art work and pose like we were a newly engaged couple. North Little Rock had art everywhere and this statue with a bench to sit on and reflect was one of my favorites.
Everywhere we went there was great food and drink. We even brought home some Big Rock root beer from the Diamond Bear distillery. They serve great food as well and make a great Pale Ale that we loved with pizza.
These are just a few of the fun places to go in North Little Rock and the surrounding area. To get more ideas log onto the North Little Rock Convention & Visitors Bureau at www.NorthLittleRock.org.
