Random Road Trip 2023! Stop 5 New River Gorge National Park

 If you haven't visited New River Gorge National Park you need to!

https://www.nps.gov/neri/index.htm

People have been rafting here for decades but it was just christened a National Park in 2020.

In addition to river rafting the area is dotted with great trails and overlooks.

The New River runs North so the water flowing thru the gorge passed Steve's place in VA!

https://www.nps.gov/neri/planyourvisit/nrgbridge.htm

https://cantrellultimaterafting.com/

Highly recommend Cantrell if you want to raft.

This madman was our guide

Too Tall Terry

"Triple T!"

Don't worry Angie is in the river intentionally.

There were a couple of stretches calm enough to go for a swim.

People bungee and base jump from the bridge!

https://officialbridgeday.com/

What a great day!

Thanks Terry and Cantrell

Lot's of great hiking trails and the weather was amazing too!

Get to the Gorge!!

Random Road Trip 2023! Stop 4 Cousin Steve's in VA

 Just a short few hours drive and we were at my Cousin Steve's!

Steve lives in Southern Virginia by the New River.

We visited way back in 2016 and were overdue for a visit!

Apparently we were having so much fun we neglected to take many photos... oops

Steve is a great cook and has an amazing garden.  He and Isabella spoiled us with great food, hospitality, and showed us all over the corner of Virginia they call home.

This stream is just a short drive from his house.

Little hike in the National Forest.

Steve knows every tree and plant in the area.

Steve showing Angie a local cave.  We didn't even have a flashlight with us so this is as far as we got...

This is a trout farm in the area

Steve lives on a few acres in the country but he also owns an old brick building that was originally a bank!

Just like back in 2016 we got out on the New River for a little float.

Thanks again Steve!

Random Road Trip 2023! Stop 3 Asheville

 We would have lingered a little while longer in the Ozarks but we had an invitation to see some friends in Asheville, NC that had an expiration date so we booked it there ASAP.

Bryan and Ania were visiting Jeff and Jane outside Asheville so we got to spend a night at their place and had a great meal together at Curate.

Thanks Y'all!

We spent a few days in the area hiking at various stops off the Blue Ridge Parkway and at DuPont State Park

https://www.blueridgeparkway.org/

https://www.dupontstaterecreationalforest.com/

See that little tower?

There it is.  We hiked up to that.

When we weren't getting our butts kicked by North Carolina trails we were eating and drinking.

White Duck Tacos

https://whiteducktacoshop.com/

Hillman Beer

https://hillmanbeer.com/

Gingers Revenge 

https://gingersrevenge.com/

We loved Asheville and look forward to returning!

Random Road Trip 2023! Stop 2 Eureka Springs, AK

 After a few days exploring Bentonville we moved onto Eureka Springs for a night.

Similar to Hot Springs, AK, but much smaller, the area has a history of attracting people to the healing properties of the spring water long before European settlers even arrived.

These days it's mainly a kitchy little tourist town but definitely worth a visit.

https://www.arkansas.com/eureka-springs

Not just one but two wiki pages!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eureka_Springs,_Arkansas

https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eureka_Springs

Enjoy the photos!

Didn't stay here but did have pizza and beers on the top floor.  Quite the view!

https://crescent-hotel.com/

https://crescent-hotel.com/eat-drink/skybar-gourmet-pizza/

Random Road Trip 2023! First Stop Bentonville AK

 August 2023

We've been preparing our house to rent and travel for a year.

This involves months of minor but time consuming repairs and yardwork but mostly purging our belongings, vehicles, bicycles, you name it, putting the rest in storage, etc.

So by August, by some miracle, we're ahead of schedule.

So we hand the keys off to our property managers (who are amazing btw) and get the heck out of town, cause it's 105 degrees!

First stop Bentonville AR

You're probably asking where's that and why?

Bentonville is in Northwest Arkansas, a beautiful place all by itself, and is the home of Walmart.

Yes Walmart.

The Walton family have an amazing museum called Crystal Bridges.

https://crystalbridges.org/

Let's let the photos do the talking for now.

Let's start with this...

They relocated a Frank Lloyd Wright house from New Jersey that was being flooded , in jeopardy, and couldn't remain at it's original location.

Yep, dismantled it, labeled everything, moved it cross country, reassembled, and restored it.

They don't allow interior photos so visit their website for all the details:

https://crystalbridges.org/architecture/frank-lloyd-wright-bachman-wilson-house/

The architecture is incredible and the complex straddles a creek.  More info here:

https://crystalbridges.org/architecture/moshe-safdie/

Norman Rockwell?

Yeah we got that.

The cafeteria...

Giant spider and monster serpent sculptures...

along a network of hike and bike trails...

Why not?

Huge galleries

Disco globes in a mirrored room?

Of course

Canoe sculpture

Buckminster's Fly Eye Dome

https://crystalbridges.org/architecture/flys-eye-dome/

That just scratches the surface of what is on display, yes it's in NW Arkansas, and you can thank Walmart.

It's an amazing place (and the town is great) so go visit!

https://www.visitbentonville.com/

https://www.arkansas.com/bentonville

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bentonville,_Arkansas