a.d. elliott - Take the Back Roads

I am so fortunate to live near this museum Henry, Crystal Bridges in Bentonville, Arkansas has a great collection.  They also put together some very cool special exhibits. This summer they put together an exhibit called "Beyond O'Keeffe" which contained much of her work, as well as some from artists with a similar "feel". I love O'Keeffe's work, but, The Beyond - one of her last pieces  - she had to paint this using her peripheral vision as her eyesight was failing - I think will always be my favorite.   What lies beyond the horizon? Fish was such a good sport to go with me. xoxo a.d. elliott

My dear Henry, While traveling down Hwy 59 we came upon this decrepit gateway, leading to "Lake Francis". The gates, standing open, had long since rusted and were sagging. It looked like the entrance you may expect to Camp Crystal Lake (of Friday the 13th fame). There are of course stern "No Trespassing" "24-hour video surveillance" signs everywhere as well. Back to civilization, we googled it, finding out that from about 1930 to 1970 it was "THE" recreational lake in the area.  Then, of course, it got dirty, really dirty. and then the dam leaked. and finally, in 1990, the dam was destroyed. So, not haunted, just gone. xoxo a.d.

Hey Henry, It has been hot again, and we were looking for someplace to go to cool off. This is Natural Dam, which, depending on the water levels can also be considered a waterfall. A 200-foot shelf spans the entire width of Mountain Fork Creek and creates a wonderful little swimming pool. We weren't the only people taking advantage of this nature made pool, it was pretty popular, with several barbeques going on in the background.   Everyone was really nice about letting me get a quick shot in, although, if I had wanted models, there were these two very cute kids who really, really wanted their picture taken. (I had to decline, I strongly feel that you shouldn't take pictures of other peoples kids to put on the internet.) Anyway, have a great day! xoxo a.d.