Missouri/Arkansas

me and my hubby are planning to go visit his mom in Missouri on spring break (March 5-13). We're in TX. We thought we'd wander through Arkansas, or Oklahoma on the way, and hang out some in Missouri as well. But nothing jumps out at me to make this trip seem exciting. (especially not the mother-in-law visit... just kidding) Any ideas? We like offbeat stuff, "haunted" houses. I've thought about Branson, but I'm not really "country" - much more rock and roll. Help?

Over around Texarkana, there is a little town called Fouke, AR (south on US71). For years, they reportedly had a "bigfoot" type creature lurking around there in the swamps. I don't know if there are any recent sightings, but back in the early 70s, Hollywood made a movie about it (The Legend of Boggy Creek). You might drive over there and see if there's anything new! I think the guy who was promoting the story was named Smokey Crabtree, and he had a little store there last time I was there -- long time ago though.

YES! We had talked about "trying to find Bigfoot" at one time when we first thought about making this trip. This is exactly the kind of thing I'm looking for, and I will definitely check it out. My husband doesn't like to drive all day long, so we plan to just make lots of stops in lots of little out of the way places. This is perfect. I'll let you guys know how it goes.

any other great ideas?

[Mark Sedenquist]

A couple of our roadtrippers have recommended the Glore Psychiatric Museum in St. Joseph, Missouri. -- Peculiar and not for the squeemish. A little more wholesome would be a visit to the Pony Express museum on Penn Street. But for my money I would try the National Lighter museum in Guthrie, Oklahoma. Ted Ballard's collection of several thousand lighters is open to the public and is free.

There is an unexplained haunting of the railroad track near Gurdon, Arkansas. This might be a perfect one for you as it is only a few miles east of I-30 between Prescott and Arkadelphia. The story goes that a brakeman was killed years ago while carrying a latern alongside the tracks. A number of folks, including a RTA long-time contributor, have seen the eerie light that seems to be walking along the tracks "as if it was from an old-time latern". Information about this light is at http://www.prairieghosts.com/gurdon.html

M.