Beans, Music, and Outhouses

Mountain View, Arkansas calls itself the folk music capital of the world.  This would be hard to dispute after attending a concert at the nearby Ozark Folk Center State Park.  The park has a beautiful large auditorium which echoes with foot-tapping mountain music during the tourist season.  In addition the surrounding grounds have been developed to foster and keep alive all kinds of folk arts which otherwise would gradually disappear.  Artists are given a place to concentrate on their skills while taking on apprentices and educating the visitors.  If you would like to learn about herbs, candle making, weaving, woodworking or other skills, artisans will be happy to show you how it is done.  If you get serious you could sign up for classes to make dulcimers, brooms, or leather goods.  The list is varied.  If it is an old time skill they are into preserving it.

In addition, music groups play in the park throughout the day.  Below 9 year old Mary Parker wows the crowd with her playing and singing skills.

The town of Mountain View, of course, was into folk music long before the Ozark Folk Center existed.  Legend has it that farmers coming to the town market after chores would gather at the town square with the three necessary Ozark instruments - fiddle, banjo, and guitar - and begin jamming.  From these humble beginnings a cultural pride developed in the area for the mountain music being played throughout the Ozarks.  Today it is estimated that up to 3,000 string players routinely drift into town to find a jam session.  The courthouse is ground zero for all this music and random jam sessions can pop up at any time.

To add to the fun, the town has put on a zany Bean Fest on the last Saturday of every October.  Going on it's 34th year, the Festival draws thousands into town and fills up all the hotels and motels.  Over a thousand pounds of pinto beans are cooked in large bean pots by contestants and served and judged at noon.  You can try as many bean recipes as you want (or dare) and follow it up with free cornbread.  At 1 p.m. there is a parade of mobile outhouses down main street, followed by the actual "Championship Outhouse Race" at 1:30.  Mountain music, of course, is never far away.

All set up and waiting for Saturday's crowds

The contestants take their roles seriously - well, sort of!

While the beans cook all morning, the jamming continues.

The Clark Family Trio was a favorite that played early at the courthouse.

Feeding the thousands beans and cornbread.

The bean cooking champion

Grandma was judged to have the best cornbread

After the thousands were fed beans and cornbread, the outhouse races began.

General Pee with the Poops of Hazard was an early favorite

Grandma was a poor loser

Outhouses powered by the football team were the eventual winners.

Migrating south through Missouri and Arkansas

Perfectly situated to intercept the Mississippi Flyway portion of migrating North American birds, the Riverlands Migratory Bird Sanctuary located just north of St Louis can be a very productive place for birders and bird photographers.  The Audubon Center Building in the sanctuary is worth a visit by itself.  I expected to see some early waterfowl and hopefully scanned open water as I drove into Missouri from Illinois.  Unfortunately the place seemed practically devoid of bird life.  The most activity was from Illinois drivers coming across the Clark Bridge to buy cheap Missouri gas.   A search of the sanctuary turned up 30 White Pelicans, some killdeer, geese, and three ducks too far away to identify.  The fact that the waterfowl numbers and bald eagle numbers will increase dramatically as winter approaches was no consolation.  I decided to switch gears and go after some non-migratory geological features.

Elephant Rocks State Park

It would take a lot of imagination (or alcohol) to confuse the pink granite boulders in Elephant State Park for pink elephants, but they sure are large enough.  Some reach 20 feet in height and weigh 600 tons. The granite, known as Missouri Red, was used to pave streets in the 1800's.  St. Louis used a lot of it and some of the streets still exist.  In the 1930's the demand for granite pavers disappeared and the quarry today produces mostly dimension stone for cemeteries.  The park, found near Pilot Knob, Missouri, has been set up with braille signs and a wheel chair trail around the larger rocks.  In fact the park has a little bit for everybody in the family. Climbing on the rocks is not prohibited so teens love to test their climbing skills while the history buff can check out the mining history of the area and check out the carvings left by the master stone cutters of the 1800's.

Blue Spring

Fourteen miles east of Eminence, Missouri, a rough unpaved road and a half mile hike will take you to the deepest and bluest spring in Missouri.  Pumping out between 80 and 90 million gallons per day from 300 feet in the ground the spring is well worth the effort.

Newton County, Arkansas

Leaving Missouri we headed for the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas.  Although the Ozarks do not reach the altitudes found in the Smoky Mountains,  the area around Newton County definitely has the same "feel" although without the crowds and billboards.  The motorcyclists who have found this area love the beautiful vistas and winding roads.  As a bonus it is the "elk capital" of Arkansas and early or late rides will often produce sights of them.

Elk in the early morning fog

Hiking is very popular in Newton County.  One of the most familiar images of Arkansas is Hawksbill Crag.

Edie finally loses her fear of heights.

Hawksbill requires a three mile hike after traveling 6 miles on a rutted dirt road with some very steep climbs.  It is possible to negotiate the road in a small car but your little car would not protest if you left it in the garage and took your high clearance four-wheel drive vehicle.

Only a matter of time

The hike to Pedestal Rocks is slightly over 2 miles

There is not much water in the system during the fall but even without the spring runoff there is still beauty in the falls.   These images were taken on the Eden Falls hike.

A great place to stay is the small town of Jasper located right in the middle of the county.  The Little Buffalo River runs through this small town of 500 which caters to the tourists.  It has several fine restaurants.  The Arkansas House Boardwalk Cafe is completely organic offering everything from wild razorback burgers to elk tenderloins.  If you want to step back in time and try great food at the same time try the Ozark Cafe.  This North Arkansas landmark was established in 1909 and is on the National Register of Historic Places.  It's walls are covered with old photos keeping the areas history alive.  It is a must stop when in the area but don't wait too long. While talking to some of the locals I found out the cafe is for sale.  Hopefully new owners will allow the cafe to survive for another 100 years. 

Nova Scotia

HALIFAX
The capital of Nova Scotia and the city with the second largest natural harbor in the world is a must stop for anyone exploring the area.  A walk along the harbor boardwalk is a great place to start and eventually you will pass by the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic.

The display and history of the smaller vessels used in the area along with a phenomenal collection of ship models is reason enough to stop.  Two exhibits - one on the Titanic and another on the Halifax explosion are the biggest attractions.  Halifax was the nearest major port to the Titanic sinking and as a result played a major role, especially in handling the victims of the tragedy.  The Halifax explosion occurred on the morning of Dec 6, 1917 when two ships, one carrying wartime explosives, collided. The blast was the largest man-made explosion until the nuclear age and leveled most of Halifax, killing 2,000 people and injuring 9,000.  The details leading up to it and the stories of the people and families who survived are fascinating and well worth the time to go through the displays in detail.  

After the Museum a commercial tour of Halifax is a great way to learn about the city if you have not been there before.  There are a variety of choices.  A fun way, although with less information, is to take the Harbour Hopper.

These amphibious ducks will give you a view from the harbor as well as a land tour.  The bus tours, however, will give you more complete and detailed information.  There are double deckers as well as traditional busses.  We decided on the land tour with a kilted Scotsman leader. One of the highlights is a trip to the Halifax cemetery where 150 Titanic victims are buried.  

The Titanic victims burial site is arranged as if the prow of a ship.

The lead character in the film "Titanic" was based on an actual victim who is buried here.

PEGGY'S COVE

Varying legends tell of a small girl swept into the cove during a storm that destroyed her ship and everyone on it except her.  Growing up in the village which adopted her she later married one of the inhabitants and the small village was eventually named after her.  There are no supporting documents but one fact does remain - Peggy's Cove is a huge tourist attraction.  It was much smaller than I anticipated with a small number of shops, fishing wharf, restaurant, and a lighthouse which is fairly photogenic.

Swissair Flight 111 crashed just off shore from Peggy's Cove killing every on board.  A memorial to the victims is visible from Peggy's cove

Glen Margaret just north of Peggy's Cove

MAHONEY BAY

A quick stop here on the way to Lunenburg was necessary when I saw the three churches guarding the town.

LUNENBURG

Architecturally, Lunenburg is one of the most visually pleasing cities you can find.

The best attraction in town, after the architecture, is the Fisheries Museum of the Atlantic.  There is enough to do here for an entire day with two floors of exhibits, a tidal touch tank,  films, aquarium, and large fishing vessels parked outside.  When you are hungry there is a great restaurant and bar attached.

Great shopping is found in the downtown section.  Edie and I have found that in shopping situations it is best to go our separate ways.  This spares her from my constant groaning when dragged into countless stores.  I visited an art gallery and then found the Ironwork Distillery, a micro distillery that gave out samples of their products - and they had a lot of them so I spent a lot of time there.  It is built in an old blacksmith shop that made ironworks used by the ships.

Every basement should have a mini still.

BAY OF FUNDY AND ANNAPOLIS VALLEY

The Bay of Fundy side of Nova Scotia from Digby to Brier Island has something for everybody. Whale watching is big along with wine tours, hiking, kayaking, birding, and tides that can rise four stories in a matter of hours.  Whale watching was very tempting but I decided against it since we had done this before and high winds had produced some very rough water.  I regretted my decision however as I watched a zodiac pass Boar's Head while photographing the Tiverton Light house on Long Island. They had seen a lot of whales up close.

Commercial fishing boat working off Boar' Head.

We visited two wineries - Gaspereau and Domaine De Grand Pre'.

Walking through the grape vines glass in hand while your guide pours you wine samples pulled from his apron was a great way to enjoy a tour.

Long Island and Brier Island are at the end of what is known as the Digby Neck.  You have to really want to get to the end because it will entail two ferry rides to get there.  The ferries run 24/ 7 but there is usually some waiting time involved.  The area is isolated in places but the bird watching is usually great along with the whales and the constant unbelievable Fundy tides.

Whale Cove on Digby Neck

Hall's Harbour, home of the Lobster Pound Restaurant, has one of the highest tides anywhere.