Hobbs State Park and Conservation Area

Northwest Arkansas is one corner of the Ozarks where rapid development has put nature's grandeur on the defensive. That's why locals are fortunate to have the Hobbs Conservation Area, the largest state park in Arkansas, right next door. It's a 12,000-acre trail-o-rama spanning the woody hills between Beaver Lake and War Eagle Creek just East of Rogers. A newcomer to the park game, Hobbs was created just in time to preserve an area ideal for exploration by car, bike, horse, or foot.



[Arkansas State Parks - Hobbs Conservation Area]



Hobbs is a plank of local history, occupying land originally belonging to logging entrepreneur and sideburns enthusiast Peter Van Winkle. His family sawmill was one of the earliest industries in Northwest Arkansas, but like everything else in the Ozarks, it was burned down during the Civil War. The foundations of the family homestead and mill site remain, and are now part of an interpretive trail on the National Register of Historic places.



Moving closer to the park's namesake, the territory eventually fell in the hands of Bentonville railroad cross-tie tycoon Roscoe Hobbs. An unlikely conservationist, he willed the land be sold to Arkansas if the state could afford it. Shockingly, the state couldn't. However, when California investors threatened to develop suburban lots and import the pretentious West-coast folk sound of the Eagles, the residents of Northwest Arkansas rallied. The Walton family of Wal*Mart fame and state Attorney General Bill Clinton joined a successful grassroots effort to marshal the funds to buy the land. In 1979, it became Hobbs State Park - Conservation Area.

Local pride never faltered. Today the area is maintained by legions of volunteers organized through the Friends of Hobbs non-profit organization. When a record ice storm in January 2009 smashed the Ozarks, locals cleared 30 miles of felled trees from trails in just a few months.



The newest treasure at Hobbs State Park is the visitor's center, opened in May 2009. It's a trove of Ozark naturalism with touch-screen exhibits on history, culture, caves, and forest biomes. Classrooms make it an easy destination for students, but it's also quite a sight for the casual Ozarkbahner. Since the center is located on the 21-mile, multi-use Hidden Diversity Trail, there's also ample horse parking. However you roll, check this one out.

[Hobbs Visitor Center on Google Maps]



Hobbs covers three counties, far more than we can cover in one sitting. The visitor's center and Van Winkle Trail above are two of the shortest treks at the park. Look for the rest in another exciting installment somewhere down the road...err 'bahn. You know.

Ozark Event: Crescent Classic Ferrari Tour

If I could take this blog on the road and charge admission, it would go like this: invite dozens of Ferraris and other sports cars to the most picturesque town in the Ozarks, then spend days devouring local roads. Don't hold your breath for Ozarkbahnfest, though. The annual Crescent Classic Ferrari Tour in Eureka Springs had the idea way before me, and has quietly become one of the premier performance car meets in America.



The attendees make their headquarters at the Victorian-styled, spooktacular Crescent Hotel of 1886 vintage. From there, the prancing horse tifosi and friends day trip on brisk guided rallies throughout the spiderweb of roads outside Eureka Springs.



If you fear a meeting of men with boater hats, imported navy blazers, and "daughters," don't worry. To keep the focus on driving, the Crescent Classic organizers have a strict dress code: jeans only. The cars are the stars of the weekend.



Exotics too often become static displays, imprisoned in climate-controlled garages. While Ferraris are objects of status and privilege, they are meant to be driven. The violent, beautiful sound is worth the exposure alone. Even this Shell gasoline advert is content to watch and listen.

[Your author's favorite television commercial of all time]

New or old, there is no such thing as a Ferrari that looks, goes, or sounds badly, so it's exciting to bring them out in numbers. After the group returns to the Crescent for the evening, it's an assuring sight to see an ocean of Ferrari Red smeared with bugs and brake dust. Sure, each is hand-washed nightly courtesy of the event sponsors, but there's a degree of respect in challenging the usual hazards of the open road. Last year an unlucky 360 Modena owner had a encountred a deer, vermin of the Ozarks. You can figure the rest of the drive was pretty fun, though.



The 2009 Crescent Classic takes place Thursday, September 10, through Sunday, September 13th. If you can respect a policy of look, but don't touch, no one minds terribly if you ogle the machinery up close in the hotel parking lot. Another chance to see the cars in person is during the parade and show in downtown Eureka Springs, usually on Saturday. The more modern and reliable Italians like the 328, 355, and 360 are best represented, but there's no telling what will show up. An Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint or Lamborghini is pretty good company.



If you want to see it yourself, the best part is that fine Ozark drives like Highway 62 or 23 are unavoidable. Event organizer Chris Parr said, "I grew up on these roads and have always felt like this area of Arkansas had some of the best roads in North America."



The Crescent Classic Ferrari Tour is a great excuse to grab your friends and take the day off. If you have the means, I highly recommend it.

Driven: Oklahoma 259

Summer vacation is over, and the second semester of Ozarkbahn is here. Dress in layers and bring a sack lunch, because we're starting off with a field trip to the Ouachita Mountains of Oklahoma.

[Highway 259 on Google Maps]

Highway 59 was built to span America from Mexico to Canada, and a previous episode explored an action-packed stretch in Southwest Missouri. US 59 is roughly 1,500 miles long in all, and the final connection built was a steep jaunt through LeFlore County named Oklahoma 259.

In a "Golden Spike" ceremony of sorts, President John F. Kennedy dedicated the highway's opening in October 1961 at Big Cedar, Oklahoma. New Frontier, indeed. Even backwoods Oklahoma was within missile range of Jack's policy of interstellar progress.


Big Cedar, OK, and the Three Sticks monument

Lucky us, because the road's switchback climb up Kiamichi Mountain from Big Cedar is one of the most entertaining ribbons of pavement in the country. At the top, the Three Sticks scenic overlook commemorates the state politicians who helped build the road with a monument symbolizing land, wood, and water. The highway never spurred the intended commerce to unlock those resources, but a drive like this is a fine legacy as far as I'm concerned.



If nothing else, the area does a thriving business in one thing: bigfoot sightings. The area around Big Cedar has seen its share of Sasquatch reports.

[Texas Bigfoot Research Conservancy - LeFlore County]



Make no mistake: this is Sasquatch country. Locals hold the Honobia Bigfoot Festival every year in the woods about 30 miles away from Big Cedar. It's part family carnival, part Very Serious seminar with panels of professors and bigfoot experts. There's even a genuine bigfoot hunt. If you spot something hairy, bipedal, and barefoot, grab your camera. It may not be a local, but a marvel of science!

[2009 Honobia Bigfoot Festival]

Science also astounds on the Indian Nations Trail at Hochatown State Park a few miles South on 259. The Ouachitas are an ancient mountain range worn to blunted hills, leaving a sparkling plethora of geological curiousities not found on the Ozark Plateau. The forest is littered with quartz, and visitors are welcome to pocket a grip of crystals for personal use. In one short hike, your chakra can be completely realigned.



The whole drive down Oklahoma 259 is great for harmonizing your bio-energies. It's a lightly populated area with minimal traffic and human encroachment, a rare pleasure given the attraction. The driving challenges wither in places, but there's constant rolling greenery to satisfy your metaphysical side.



The Ouachitas slide into the Red River flatlands near Broken Bow, where the End of Trail Motel marks an appropriate terminus. The mid-century neon sign is super cool, a real roadside treasure. History value? The name and figure are based on a 1915 James Earle Fraser sculpture, End of the Trail, capturing the sorrow of dislocated Native American culture. On the upshot, air conditioning and free HBO!


Oklahoma 259: for Americans of distinction

The tattoo on my chest reads "Ozark 4 Life," but this week I proudly boast, "Ich bin ein Ouachitabahner."

Traffic: I could spend Thirteen Days here
Driving challenge: mild to superb
Purty mouth: watch out for anyone named Harry
Ouachitabahn rating: Ask not what your Ozarkbahn can do for you, but what you can do for your Ozarkbahn