Sunday in Little Rock

I got cleaned up and attended church, and then set out to explore Little Rock. The Arkansasriver runs through Little Rock, and I saw on a map that several bridges cross the river. The first one, named "The Big Dam Bridge", turned out to be a 4,226 foot long pedestrian and bicycle bridge that goes over the Murray Lock and Dam. It's claim to fame is that it is the longest pedestrian and bicycle bridge in the world built specifically for that purpose. (I'm not sure that is a high bar or not.)

I originally intended to just walk partly up the bridge and look down on the lock, but once I started walking, I just kept going to the other side and back. 

Then I drove to the capitol and walked around the area. Whoever polishes the big brass doors really does a good job, as they glisten from afar.

When I was in Murfreesboro on Friday I saw a poster for a Juneteenth parade and celebration to be held on Saturday, and just before I left Hot Springs yesterday I saw another Juneteenth celebration starting in a city park. I hung out at the city park for a few minutes, but when I saw the reparations posters on the pavilion support posts I decided it was time to move on. I'm all for celebrating our progress, but I stop short on the reparations. I'm not minimizing the effects of slavery, but there have been lots of marginalized groups in history, and we need to move on. I thought of both of those Juneteenth events when I saw this sculpture of the "Little Rock Nine" in a grassy area on the side of the capitol.

I had to look up the events on the Internet and learn the story... After the 1954 Brown vs Board of Education supreme court ruling, states were supposed to start desegregating public schools, but Arkansas was slow to do so. In Sept 1957, the Arkansas National Guard blocked nine african american children from entering Cenral High School in Little Rock. Two weeks later a federal judge ruled Arkansas was in the wrong. Violence erupted when the children attended, and President Eisenhower sent the military to escort the children into the school.

I wanted to go see the school for myself. I read that there is a visitor center by the school, and even though the high school is still being used, the visitor center runs some tours of the school. I drove to the school, and found out the visitor center is closed on Sundays and Mondays, so I'm out of luck. 😒 That was a disappointment but at least I got to see the school building, peek inside the windows, and read some signs outside the nearby visitor center, and learned quite a lot.

The neighborhood itself seems to be stuck in time. There is an old restored Mobile gas station on the corner, and the neighborhood houses all seem to be still from that time period (in various states of repair/disrepair). I didn’t notice any newer construction, and some houses were boarded up. I know it can be expensive to repair and restore old homes, so I can understand. It could be a cute neighborhood, though, if it is kept up.

Next on my list was the Clinton Presidential Library, but I got there a half hour before closing and didn't think that would give me enough time... but it will be open again tomorrow.

Here is one of the bridges that spans the Arkansas river downtown.

Last on my list of places to seetoday was an old grist mill in North Little Rock. The mill appeared in the opening scenes of the movie "Gone with the Wind". It was never an operating mill, but is a pretty setting.

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It was still light when I got back to the campground, so I went for a walk. I wanted to walk by the boat dock and look at the boats, but this sign changed my mind. I didn't want to find out what the owner meant by this sign.

After awhile, my neighbor Zach got back to his campsite and we talked until around midnight. He agreed to having his photo in my blog, so we'll do that in the morning.