Little Rock Arkansas

Little Rock is the capital of Arkansas and it's on the Arkansas River, which starts in the Rocky Mountains and flows to the Mississippi.  Bill Clinton is clearly a big deal here.  Not only is his Presidential Library in Little Rock, but there is a street named after him and the airport is named after him and Hillary.

The capital building is quite impressive.  It was built on the site of a former penitentiary and prisoners did some of the construction.  In fact, prisoners continue to work on the grounds and cleaning the building.

 The three brass front doors.  People (maybe the prison folks?) spend three hours a day polishing them.

 A former governor, Bill Clinton.

 The senate chamber.

 The house chamber, undergoing some sprucing up.

The grounds are very impressive.  There is a mixture of trees, flowers, and sculpture.  Maybe the lawns and gardens look so good because they use free labor (the prison folks?).

 This is a stature of the "Little Rock Nine" (more on them later).  In the background is a replica of the Liberty Bell.

 The statue in the foreground is to commemorate "women of the confederacy."

 After visiting the capitol building we drove down Bill Clinton Drive to his Presidential Library.  This is a building overlook the Arkansas River.  Interestingly, it's right next to the headquarters of Heifer International.  It so happened that there was an exhibition of glass sculpture by Dale Chihuly.  We had seen some of his work at the Franklin Park in Columbus.

 The main area that was open to the public gives a timeline of his 8 years in office and the major issues he dealt with.

 There is a full sized replica of the oval office.

 Another view from the outside.  I assume it was designed to represent the "bridge to the 21st century."  Just north of the library is a wetlands area.  We enjoyed the flowers and wildlife there.

 The library is very close to the headquarters of Heifer International.

 There is a cool trolly that runs by the waterfront.

Another place we visited was Little Rock Central High School National Historical Site.  This is the place where nine black students attempted to integrate the Little Rock school system.  When they showed up for classes, the governor had ordered the National Guard to refuse them entrance.  This went on for days and after three weeks, President Eisenhower nationalized the guard and also sent in army troops to allow the students to attend the school.  There were soldiers in the school the entire school year.  After that, the school system closed the school for two years!  The students were very courageous to face the crowds and ill-treatment that they received.

Matthew was exploring a rotary dial phone for the first time, his iPhone by his side...

 During his time in office, Clinton had the former students join him in the White House for recognition.  One of the nine currently lives in Columbus, Ohio.

After all the sight seeing, we had dinner at a wonderful local spot, Cock of the Walk.  This is a down-home place that specializes in catfish.  Matthew didn't try the fish but he really enjoyed the fried pickles!

Matthew's Notes: When in Rome, do as the Romans

• Cock of the Walk is not for you if you don't like seafood.
• Forty Two (the cafe in the Presidential Library) is a great place to eat if you don't mind the fanciness.
• Rotary phones are really hard to use if you're my generation.