I am a Motorcoach . . .

. . . Travel South – Fam touring throughout Southwestern Missouri and Northwestern Arkansas – the heart of the Ozarks. Travel South you might think of as a tourism co-op made up of a dozen or so southern states. Fam is short for Familiarization. Fam tours are opportunities for tour companies from throughout the U.S. to become familiar with attractions throughout the regions surrounding the convention location – this year Branson, Missouri. The IMG, UMA, and NTA conventions (see blogs 37 and 38), at which I served immediately prior to these tours, were primarily about the motorcoach and destination side of the industry. Fam tours are about the tour operations. These tours move at a motor-sport pace, some days including a dozen locations. A small selection is all I can fit in here.

Selfies

(which by definition means I’m in them . . . though you might have to look for me)

Some of the locations we visited were intentionally outside-the-box ideas that might be incorporated in a mystery tour package. One of those was – in the humble opinion of this luxury motorcoach – way outside the box! We visited a landfill in Jefferson City, Missouri. Here I am atop the landfill. On-board sanitation managers provide an education about the process of trash distribution, tamping down the deposits, sealing the deposit layers for prevention of gas leakage, and converting waste gases into a clean, renewable fuel source.

One of our stops was the infamous Missouri State Penitentiary in Jefferson City. Passengers descended my spiral staircase, left this glossy red modern machinery, and entered the weather stained stone of the vacated prison. But a greater contrast was that of tour “itinerary” verses a real history of “incarceration” – one, a celebration of freedom, the other, a long endurance of its loss. Some have called the Missouri State Penitentiary at Jefferson City the Alcatraz of the Midwest. More than 33,000 visitors took prison tours here in 2016 (history tours, ghost tours and hunts, and photography tours). Built in 1836, it was overburdened in its role as the only federal prison west of the Mississippi. Receiving all convicted criminal in the western territories, at one point there were nearly 5,300 inmates at MSP. Riots in 1954 inspired inspection by the federal government, which found the prison to be obsolete, overcrowded and worthy of immediate closure. Yet it wasn’t until 2004 that it was shut down. While imprisoned at Jefferson City Sonny Listen learned how to box and went on to become the World Heavyweight Champ. James Earl Ray escaped from MSP almost a year to the day before assassinating Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Another piece of historic infamy is here in my rearview mirror: Miss Laura’s Visitor Center in Fort Smith, Arkansas. It is a house of many stories – most of which are supplied with embellishment, grin, and wink by Miss Laura herself. As proprietor of the house, she is a most ardent and creative champion of Fort Smith. Ahead in the distance, my tour group enjoys a lunch-by-rail experience bound for Van Buren.

There is history galore at Fort Smith. This is where the mythic and romanticized “wild wild West” and “cowboys and Indians” meet their sad demise by true story. It was here that the Trail of Tears ended on the eastern banks of the Arkansas River and “Indian Territory” began on its western banks (later to be called Oklahoma). It was here that a jail room (white lower level at near end of the courthouse) made to hold a dozen prisoners often housed over two hundred, and whitewashed gallows (in the distance beyond the courthouse) saw common use, all in the chaotic cause of settling the west.

Fort Chaffee is where Elvis Presley received his military hair cut on March 24th, 1958. Time Magazine was there. Dozens of photographers were there. And The Chaffee Barbershop Museum in Fort Smith celebrates the snips heard around the world. But there is more to Fort Chaffee’s 72,000 acres than Elvis. For starters: this is where the movies Biloxi Blues and (Academy award-winning) A Soldier’s Story were filmed.

MEETING THE NEWS on the roadways of America, first-hand, real time, real world news—going out and discovering the news . . .

NEWS OF OZARKS: A rugged region encompassing 50,000 sq. miles, the Ozarks sprawl primarily between the Missouri and Arkansas Rivers. Beyond those general confines they touch parts of Illinois, Oklahoma, and Kansas. The tallest section of the region is the Boston Mountains in Northwestern Arkansas.

EXECUTION NEWS: Set apart from the nearest of the buildings at the Missouri State Penitentiary by a hundred yards or more, a small stone structure was singular in purpose: 39 prisoners were executed there by cyanide gas and one by lethal injection. And at one time the Western District of Arkansas handled the largest criminal jurisdiction of any federal court. Consequently, over a twenty-four year period when executions took place in Fort Smith, 87 men died on the gallows behind the courthouse.

ROUTING NEWS: There is no direct (or more to the point: straight or level) route from Bentonville, Arkansas to Branson, Missouri. It is something to keep in mind when planning a trip to various locations in that part of the Ozarks. If you prefer a fun and beautiful drive, there are several entertaining options for traveling between those two towns. But if “keeping your stomach” is at all a concern, you might consider a travel itinerary that includes access to one or the other by interstate via other towns.

(Unlike selfies, these are not about me, but about travel discoveries I think you’d like to know about.)

You know you’re in Arkansas when the mermaids are hogs. This one proudly welcomes visitors to Mermaids Seafood Restaurant. Based on the unanimous double-thumbs-up of my passengers, Mermaids is a Must when in Fayetteville. (2217 N College Ave.)

Simple Pleasures in Bella Vista, Arkansas is a place where vintage cars are pristine, the food is delicious, and the landscape is picturesque. A totally unique events venue, Simple Pleasures is simply about an old-fashioned good time (13718 Rothbury Dr).

Quote Of The Day samples

“Though we travel the world to find the beautiful, we must carry it within us or we find it not.” ― Ralph Waldo Emerson

“I see my path, but I don’t know where it leads. Not knowing where I’m going is what inspires me to travel it.” – Rosalia de Castro

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