April 30, 2012

Pea Ridge and War Eagle

It amazed me there are so many places that I have never been so close to home. We stopped at nearby Pea Ridge Battlefield and enjoyed a tour of the small museum and then a drive around the seven mile trail. 


We stopped and visited with a quite knowledgable volunteer at the reconstructed Elkhorn Tavern along the trail. He explained how this battlefield did not have trees but was an area covered in grasses on which pea vines grew.  Most interesting to us was the 97 year old man we met the next day in the Walmart parking lot in Rogers, who asked us directions to Pea Ridge. He had come from Okalahoma to see where his grandfather fought in the Civil War.


From Pea Ridge we went to see where so many people go annually for an arts and crafts festival at War Eagle. I had no idea where it was even located and just had to see the place. I do like an old gristmill and was also looking forward to some freshly ground products. We found it all! It is amazing that this mill was built in 1832 in this valley alongside War Eagle Creek.


The bridge adjacent to the mill is over one hundred years old. It seems we see fewer and fewer of these old bridges. Wooden planks provide a safe crossing over War Eagle Creek.





I bought my corn meal, whole wheat flour, bulgar, biscuit mix, etc without having to contend with crowds and we were off back up the winding roads across the mountainside.

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