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Our home in Fayetteville was nice, located on 4.5 acres in a woodsy area where we could see deer, squirrels, and lots of birds daily. The pictures in the link above show the inside of the house to be much lighter and brighter than it was actually. It was too dark inside for our taste, and we had all the lights turned on all the time while we were there. Other than that, it was a well-appointed, comfortable place to stay for a month. It was convenient to visit Charlie’s aunt a lot, which we happily did over the month.

Our first stop for the Southern cousin reunion was in South Carolina, located on a bee-yoo-tee-full lake.  We toured nearby Clemson on a day trip, too, stopping for lunch at Loose Change.

We visited the Shiloh Civil War battlefield after listening to the audio-book, Shiloh, 1862, by Winston Groom. Familiarity with the history of the battle really enhanced our visit.

The Shiloh and Corinth battlefields were the “sites of the most epic struggle in the Western Theater of the Civil War. Nearly 110,000 American troops clashed in a bloody contest that resulted in 23,746 casualties; more casualties than in all of America’s previous wars combined.” After this battle, generals on both sides realized winning the war was not going to be quick nor easy.

This park was established in the 1890s, using surviving soldiers from both sides to mark where the battles were on each day, and in which direction the regiments faced.

Eureka Springs, Arkansas, is an old town where the buildings are perched on the side of the hill. It is a tourist destination, but was blissfully quiet on this weekday in October. We spent a few hours poking around, sight-seeing, visiting local art galleries, and found the BEST restaurant for lunch, Sweet N Savory.

We arrived in Fayetteville, Arkansas in the beautiful rolling hills of the Ozarks on Sunday, Oct. 22.

Arriving on Sunday is significant in that the University of Arkansas  Razorbacks had hosted a football game the day before and we were able to glimpse our first  snapshot of how rabid Southern football fans are. The campus still had tailgate canopies in place and the parking lot was full of large RVs.

We have added Northwest Arkansas, locally known as NWA, to our list of possible places to live once we decide to settle down. The Walton family (Walmart) has poured a lot of money into cultural amenities in the area, the area is beautiful, and being close to a university provides lots of opportunities.

We are jinxing our destinations: Devastating wildfires in Napa Valley, mass shooting in Las Vegas, and now a tornado watch when we arrive in Elk City, OK. The hotel receptionist at check-in was very helpful, though, as he added tornado watch instructions to his check-in speech.

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A trip to Santa Fe is not complete without a visit to all the art galleries and sculpture gardens on Canyon Road.  I think I read somewhere that Santa Fe ranks way up there in art and galleries per capita in the U.S. – or maybe I made that up :o)  Anyway, a visit in the Fall is gorgeous.

We stayed a few days in Santa Fe, NM. We went to Rancho de Chimayo, one of our favorite restaurants in NM, then drove to Taos and took a short walk, including a visit to a yarn shop (of course!) The Fall colors were beautiful.

We drove east and visited the Painted Desert. There was an interesting display of Navajo sheep wool, how the wool is dyed and woven.

We stayed at La Posada Hotel   in Winslow, Arizona. It was the last Fred Harvey/Santa Fe Railway Hotel, and has been renovated beautifully. Many famous people stayed here during its heyday. Trains continue to travel along the tracks at the back of the property dozens of times per day. Artist Tina Mion‘s art is displayed throughout the hotel.