The Beatles, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, June 17

Friday, June 17 Arkansas – Missouri- Illinois

The Fantastic Fan in the Trek has provided the only breeze for the past few days.  It is 75 degrees at 7:15 this morning!

We head east this morning to the small town of Walnut Ridge.  We have been enjoying lots of wildflowers in Arkansas, including tons of Queen Anne’s Lace.  In combination with blue cornflowers, it reminds me of summers growing up in PA.

We pass one small area of kudzu – didn’t know it had made it this far!  We have also seen several barn quilts, which we first saw in Wisconsin but have seen many other places too.  They are such a nice pick-me-up boost of color.

Lots of rice fields in this area.

We stop in Walnut Ridge to see a silhouette memorial of the Beatles, who visited here in 1964. 

They had a one day break in their US tour and wanted to go somewhere they wouldn’t be mobbed.  The man who arranged the tour had a dude ranch near here, so they flew into Walnut Ridge.  It was one of the few airports in the area that could handle a jet because it is a former military airport.

There is a nearby shop called “Imagine” after John Lennon’s song and it looked interesting to me, so we popped in. 

The owner, Carrie Mae Snapp, was there and it didn’t take long before she began the story of those few days.  She was a fantastic, animated story teller! 

She was 14 at the time and she spent at least ½ hour telling how she and some friends broke into their plane (well, she couldn’t fit in the narrow emergency door opening, so had to watch through a window.)  Her friend sat in every seat on the plane so she could say she sat where the Beatles sat.  She stole a pillow for Carrie (which her Dad made her turn in to the sheriff the next day, saying the Beatles had put her on a path to a life of crime).  She is sure someone at the sheriff’s office kept this piece of memorabilia and resents the heck out of it.

Anyway, she was fabulous and did get to touch George Harrison’s elbow as the foursome returned to the jet on a Sunday morning. Not exactly a mob, but about 20 people learned of their presence and showed up.  She had photos (blown up) that her Dad had taken on a little Brownie camera too.  Too many hilarious notes – like how she wore her Easter dress that day in case Paul McCartney saw a chubby 14-year old in a pretty dress and fell in love. Or how she and her friends were wafting “Beatle Air”, thrilled to be sharing anything with the fab four.  I told her she should record her story, which also involved other family members: her mother pouring coffee at a café for the pilot of the plane and trying to milk information from him,  her dad admitting that the Beatles might not be Methodists and allowing the family to miss  Church that Sunday morning, and a cousin who was offered a swig of whiskey by the Beatles on the tarmac (he said he put it to his mouth, but didn’t drink any – followed by a comment about Bill Clinton not inhaling.)  “We Arkansanians are pretty conservative, but we like to have a good time with friends. “

From “Imagine”, we went over a street to a memorial to the Rock ‘n’ Roll Highway 67, which was a popular route for traveling musicians and saw the likes of Elvis, Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis, and more.

Got gas and wine in the next large town east, Paragould, then continued to the Missouri state line.  The rice fields are gone, replaced by lots of sorghum and corn fields as we pass into Illinois about two hours later. We called the Shawnee National Forest station and got directions to a nice campground called Oak Point at Glendale Lake.  The campground and beach were run by concessionaire and campsites were spacious.  There was a fee to use the beach, which was closing as we arrived. 

Temperatures cooled and it was delightful to be outside among the tall trees.  Millions of trees this trip and surprisingly a majority are hardwood, though there are some pines.  Celebrated with a small campfire as the almost-full moon rose and once again the lightning bugs put on a show. 

Experimented with some fire and moon pictures.  None of the National Forest campgrounds have had cell service, but we manage quite well nonetheless.

Moon edged by leaves

Nice showers – everything is very well maintained.  We enjoyed our rotisserie chicken, carrots and a Reese’s Cup for dessert.  What a diet! Lovely quiet night.