How to Celebrate a Birthday

Sunday, October 19, we awoke to the sounds of “Happy Birthday to You” – Don, his brother, Fred, and my sister, Dee, all celebrate a birthday of one type or another today!

To celebrate, Don made us a delicious omelet for breakfast. He even bought his own present, a black t-shirt, in Wal-Mart!

We got a late start heading west on I-40. We wanted to visit Ft. Smith National Historic Site in Ft. Smith AR. It was a very interesting spot and we learned so much about our nation’s history during the days of the frontier. The sad story starts with the US forcing Native American tribes to move west. This caused conflict among the tribes who already lived there and did not want foreigners to occupy their lands. A small wood fort was built at the confluence of the Arkansas and Poteau rivers at Belle-Point to try to establish peace among the tribes (not too successfully).  

Later another fort was built just to the east. It was larger and surrounded by a thick stone wall. The idea was to protect the settlers from the Indians (whose land officially was on the other side of the river). It was also a staging point for the military and explorers going west. It was a time of much lawlessness and Judge Isaac C. Parker was appointed to set up court and send out US Marshals (remember those old movies?) to round up the criminals and bring them back for trial. The gallows was there (public hangings were a time of festivity), and a “Hell-on-the-border” jail. I could go on, but you get the idea – all of our frontier history condensed into one location.

The coupe de gras for Don was our visit to the Ft. Smith Art Museum. The first floor showcased lovely paintings done by mostly local artists. The upper floor contained etchings by Whistler and other artists of his period. They were all wonderful and beautifully hung. We would highly recommend a visit if you are in the area.

We spent the night in Ft. Smith AR