Here’s a great article by Lynn Atkins in the Rogers Morning News about her experience on Fayetteville’s multi-use trails. (link). 

My family took a 3.5 hour bike ride on the trail that same day, and we had a wonderful time!  We started on the Scull Creek Trail at North Street, hopped on the Mud Creek Trail at Steele Blvd., veered off at Red Robin for lunch, and returned to North Street. 

Once the temperatures rise again, hit the trails with your kids.  You’ll love it!  Be sure to pack snacks and plenty of water.  If your kids are like mine, there will be many stops to play in the creek along the way.

Here’s a link to the City of Fayetteville website detailing the trail system. (link).

I found a really cool website called Pumpkin Patches and More that lists pick-your-own pumpkin patches and corn mazes throughout the US. 

Here’s the Arkansas page.  One patch is listed for Benton County, and two are listed for Washington County.  Don’t go without calling first to be sure the patch is still open!

I took my boys to the Springdale Aquatic Center for the first time on Wednesday, and I was shocked.  The place is amazing — a competitive sized swimming and diving pool and a play pool with two long, twisty, curvy slides and plenty of fountains and playthings for the younger kids.  It has several zero entry areas and a large covered play pool with fountains for children under 4 years old.

Kids of any age will absolutely love the place.

• Location:  on the corner of Pleasant and Watson Street in Springdale, next to the Springdale Public Library 
• Hours:  Monday thru Saturday from 12–6:45 p.m., Sunday from 1— 6:45 p.m.
• Cost:  $4.00 per person, under 5yrs old - $2.00

Learn from my mistake:  Bring cash or check.  No credit cards accepted!

Here’s a link to the Springdale Aquatic Center’s website.

On Monday, my mother-in-law took us to the War Eagle Mill  – a local working water powered grist mill.  My boys had quite an adventure:  they watched the working mill, purchased a boomerang in the gift shop, then waded and skipped rocks in the river beside the mill. 

The drive to the War Eagle Mill is scenic, but not too long.  Once you get to the mill, the kids can walk along the wooden bridge, feed the ducks, and browse for trinkets at the mill’s store.

The Bean Palace Restaurant on the third floor features the Mill’s whole grains for breakfast and lunch.

If you go, be sure to purchase some of the locally ground organic flour and baking mixes. 

The mill is open 7 days a week (except in January and February).  Here’s a Map to the War Eagle Mill.  Here’s a link to the War Eagle Mill’s website.

The Experimental Aircraft Associationis offering free first flights for young people ages 8-16 at Drake Field in Fayetteville on Saturday, June 21, 2008.  Each child must be accompanied by a parent.

The children will fly with pilots that are certificated through the Federal Aviation Agency in the pilot’s own plane.  Children will usually be able to handle the flight controls and actually fly the airplane. It is a fairly short flight of about 20 minutes over Fayetteville.

Registration starts at 8:00am.  The children will participate in a short class of about 30 minutes to explain what is going to happen, then the flights will begin.  The children will receive a certificate after the flight.

For more information call:
Warren Jones  841-3791 or reply to :warren.jones1@cox.net

These flights are part of the Association’s Young Eagles Flight Orientation Program.

Spending time on a farm picking fruits or vegetables is a great outdoor family activity.  But sometimes it can be difficult to find out about farms that allow you to pick your own produce.  Not anymore.  PickYourOwn.org lists pick-your-own farms and orchards by state and county.  Here is the page listing pick-your-own farms in Arkansas.  Scroll down to find a farm near you.  Be sure to read the picking tips page and call ahead before you go. 

If any of you have been to any of the listed farms, or know of others in the area, please let me know in the comments or email me directly at terri@lifepluskids.com.

Bring your preschooler to the Botanical Gardens of the Ozarks for a short nature-based activity each Wednesday morning at 10am, weather permitting. 

Activities include a story, a game, or a take-home craft.

Little Sprouts is free with garden admission/free to Botanical Gardens of the Ozarks members. For more information, click on this link to go to the Botanical Gardens webpage.

This is the perfect time to enjoy the fall color of the Ozarks.  Did you know that there are two arboreta (I just learned that word — it is the plural of arboretum, a collection of specimen of trees) on the University of Arkansas campus?  The first is on the Old Main Lawn and the second is below the Poultry Science Building.  The arboreta include 140 specimen of trees.

I think a great family activity would be to start a leaf collection or journal identifying trees.  Who knows, maybe you have a future botanist in your family.  Start with the arboretum mapping project website to plan your route.  If you zoom in on individual trees, each one is labeled.  The book, Trees of Arkansas, published by the Arkansas Forestry Commission, would be a great resource as well.

If you have a GPS device, you might want to include some geocaching on your adventure.  Several caches are hidden around the University of Arkansas campus.  Here’s a list of the caches hidden in the 72701 zip code.  Not familiar with geocaching?  It is a 21st century worldwide scavenger hunt.  If you want to learn more, go to the “getting started” section of the official geocaching website.

Walking (or biking) on the University of Arkansas campus and Dickson Street is one of our favorite family activities.  My family is also into political history.  So, we created this walking tour to combine the two.  I hope you like it!  If anyone has additions or suggestions for this post, use the comments or email me directly.

View Larger Map

REMEMBRANCES OF SENATOR WILLIAM J. FULBRIGHT

Park near the east edge of the University of Arkansas campus.  (There is an inexpensive parking lot on the Southeast corner of Lafayette and Gregg Streets).

Old Main

Walk west on Lafayette Street, crossing Arkansas Avenue, up the steps onto the lawn of Old Main.  At the top of the steps you will find a historical marker briefly describing Senator Fulbright’s life.

• Senator Fulbright spent his childhood in Fayetteville (mostly in a home on Mt. Nord) where his mother, Roberta, was the editor of the Northwest Arkansas Times.  Fulbright played quarterback on the football team while he was a student at the University of Arkansas.  Less than two decades later, he served as the University’s President.

Let the kids run around on the lawn of Old Main (which is the University’s arboretum).  If the weather is nice, you will likely see college students and others walking dogs, and playing frisbee or touch football on the lawn.  On the sidewalk directly in front of Old Main, notice the names etched into the walkway of the University’s earliest graduating classes.

Fulbright Statute and Peace Fountain

Walk either around or through Old Main to the building’s “back” or west side.  There you will see a statute of Senator Fulbright.

• A few years after being elected to the US Senate in 1944, Fulbright co-sponsored a resolution censuring Wisconsin’s Senator Joe McCarthy (of Hollywood “black list” and anti-Communist hysteria infamy) — a gutsy move at the time.

To the west of the Fulbright Statute is the Fay Jones-designed Fulbright Peace Fountain.

• Senator Fulbright chaired the Senate Foreign Relations Committee — which represented the center of national debate over foreign policy and particularly the Vietnam War in the late 60’s and early 70’s. 
• Of course, Fulbright sponsored the bill that created the Fulbright Program for International Exchange, which has benefited hundreds of thousands of scholars from the US and more than 50 other countries.

Walk to Dickson Street for lunch or a snack.  You have several options, including Smiling Jack’s Sandwich Shop (just behind the Dickson Street Bookshop), the Flying Burrito or Haagen-daz ice cream. 

Fulbright Grave site

Return to the intersection of Dickson Street and University Avenue.  Head south on University Avenue, a half-block to the historic Evergreen Cemetery.  Turn right on the small alley called Whiteside Drive.  The cemetery (which will be on your left) has two entrances on the north side.  Use the second entrance. 

After you walk through the gates, immediately turn right (West) and pass through the grave sites. 

• You will get a sense of this cemetery’s historical significance as you pass markers of a few of Fayetteville’s famous names like Lemke, Campbell, and McIlroy. 

Walking about 40 yards west, you will arrive at the Fulbright family site, and see the stone marking the life of Senator Fulbright who died in 1995 at the age of 90.

If you are interested in learning more about Fulbright, purchase University of Arkansas Professor Randall Woods’ definitive work on the Senator — Fulbright: A Biography.  The first chapters of the book, in particular, provide a good flavor of Fayetteville and Northwest Arkansas in the first half of the 20th century.  You could also borrow from the library or purchase Senator Fulbright’s own book, The Arrogance of Power, which addresses issues of foreign wars and international diplomacy.

Finally, you might decide later to ask for an introduction with the University of Arkansas’ Woods, the Fulbright biographer, or Hoyt Purvis, a long-time aide to the Senator.  Both of these men teach at the University and are a wealth of knowledge in many historical and political subjects, including Senator Fulbright.

Hopefully, this short tour will show you that Bill Clinton was not Arkansas’ first contribution to national politics — but he did get his first job on Capitol Hill from Senator Fulbright in 1966.  Of course, that’s an entirely different story . . .

I found a really cool website called Pumpkin Patches and More that lists pick-your-own pumpkin patches and corn mazes throughout the US. 

Here’s the Arkansas page.  No patches are listed for Benton County, but two are listed for Washington County.  Don’t go without calling first to be sure the patch is open!

Looking for an easy dinner and some outdoor fun?  Attend the grand openings for Fayetteville’s newest parks:

• The grand opening of Salem Park in Fayetteville is scheduled for October 8^th  2007 at 5:30.  Hot dogs will be served.
• The grand pening of Harmony Pointe Park is scheduled for October 18^th at 5:30.  Hamburgers will be served.

Here’s a pdf map detailing the locations of the parks.  Download MapsParks.pdf

The Fayetteville Parks and Recreation Department is hosting a ribbon cutting for the recent 1.2 mile extension of the Lake Fayetteville Trail on Wednesday, September 5, 2007 at 6pm. 

Bring your bikes (or check one out on site) and experience the trail.  Water and hot dogs will be served. 

Here’s a post from John Nelson about some of the great local parks in the area.  John and his wife, Allison maintain the Nelson Family Blog about life in Northwest Arkansas with their kids, Emma and Brooklyn, and Belle the dog.

From John:

If you’re like me, you hate to mow the grass. Especially when it’s 100 degrees outside. There are many weekends during the summer I conveniently forget to mow the yard. The down side to this is that the kids now get lost in the back yard. Thank goodness for taxes put to good use! If you’ve forgotten to mow your yard, take your kids to a public park! My family and I frequent the public parks in southern NWA (Springdale / Fayetteville). Here are some recommendations:

Fayetteville

• All Parks Listing: Use this site to access all public parks in Fayetteville.
• Gulley Park: by far the most popular park in Fayetteville. They offer 2 great playgrounds for kids and wide open spaces for those really hyper kids that need to burn off a lot of energy. Also, for older kids or parent date nights, they offer the Summer Concert series.
• Wilson Park: nestled near the historical district in Fayetteville, this park offers 3-4 playgrounds, tennis courts, sand volleyball, and a walking trail. The playgrounds are really great, and kids of all ages will enjoy the “Castle” area.

Johnson

• Ok, so Johnson only has 1 park. But it’s really a fantastic park. It’s my personal favorite, too. It’s fenced in, has great playground equipment, and even has a swing set designed especially for the handicapped.

Springdale / Tontitown

• All Parks Listing
• Murphy Park: this place is HUGE! It has several different playgrounds including a big pond with ducks, the Springdale public library, and the Aquatic Center . All of these offer tons of great time to spend with your kids outdoors. Especially the Aquatic Center…it’s a blast!
• Randall Tyson Park: 70 acres of a good time! This is the soccer/baseball mecca of Northwest Arkansas. The park offers multiple playgrounds and lots of shade. If you have dogs or kids that need to burn some serious energy just running around, go into a baseball field and let them run! It works great…I’ve done it.
• Some park in Tontitown: I have no idea what the park’s name is, but it’s across from the Grape Festival location on the south side of 412. The park is a mixture of old-school playground equipment and new-fangled equipment. Lots of shade and lots of pavilions to have parties.

So next time you or your spouse can’t bear to mow the yard and the kids need to burn some of that endless energy, step out and enjoy one of the many parks NWA has to offer!

Alannah sent me this cool link to a website with information on Arkansas swimming holes.  The site includes details on several places near West Fork and Eureka Springs you would likely never find without directions.  Look for the Walden’s Pond icon attached to family-friendly places.

Becca Martin at Down Dickson includes hours, rates, and contact information for several local public pools in her post about What to Do on Monday, July 22.

The Experimental Aircraft Association is offering free first flights for young people ages 8-17 at Drake Field in Fayetteville on Saturday, June 16, 2007.  The flights begin at 7:30am and will continue until noon.  A short ground school is included.  Parents or guardians must be present for the flight.

These flights are part of the Association’s Young Eagles Flight Orientation Program, which has resulted in nearly 1.3 million Young Eagle flights nationwide, including 1,200 in Northwest Arkansas.

Contact:  Dave Bowman 479-409-6920, theaviationguy@cox.net for more information.

We purchased a new bike on Saturday at the Fayetteville Bicycle Company for our oldest, and our youngest began to ride for the first time without training wheels, so this was a big biking weekend for our family. 

On Sunday, we rode the Mud Creek Trail in Fayetteville and had a great time.  You can park at the trail head on Old Missouri Road, near Joyce Blvd. and ride all the way to Steele Blvd.  We detoured from the trail to the Red Robin restaurant (on the sidewalks) and then back to the trail, and our car after dinner.  The weather was perfect, and we all enjoyed the ride. 

The trail has just enough compacted gravel and dirt spots to make your kids think they are off-roading.  And best of all for me — no hills!

Here’s a map of the Mud Creek Trail.  Or, check out Fayetteville’s other trails on the city’s new website.

I received several excellent responses to the reader question about things for her grandkids to do this summer while spending time at her cabin on Beaver Lake:

Rebecca says:

We’re big on board games in our family. We started when the kids were little, and they still play now that they’re big. Parlor games are also fun, and most kids nowadays have never played them before. Charades, 20 Questions, Dumb Crambo… Cards, jacks, dominoes — again, the video game generation often has never even played them. Older folks often think these things are old hat, but to the kids, they’re brand new.

Corinna adds:

Maybe buying him a skateboard or inline skates so he can learn a new skill and work on perfecting it while on vacation (if he doesn’t know how already).

Susan suggests:

My granddaughter and I have enjoyed making stepping stones for my garden.  Take a disposable pie pan or other foil pan, follow instructions on Kwikcrete sack and fill pan with concrete.  Before it dries, press handprints, marbles, rocks, shells or other items you have had fun gathering together (permanent ones; not leaves) and allow to dry.

Actually, leaves can be pressed into wet concrete and when it dries the leaves can be scraped away, leaving a fossil-like print.

Be sure to put initials and date on this wonderful keepsake.

One more thing….don’t forget to wear rubber gloves.  Concrete was not made for hands!

Ginger recommends:

Something my 3 kids always love is building a fire pit and
hanging out around the "bondfire", cooking hotdogs on a stick,
smores, marshmallows.  And just throwing small sticks into it.  Also,
sparklers around the firepit are fun as well.  Of course, parental
supervision is a must, but we always sit around there, eating,
talking, and laughing…..

These all make me ready for summertime.  Any other suggestions?  Comment to this post or email me directly at allsidesoflife@gmail.com

Spending time on a farm picking fruits or vegetables is a great outdoor family activity.  But sometimes it can be difficult to find out about farms that allow you to pick your own produce.  Not anymore.  PickYourOwn.org lists pick-your-own farms and orchards by state and county.  Here is the page listing pick-your-own farms in Arkansas.  Scroll down to find a farm near you.  Be sure to read the picking tips page and call ahead before you go. 

If any of you have been to any of the listed farms, or know of others in the area, please let me know in the comments or email me directly at allsidesoflife@gmail.com.

Does anyone in your family love trains?  The Arkansas & Missouri Railroad provides a passenger service with excursions in refurbished passenger or parlor cars.  The Spring schedule resumes on Friday, April 6, 2007 and the excursion trains run on Fridays and Saturdays.  Here are the timetable and schedule.  You board the train in Springdale and travel to Van Buren.  After a 3 hour stay to eat and shop in Van Buren, the train returns to Springdale.  If that trip is too long for your little ones, don’t worry.  The railroad offers several shorter special excursions throughout the year.

Kids love the Wild Wilderness Drive Through Safari in Gentry.  Where else can they see these animals just outside the car window?  Bring a picnic lunch and enjoy the 3 mile drive through safari and petting zoo. 

Northwest Arkansas is also home to the Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge and Foundation, a USDA licensed shelter for abandoned, abused and neglected ‘Big Cats’ with an emphasis on Tigers, Lions, Leopards and Cougars.  For a truly unique experience, spend the night in a Tree House in the middle of the refuge.