Eureka Springs

If you are ever looking for a great place to vacation in the Arkansas area, I recommend Eureka Springs.  It's in the northwest corner of the state and first became known for all the natural springs in the area.  It's a beautiful spot in the Ozarks with lots of amazing views!  However, driving on the twisting, roller coaster roads can be a bit nerve-wracking.
Our first day there, we visited Thorncrown Chapel.  This magnificent building has 425 windows and over 6000 square feet of glass.  It fits in perfectly with it's gorgeous setting.

 The setting is very wooded, with rocky sections.  It's a short walk, on a flagstone path and you see this:

 This is Thorncrown Chapel.

It was very peaceful there.  They do have services on Sunday and there are a lot of weddings done here.  When we were there, there were only a few other visitors.  There was one staff member sitting in the back.  There is no admission fee, but they do accept donations.
 
After leaving here we stopped at Quigleys Castle.  This is a home that was built in 1943.  Elise Quigley seems to have been quite an eccentric woman.  She collected rocks and wanted to have a home that invited the outdoors in, so she designed her home to do that.

 Here's the house.  What you see in the window isn't a reflection of the trees.  It's actual plants, growing inside.  There is about 2 feet of space that goes around the entire inside of the house.  This space in devoted to plants, and they have grown to the second story.

 She used the rocks she collected to make this, and many other things around her yard.

She also covered the whole outside of her house with stones, all herself, one a a time.

 The inside is left the way she had it.

 She collected other things, as well as rocks.  Here's part of her arrowhead collection.
She must have been an unusual woman, and I think her husband must have been quite tolerant!


After this, we spent some time in Eureka Springs.  This city is full of beautiful old houses. It's a very hilly area, so the city is built on many levels.  Walking around in town means you go up and down a lot of staircases.

 Looking into the historic part of the city.

 This is inside the trolley station.  We took a 90 minute guided trolley tour around the city which was very interesting.

This is a splendid old hotel.  I'll show you more photos of it, later in the week.

 One of the Springs the town is named for.

 Here's another one.  Each Spring is beautifully landscaped.

This was our last stop of the day.  This restaurant is owned by Harley Davidson and is known for its BBQ.
This was such a fun day, with lots of walking and so many beautiful things seen!