Spring 2022 trip - Day 10, Monday May 2nd - Tulsa (OK) - Eureka Springs (AR) - no hikes

The weather was going to be trouble on this day.  With anything between showers and severe thunderstorms predicted for most of the day with supposedly a few hours gaps in between storms, we decided not to do a big hike.  I took the fastest route (and with an 80 MPH speed limit on US-412, it was VERY fast) from Tulsa over to Arkansas and we spent an hour or so going through the Walmart museum in downtown Bentonville.  





Then we continued East on what becomes a very curvy and hilly US-62 into Eureka Springs.  The Best Western Inn at the Ozarks let us check in very early which was nice.  The door to our room opens to a gorgeous deep ravine and it's very peaceful here on these off-season weekdays.  We did laundry again here in town and then, spotting what was supposed to be a couple hour window of no storms a little north of here, headed up to Roaring River state park in Missouri. It was only 30 minutes away and it seemed like the clouds were thinner and less threatening until we were literally putting our hiking boots on in the parking lot and thunder started rumbling followed a minute later by a moderate rain and more lightning that confirmed that this wasn't going to work.  So we drove back over the amazingly sharp crests and dips (Brian hates those types of roads) to get back to Eureka Springs.   It wasn't a particularly good day to this point.



 

We drove the historic loop through downtown and parked at Ermilio's Italian which is an Italian food place I had taken note of when we were planning this trip.  It wasn't raining when we parked so I stuck my head into Ermilio's and said we were going for a brief walk but would like to dine with them in 30 minutes.  Then we walked up and down some of the famous/notorious narrow and hilly streets here in Eureka Springs looking at the houses of all shapes and sizes but mainly just cherishing any chance to walk without getting soaked.  

Dinner, and in particular the wonderful servers at Ermilio's did a miracle job at giving the day a nice ending.  One of the people at the restaurant was from Cuba and had an infectious energy and joy.  Our server was from Brazil but spent time in Colorado before somehow ending up in this Ozark mountain hamlet.  It says a lot that they are able to fill their dining room (with people waiting) by 5 pm on a Monday in early May.  I had salmon with a Béarnaise sauce, delicate green beans and linguine.  Brian had Tri-Color tortellini and a light tomato sauce.  We shared a piece of Guiness chocolate cake with cream cheese frosting.  The food was all enjoyable but the magic was the people and the sense that we were making their day as much as they were making ours that made it a perfect dinner.

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