Arkansas Day 2: Chapels, the Ozarks, and Hippie Towns

September 4, 2026. From Bentonville to Eureka S;prings to Bella Vista and More–Arkansas in all its Glory (and Heat!)

After a simple breakfast of oatmeal and fruit, we headed out of Bentonville to Eureka Springs to check out the Thorncrown Chapel, designed by E. Fay Jones, former Dean of the Architecture School at University of Arkansas. It was built in 1980 and is as pristene and elegant as it mush have been at its opening.Jones had apprenticed with Frank Lloyd Wright, so there are a lot of elements that are familiar. After parking, we headed up the path toward the church and first stopped at what we thought was either the minister’s house or the church office. Apparently it was once the office but now it is a dressing room for the wedding party.

We followed the path and a few minutes later Thorncrown Chapel was peeking out from the trees. From what information we gleaned from a guy who was handing out brochures once we entered the chapel, it was commissioned by a former school teacher who hoped to see a non-denominational pilgrimage/meditation chapel set in the woods. It was inspired by Saint Chapelle in Paris which is known for having breathtaking 50-foot tall stained glass windows. At Thorncrown, its towering clear glass walls that bring the outside landscape in. The retired teacher supposedly moved to California some years later.

The chapel is extremely vertical and has no real adornment except for the views of the forest.It’s constructed of materials indigenous to the region–southern pine and flagstone. From the outside, and also once inside, you feel like it’s an open-air structure.. but it’s actually a fully air conditioned, enclosed space that seats about 100 people. While it was intended to be a meditation center, to raise funds for upkeep, many weddings are held in the chapel each year. There is also a worship center down the road where they do hold services.

As we heraded back to the car, we decided to veer off to a path that led to the “worship chapel.” It was closed so we only saw the exteriior, which was also quite lovely and perched among tall trees.

We then headed to the twon of Eureka Springs (population:2,100) where we thought we could find lunch and were also in search of “soft-serve.” Actually that was more Carol and Adrienne than me. Bt they were very fixated on it and it did seem like a delight in the 97 degree heat. Anyway, we strolled the historic “downtown” Eureka Springs.. which clearly has attracted a bit of a hippie culture. Lots of stores that sell crystals and very easy to find a tattoo parlor. There was some kind of folk festival in the park so you could hear (pretty good ) singing coming from a bandstand–including renditions of Dolly Parton tunes. The town looks like nothing has changes since it was founded in the 19th Century and is home to lots of Victorians.nIt’s very mountainous so buildings are built on rock and are several stories above street level and are often multi story with entrances on each level.

We stumbled on a balcony restaurant inside the Basin Park Hotel (one of those Victorian buildings with entried on every one of the six floors). It was mostly a bar, but we managed to order one quesadilla (big enough to serve all three of us, and an order of “chicken tenders” with honey mustard and a huge amount of fires. We overheard the people in the restaurant talking about a view from the 7th floor so we decided to take the elevator and take a look. But the top floor was 6 not 7.. but we were game. The elevator opened up to a large unobstructed spac that is apparently used for weddings and big dinners. The guy who manages the plac was very friendly and upon hearing we were not from Arkansas (didn’t take more than a few words to figure that one out) so he gave us some background about the hotel and the town which is listed in its totality in the National Register of Historic Places. Here are a few things we found out and saw:

• It is one of those buildings that has street level entrances on every one of its 7 floors (the lowest floor being below the lobby floor…hence the top elevator floor being #6). And the fire stairs are listed in Guinness Book of World Records because each exit starts with a wooden ram and then leads to a flight and then another ramp from the next level and on and on. So the hotel has its front entrance on the floor below the first floor and a ground level emergency exit in the back of the building on the 5th floor.
• One of Elvis Presley’s cadillacs was housed on the top floor for many years, when the htoels top floor was a music museum. It was hoisted by a crane into the top floor in the 1970s.
• The ceiling lights are arranged in circles and squares for dancing purposes. When dancing circle dances, the lights that wrap the circle in the ceiling go on.. when doing square dancing the lights around the squares light up.

From there (after a disappointing realization that there aren’t any soft serve places in Eureka Springs) we headed back to Bentonville along a different route to enable us to see another one of Fay Jones’ chapels located in Bella Vista, Arkansas. We headed to Bella Vista where there is another chapel designed by Fay Jones (which people mentioned when we said we were going to see Thorncrown). Bella Vista was about an hours drive.. and then just about 10 minutes to get back to Bentonville. So we got to the Mildred B. Cooper Memorial Chapel at about 3:30. Again it was situated in a forested area off a winding path. Unfortunately we could only see the outside because there was a wedding rehearsal going on inside. But we could peek in.

The Cooper Chapel was built a few years after Thorncrown.It’s located on a wooded site near a lake. This chapel is made of steel and also 4,400 square feet of glass to again create a series of arches that go through the entire length of the building. It’s named after Mildred Borum Cooper who was an Arkansas native who was active in the Methodist organizations and in the Girl Scouts. It would have been nice to get inside… Apparently Fay Jones has done three of these kind of churches/chapels in this area of Arkansas, with the third (which we have not seen, in the town of Rogers.

Then we headed back to Bentonville where the town was buzzing with music and activities and some kind of First Friday event. At 7:00ish we drove about 7 miles to a wonderful little restaurant called Ryn, which grows much of the food they serve. We opted for the a la carte menu, although there was a fixed tasting menu. The a la carte menu had six options and we decided to just have them all–shared by the three of us.

We started with a wonderful cornbread with honey butter, while we had cocktails (Adrienne with a mocktail) alongside yummy tostadas of tuna crudo and assorted spices. That was followed by deep fried mushrooms (maitake, I think). And then we had tomato burrata salad.. with the freshest tomatoes right from the backyard farm. Then there was another dish, but I cannot remember what it was..And then there was a lovely sliced steak with shishito peppers. We topped it all off with a huckleberry crumble ice cream… The staff at Ryn was delightful, with everyone coming to the table at different moments during the dinner, including the chef. Again we asked where people were from and how they liked living in Bentonville… They are from many different places and everyone seems to like living here. They feel safe; they say the area is growing in a good way with good jobs. Much of the lower level jobs seems to be filled by Latinos and manhy places have bilingual signs including the hotel and the museum.

We lingered a bit after dinner and as we walked to the car we noticed that in a small barn that we passed, the restaurant had a little shop that sold fresh produce as well as various cooking utensils, cutting boards, homemade herbal teas, and more. It was totally honor system, You took what you wanted to purchase and went to a computer set up to record the item and entered your credit card. Total honor system. Everything out in the open.

Now we are back at the hotel; I’m finishing this in my room and going to pack. Tomorrow we’ll have brunch and maybe check out the farmers market which is practically in front of the hotel… and then we head to the airport to go to Chicago to the Obama Center.

By the way, gas is $3.80 in a regular (non-discount) station. !!

That’s it… another morning in Bentonville and we’re gone.By the way, Bentonville’s population is about 63,000 and home to the very first Walmart store, which was in a renovated variety store and called Walton’s 5&10. Bentonville is one of the fastest growing cities in the state.The county is part of the Trail of Tears route to what is now Oklahoma. And, as you would automatically guess… it’s a red county in a red state, with Republicans winning by about 30-40 points. Sarah Huckabee (Trump’s first press secretary in the Trump One era) is governor and running fior an almost guaranteed second term. Republicans hold 80 of 100 State House seats and Republicans hold 66 of the 75 judge seats in the county. At the very local level (like citry of Bentonville city council or school board) the influx of a more diverse population and tech/corporate folks might be able to swing Democrat, we’re told. There you have it… Trump’s America, I presume.. although we have not seen any MAGA hats and no visible Trump signs, like you see in many small rural towns.

Take care —

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