Tag Archives: Eureka Springs

The movie people are in town

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The crew for the movie Chrystal, starring Billy Bob Thornton, has been in town for a month or more.  My understanding is that the man himself is around, although I haven’t seen him.  I had drinks with some of the production crew the other night, though.  Their take on the small town life here is quite humorous.

When I got back to my truck yesterday after my ride, I found that the production crew had taken over the parking lot near the ball fields.  They had rented part of the park to shoot some scenes, and the parking lot was filled with all manner of trucks:  rolling bathrooms, catering trucks, lighting dollies, and who knows what else.  Those folks were busy!  I walked around the encampment once to see what was going on, but tried to stay out of the way.  They weren’t too happy when I pulled out my camera, either, so I refrained from snapping any pictures.  I guess I could have stuck around to watch the filming, but I figure movies are like laws and sausages.  I probably don’t want to see how they’re made.

Besides, I had some ticks to remove.

Mountain Biking at Lake Leatherwood

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Lake Leatherwood is a 1,600-acre municipal park a few miles east of Eureka Springs.  I learned about it yesterday when somebody drove by while I was cranking up the hill here in town and asked if I was looking for some trails.

The park has about 20 miles of hiking and mountain biking trails, well maintained but not excessively groomed.  That means that low-hanging branches and impassable barriers are cleared, but smallish rocks and tree trunks that provide moderate challenge to hikers or mountain bikers are left alone.

The park brochure separates the trails into “valley” and “ridge” trails, and gives the ridge trails a slightly more difficult rating.  The ridge trails, what I saw of them, had more hills, but were less technically difficult than the valley trails.  Both were enjoyable, though, and the park was very sparsely populated.  I ran across two other mountain bikers and two people hiking in the entire two hours I was out there.

The park brochure also warns of ticks and other biting insects and recommends that you use insect repellent in spring and summer.  Heed the warnings.  I brushed uncounted ticks off my body and clothing while I was on the trail, and later this afternoon had to remove a half dozen of the things while I was in the shower.

Climbing the tower

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This Canon PC-Cam is okay for most things, but it’s terrible for distance shots.  The tower you see to the left is an old Forest Service fire watch tower that now sits in the middle of Pine Mountain Village—a little strip mall development adjacent to the Pine Mountain Jamboree here in Eureka Springs.  From the top of this 100 foot tower (132 steps, by my count), you have a commanding view of the area, and even a good view of the Christ of the Ozarks statue I mentioned the other day.  I could see the statue clearly enough, but this silly camera didn’t do a very good job of picking it out.  It’s better than one of those throw-away vacation cameras, though.  I also tried to get some pictures through the telescope up here at the top of the tower.  Yes, you guessed it.  If you don’t get the camera perfectly aligned, all you get is a picture of the telescope’s insides.  In the dark.

Do you have any idea how much cell phone reception improves at the top of a 100 foot tower?

Passion Play / Christ of the Ozarks

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The Great Passion Play is a nightly drama show here that relates the story of Christ’s last days.  It’s the oldest show in Eureka Springs, dating back some 30 or more years.  I haven’t had a chance to see the show, but from all reports it’s quite good.

The Passion Play grounds also contains the New Holy Land—a re-creation of the Middle East from 2,000 years ago.  I wandered around a bit to get the gist of it.  It’s colorful, but I wonder a bit at the historical accuracy.

Finally, there’s the Christ of the Ozarks statue.  This statue, erected in 1966, is visible from many places in Eureka Springs.  It, too, sits on the Passion Play grounds, on a ridge overlooking the “old town” part of Eureka Springs.  The grounds around the statue are nicely manicured and well kept.  It’s a fine place to sit and meditate, although they could turn down the music a bit.  It’s soothing enough, but just a bit too loud.