While in Little Rock, Arkansas we did a lot of exploring, and enjoyed checking out the Arkansas River. One of the cool things we saw was the Junction Bridge near the Clinton Presidential Library. Originally built as a railroad bridge in 1884, Junction Bridge was then rebuilt in the 1970’s and was eventually converted into a pedestrian bridge in 2008. It is a life-span bridge crossing the Arkansas River and ties together the towns of Little Rock and North Little Rock.
This $5.8 million rehab project resulted in the 360-foot lift span being permanently fixed at thirty-eight feet above the river, with access provided by stairs or a glass-enclosed elevator. About eighty percent of the project was supplied by federal funds, with Little Rock, North Little Rock, and Pulaski County providing the remainder, as well as ongoing maintenance funding. The Junction Bridge was dedicated for its new use on May 17, 2008, and serves as an important link in the Arkansas River Trail system.
Today Junction Bridge is part of the Arkansas River Trail, and connects the popular River Market with the Argenta Historic District, ALLTEL Arena, and Dickey-Stephens Park. The bridge also completes a loop on the Arkansas River Trail formed by trails on the north and south sides of the river and the pedestrian-friendly Big Dam Bridge located seven miles to the west.
Since it’s completion in 2008, Junction Bridge has won a couple of awards! The Pedestrian Conversion Project was awarded the 08 Best Transportation Project and was also awarded the 08 Merit for Public Design.
One of the best parts of visiting the Junction Bridge is the fact that is part of Riverfront Park. This is such a cool park and definitely worth visiting. There are great views of the bridge and lots of places to take photos, including the silly one above.
Besides the great view of the bridge, you will also find that the history pavilion of the park takes you on a trip back in time. It is also home to an Indian Head statue which was carved by Peter Toth in 1975. This statue was one of approximately sixty Native American likenesses that he carved in all 50 states. The statue represents a tribute to Native Americans.
Riverfront Park is also home to more than 100 works of art across its 30+ acre campus. The highest density is found in the Vogel Schwartz Sculpture Garden. Sadly we didn’t have much time to check out the art sculptures, but did have a wonderful time walking around, reading some plaques, and watching the kids run around. Even our doggie seemed to have fun being out in the open air.
I-30 exit 141A, immediately south of river. Bear right, following signs for 2nd St. After two blocks turn right onto Rock St., then drive two blocks to Ottenheimer Plaza and Riverfront Park. You’ll see the bridge and parking to the left.
From the south
I-30 exit 141A. Follow signs for Clinton Ave. The ramp merges onto 2nd St., which quickly dead-ends. Turn left, then left again onto Clinton Ave. Drive 4 blocks. Turn right onto Rock St., then drive two blocks to Ottenheimer Plaza and Riverfront Park. Bridge and parking on left.
Early March of 2022 when took a 4-day weekend trip to check out the small town of Wichita, Kansas. One of the things high on my list I wanted to see was the Keeper of the Plains. It stands at the confluence of the Arkansas and Little Arkansas rivers and is located adjacent to the Mid-America All-Indian Center. This 44-foot Cor-Ten steel sculpture by Kiowa-Comanche artist Blackbear Bosin was erected on May 18, 1974, to celebrate the United States Bi-centennial and has kept a watchful eye on the city ever since. Around the statue are multiple displays which describe the life, belief, and practices of the local Plains Indians tribe(s) that used to inhabit the area, as well as several fire pits which are sometimes lit to illuminate the statue at night. Below are some of the writing on the displays sharing their stories. Here is also a link to their website with more information if you want to visit yourself while in the area. Continue reading “Plains Indians and the Keeper of the Plains – Wichita, KS”
Niagara Falls New York was the highlight of my birthday trip to Buffalo in October of 2021. To say they were breathtaking would be an understatement. They were phenomenal and we were lucky enough to see them from both the US side and the Canadian side. I absolutely love waterfalls and with all our traveling, I still can’t believe we hadn’t been to see these iconic falls before. So glad we finally made it to Niagara Falls New York for the first time!!
I love all the crime scene dramas set in New York City such as Castle, Law and Order, Blue Bloods, Elementary, and Person of Interest. When I started this post several years ago (and sadly forgot about it) I was going through summer hiatus withdrawals and was watching re-runs of Blue Bloods. I am always fascinated with the various New York Bridges during these opening credits and started wondering which bridges they were. Thus, I decided to do some research and find out which bridges we want to see while on our first trip to New York City. I was amazed at how many bridges there actually were in the Manhattan area. There are quite many but I decided to stick with the main eight that cross the East River. With that said, here are the East River Bridges that I found the most captivating and that I wanted to see when we visited the city. They are in no particular order. Continue reading “East River Bridges – Eight Manhattan Bridges That Span The East River”
As those of you who have followed my blog for a while, you probably know I really loved bridges. Not sure exactly why I do, but I do, lol. Today I want to share some information and pictures about the beautiful Mackinaw Bridge. We were able to travel across it while in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan for our anniversary in May of this year. I had heard of this bridge for many years, and couldn’t wait to see it in person. It didn’t disappoint J It is/was beautiful. Before I tell you a little bit about our visit, let me give you some history about the bridge itself.
In June of 2019 we were heading to Omaha for a few days before I continue on to Des Moines, IA for the LWMS convention. We have been through Omaha once before, but never explored the area. We did go to watch an Angels vs Royals AAA affiliate teams play a game at Rosenblatt Stadium before it was torn down to make more room for the zoo. Other than that, it is a new city to us. Thus I decided to do some research and find some fun things to do while we are in the area. While a few charge a small fee, many of them are free. I look forward to our trip and creating posts about our adventures. Continue reading “Omaha, Nebraska – My Top 7 Things on Our to-do List”
We had the most amazing time during our visit to New Orleans in December of 2017. On our first afternoon in the city, we took a trolley down to check out the RiverWalk. While it wasn’t on my post titled 8 Free Things To Do in New Orleans, Louisiana, it is definitely something I am glad we didn’t miss. Not only can you see the beautiful Mississippi River, the amazing Crescent City Connection Bridge (formerly known as the Greater New Orleans Bridge), the Paddlewheeler Creole Queen Ship, as well as the Outlet Collection at Riverwalk Mall. We walked around the mall a little bit, but I was more interested in checking out the River Walk, the river, the ship, and the bridge. There is also a hotel connected to the RiverWalk Outlet Collection called the Hilton New Orleans Riverside. It turned out to be a great place to get a few pictures of us and the bridge. Continue reading “The RiverWalk and Outlet Collection – New Orleans, Louisiana”
December of 2018 Gene and I we were lucky enough to spend a week in New York. It was magical and I loved seeing the city all decked out for Christmas. The sights and sounds were amazing. It is something you can really describe. You just have to experience it yourself if you haven’t. Anyway, since it was our second trip to New York and decided to explore a little and headed out to take some pictures of the Manhattan Bridge and Brooklyn Bridge. I love bridges and this was a highlight on my list that we didn’t get much of a chance to do the last time we were in NYC. So we some searching and found that the best place to see both of these was at a place called Brooklyn Bridge Park in the DUMBO neighborhood. Recently I shared a post with some pictures and history of the Manhattan Bridge. Today I am going to do the same for the more famous Brooklyn Bridge. They are both beautiful and unique in their own way. Continue reading “The Brooklyn Bridge – Brooklyn Bridge Park, New York”
While we were in Montana visiting my niece in September of 2019 we were able to visit the Great Falls. It was one of the things I had looked forward to seeing while on our visit (besides my niece of course, lol). They are absolutely breathtaking in many ways. What I didn’t know was that there were several of them. There are actually a series of five falls along a 10-mile segment of Missouri River in Great Falls, Montana. BTW, the pictures on this post don’t necessarily correspond with the falls I may be talking about. They are random since we couldn’t get pictures of them all (more on that later).