Fort Smith, Arkansas: Stop #7 on my trip
I spent quite a bit of time that day in
Hot Springs, and I knew if I were to try to get everything I had planned to do, I had to get going!! So I raced my HHR westward along US 270, to US 71 and within a couple of hours, I made it to Fort Smith just in time for a little rush hour extravaganza!! But along the way, I had to appreciate the scenic beauty of the Ouachita Mountains. This a little bit crazy, but looking at the pine forests, it almost gave me a kind of a western feeling. Certainly not the rocky mountains of course, but just somewhere along the way!! Well, why don't you join me??
Fort Smith lies along the Arkansas River right at the Oklahoma state line. At around 83,000, it is the second largest city in Arkansas, and it's growing moderately. I have to apologize in advance. I had about an hour to get this done so you won't find any neighborhood shots!! But I think you will like it. Being rush hour, the main street through town was extremely busy, almost as bad as Springfield, MO.
Gas guzzler or not, I like the Chevy SSR!! End of story!!
Nothing extraordinarily tall in Fort Smith, this is the tallest downtown!!
UHHHHHH......At least it's being used!! Give it that much!!
Right after I took the above picture, I walked across the street to take the picture below. And it finally happened!! I happened to be on government property and was confronted by a security guard as I was walking off!! Fortunately he turned out to be friendly, and as I told him who I was, where I was from, (I had a KC Royals shirt on), and the reason I was taking pictures, and of course the website I was representing, he actually gave me a few suggestions on some areas where I could shoot. He turned out to be a pretty nice guy. He was kind of suprised that someone cared enough to give his city some "national exposure" (if you want to call it that!!), I just enjoy doing it!!
A small cluster
Believe it or not, it had a streetcar!! However, the ride was only a couple of blocks long, and it was primarily just a tourist perk. This was the original streetcar.
Simething hiding down there!! The bridge on the right takes you across the Arkansas River into Oklahoma.
Looking back towards downtown
There goes our buddies in the trolle.....wait a second!! Where's the cables?? It doesn't have wheels like that!! No tracks?? AAAUUUURRRGGGHH!!! It's a phoney!! I hate phonies!!!!
A couple of black & whites if anybody cares!!
Well, I was back to my car, and I had to get going. Rush hour was still quite a bit heavy and I didn't have a moment to lose!! I still had more places to shoot and most of the day was already spent. But it wasn't over yet......... Stay tuned!!
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Fort Smith is a nice little town, but it's been overshadowed heavily by Fayetteville b/c of UofA and all the corporations up there (Wal-Mart and Tyson just to name a few). It's definitely not booming like anything to the north, but good to see the town is making progress.
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