"Nights of a Thousand Candles" at Brookgreen Gardens, SC

It was the end of a busy day, especially for our niece Sarah who seems to go nonstop 24/7, taking care of three children under the age of 5. But she treated us to a glorious evening out for Christmas, despite the challenges of getting out of her house without the oldest two kids. 

Curtains of light hang from the live oak trees

With baby Will in tow, we left Mount Pleasant at 7:30 and headed 1.5 hours north on Rt. 17 through Georgetown and Pawleys Island, and got to the Gardens at about 9:15. Luckily, they extended the hours to 10:30, half an hour after their usual closing time. It turned out that an hour was really just right to see the light display. Unlike some drive-thru' Christmas lights, this is a walk through the beautiful sculpture garden that is open year round, and decorated for the holidays.

Also unlike other displays, there are no representational lights. No Santa's, no elves, no snow flakes, no reindeer, no snow castles...nothing but abstract lighting effects highlighting the natural beauty and structure of the formal gardens and their delightful sculpture collection. It is a remarkably effective approach, and such a breath of fresh air during a stereotypical image filled season.

Reflecting pools under the lights

The gardens are divided by color and form themes. Our first experience was walking through their vast ancient live oak avenues, dripping waterfalls of white lights.

Lights like Spanish moss drip from the live oaks

 Then at the suggestion of one of the omnipresent volunteer guides, we visited the multi-colored Children's Garden (even though Will was fast asleep and too young to appreciate it anyway). But we loved it.

Rick strolls sleeping Will through the Children's Garden

The colorful Children's Garden

Just a few interesting facts. There are approximately one million lights (90% LED), and 4,500 candles in the display. Forty people light and blow out the candles every night. There are 5 miles of extension cords.

Our path led through more light-wrapped live oaks...

The lights accentuate the sculpture throughout the gardens

...and on to the red and white garden where an interesting use for wine bottles lighted the ground under the red trees.

Wine bottle lights under a tree

The red and white garden

Then on to the blue garden,

The blue garden

...the reflecting pools,

...and a grand light tent over an immense reflecting pool. You can't see them well in these photos but there are sculptures in all of these reflecting pools.

A tent made of lights covering a reflecting pool

One formal garden was completely lighted with Chinese lanterns so that it felt like a Hawaiian luau.

Chinese lanterns and luminaries

By this time is was after 10:00 and most of the people were heading out because they didn't know about the extended hours I guess. We had the place almost to ourselves...

...as we finished at the giant evergreen tree. It was very peaceful.

Sarah and Rick appreciating the Holiday Tree

Thank you Sarah for a beautiful night that sparked our imaginations and our appreciation for the beauty of the holiday.  It was so worth the journey through the dark silent night.

Wishing all our readers a love and peace filled holiday with friends and family.

Stepping South One Week at a Time: Hot Springs, Arkansas

Since August we've been "dancing" diagonally across the country from Montana toward our destination this winter at The Great Outdoors in Florida.  We don't really have a repeating annual pattern other than generally north in the summer and south in the winter.  Sometimes we take the short slide straight north or south, and other times we take the long crossing from corner to opposite corner. As we most often try to, we're taking it slow, driving a couple of hours, often stopping for a week at a time at locations along the way. Some are simply the right distance from the last stop, and may not be particularly exciting, while others are "hot spots" like Hot Springs, Arkansas. 

This is our second visit to Hot Springs. The first was on our RV honeymoon in the tiny rented Cruise America in '09-'10. We stopped for one night on our midwinter rush to get to California. The weather was cold, wet and dreary and Hot Springs looked old, grey, funky and forlorn, but our friends Lynn and Glenn love it, so we thought we'd give it a second chance.

Well guess what, Hot Springs was cold, wet, dreary and still looked old, grey, funky and forlorn. (Sorry Hot Springs, I just had to say it.) 

On the first night I went to the Maxwell McBlade Theater of Magic. Don't know what got into me, but I just wanted a change of routine. Like Hot Springs, it was funny, funky and a little forlorn. An appropriate experience for Halloween. In fact, I'd say that second to New Orleans, Hot Springs might be the most perfect location to spend Halloween. It's historical and mysterious, with a lot of old and/or abandoned buildings perfect for haunting fantasies.  In fact my favorite thing about that evening was wandering Central Ave, getting a glass of wine and an ice cream cone (not together) and looking at all the Halloween decorations in the funky downtown store windows. Spooky fun. 

Why am I wandering the streets alone, you ask? Well, this is football season and Rick's Patriots are doing great, so he's really into it. Me, not so much. That leaves me with plenty of time to explore and adventure on my own.  In addition to the magic show, I also indulged at the Quapaw Baths and Spa on historical Bath House Row in Hot Springs National Park. My indulgence included a private 20 minute steamy aromatherapy bath and a 50 minute massage. (Both were lovely, but there was an awkward and poorly timed 40 minute wait between them, sitting in a bathrobe in a lounge/waiting area. No explanation given. If you go, check the timing of your services.) I also did a little personal and Christmas shopping in the chain stores just south of town. And got a haircut. That was kind of fun. 

In all fairness, I know some of our impressions were due to the rainy weather, and we did have a couple of sunny days that perked up our opinion of the place, just a bit.  The sunnier perspective may have also been because on those two days we didn't go downtown to the historic bath house district, but spent them outdoors in the beautiful natural areas that surround Hot Springs. (There, does that make up for dissing it earlier?)

On our first sunny day we went to the University of Arkansas' Garven Woodland Garden, a first class, scrupulously maintained and developed garden on the shores of Lake Hamilton.  

View of Lake Hamilton from Woodland Loop

The garden was created by Verna Cook Garven who almost single-handedly designed and implemented this gorgeous place and then donated it to the University upon her passing.  It's a shaded garden, so it's a cooling break from the humid Arkansas heat that surprised us after the chilly rain we'd been having.  Despite the deep shade, there are colorful plantings and great ideas for gardeners similarly sun challenged.

Seasonal mum planting

Fall annual plantings

The Gardens are preparing for their holiday light display, which looks like it will be glorious. It starts around Thanksgiving. Wish we were going to be here for that.

Blue lights running down the streams and waterfalls 

Koi pond with matching light sculpture

Fairy Garden

Miniature train display

There are themed sections of the Gardens, including a Japanese garden and a children's garden. We crossed a few architecturally stunning bridges as well.

Full Moon Bridge

Floating Cloud Bridge

Here's one Honey wouldn't cross. Just too wide a gap to jump.  Yes! They allow leashed dogs, for a $5.00 admission fee, which was the first we've encountered. We thought it was reasonable.  

We had a great lunch at the Chipmunk Cafe. This is not your typical attraction food concession. This was really good food. I'd absolutely recommend eating there when you visit, and I'm not just saying this to fill space. (Try the Grilled Chicken Raspberry Chipotle Sandwich. You will not be sorry.)

This guy kept us company during lunch. 

The grand finale of the visit was the Anthony Chapel, designed by Arkansas architect Maurice Jennings.  It is reminiscent of Frank Lloyd Wright's style, but we thought even better.  

It is beautifully integrated with it's wooded surroundings. 

Constructed completely of wood and glass above the stone foundation, not only does it let the light and views of the trees in, it reflects the images of the trees in the glass...

...and reflects the shapes of the trunks and branches in its structures.

We thought it was architectural perfection, down to the last detail.

The Chapel is part of a five building complex that is popular for weddings. We could certainly understand why.

The Anthony Family Trust Carillon

While here in Hot Springs we are parked at Catherine's Landing, one of the RVC Outdoor Destinations.  RVC is not an ownership park, it's just a corporate chain of RV parks that are very nice. They have a modern feel to all the facilities, rather than the more traditional rustic feel we encounter at so many RV parks. We got a nice long, level, concrete, full hook-up pull-through down by the river.

Site 84 at Catherine's Landing

What I'm calling the river is actually part of Lake Catherine, created by damming the Ouachita River. The park is nicely situated on the river, with a marina and boats for rent, and is surrounded by many many acres of woods and fields with a very long trail winding through them for comfortable hiking and dog walking close to home. They've got a beautiful saline pool and a nice fenced dog park. (Oh, there's a good dog park in Hot Springs as well, just a couple of miles up the road from here.)

Lake Catherine

There's lots of wildlife in the area, including many deer who frequent the dog park. Yes, inside the fenced dog park. They just jump in and out at their pleasure.

Some of the local wildlife

On our other nice day here we kayaked Lake Catherine in a leisurely manner up toward the dam and back. 

View of our rig from the river

More local wildlife along the river

We're wrapping up our stay here tomorrow and moving on to Little Rock. We'll be at the Downtown Riverside RV Park for our next week.  If you're there, let us know!

Oklahoma City is Booming!

We are not city friendly folks, but after an overnight in Oklahoma City (OKC) we were impressed. Before we even knew the stats, we could tell it was thriving. So we looked it up while we were driving back to Grove. Here's what some of the numbers say:

OKC has grown 5% since the 2010 census according to a CNN Money article about the 10 fastest growing cities in the USA. According to Forbes, the unemployment rate was 3.1% in 2015.  The OKC Chamber of Commerce lists many accolades, including Entrepreneur's #1 for starting a new business. Its growth has traditionally been based in livestock and petroleum products, but new tech development has been recognized in the current and forecasted boom.

We loaded up Honey in the car and treated ourselves to a break from the RV so we could check out OKC.  We stayed at the La Quinta Inn, which always allows dogs without an additional charge and is usually a nice place. It was Honey's first visit to a hotel, and she was excited (of course she's always pretty excited), but she handled it well. We were able to leave her in the motel while we went out for dinner and to see the Capitol building the next day. But first we all went downtown to the Myriad Botanical Gardens, which has a dog park! It also allows pets throughout the gardens. Happy Honey!

She wasn't the only happy one. The temperature was delightful, the air was clean and crisp, and the garden was full of fun things to photograph. The landscaping was in Fall mode - end of season grasses, year round shrubs, evergreens and trees with a bit of Fall color. The park is very strong architecturally, with an emphasis on geometric forms rather than flowers, at least at this time of year.   

The primary focal point from almost every location is the Devon Energy Building. Everything else seems to play off that building. 

Down the center of the park is a ravine with a pond/river running through it. Pictured below is a foot bridge, many-leveled paths along the river and an amphitheater.

The river is fed and complemented by various other water features. Here Rick is taking a video  capturing the changing beauty of this wave pool.

The wave pool/waterfall is right next to a band shell...

...that was a lot of fun to photograph. Here it is in relation to the Devon Energy Building...

...and the sun.

A major feature of the park is the Crystal Bridge Tropical Conservatory...

...which houses, yes, tropical plants. We missed going in, as it closes at 5pm.

There is a restaurant, also closed when we were there.

We finished with another visit to the dog park. It's a small park with astro turf and gravel, but it has fresh drinking water for the dogs, bags, shade, and seating for the people. Honey got a little play time with another visiting dog, so she was all set for a quiet evening. 

Next day we left Honey in the hotel room again and went to the Oklahoma State Capitol.  It has an immediately noticeable unique feature: an oil well right in front. 

Also in front was this statue by Allan Houser, well known Native American sculptor, entitled "As Long as Water Flows." I guess the oil rig says "As Long as Oil Flows."  The economy in Oklahoma is certainly dependent on that flowing too.

The Capitol has what we now recognize as the traditional Capitol architectural plan modeled after the US Capitol: two major wings, and front and back entrance foyers with staircases, all extending away from a multi-storied central rotunda. 

Each state varies the design with unique murals, artwork, architectural detail, and color schemes that reflect the character of their state.  

There seemed to be less intrinsic symbolism in this building than the last four we've seen. There were however many references to Native American culture and history. 

There is a striking collection of portraits throughout the building, including this one of Sequoyah, an illiterate (couldn't read or write any language) Cherokee man who single handedly invented and then taught the Cherokee alphabet and written language. He was also committed to the unification of the Cherokee Nation. 

One of the newest works of art in the Capitol is "Beyond the Centinnial" by Carlos Tello (2010).  The Iron Man-like figure in the center represents every Oklahoman, holding the future of the state in his hands. We thought it was a little bizarre.

Through the circle of lights below you can see one of the most beloved works of art in the building,  "Flight of Spirit" by Mike Larsen (1991). In the foreground it depicts five Native American ballerinas, with other Native dancers and artists behind them. One of the ballerinas is Maria Tallchief, whom I idolized as a little girl. 

This replica of the 22' statue called The Guardian, that tops the Capitol Dome, stands at the top of the front grand staircase.

On the first floor there are several additional galleries that hold temporary displays; at this time they are wonderful contemporary collections. We thought the quality and selection of the art throughout the Capitol was remarkable and would recommend a visit to the building for any art lover. 

I'll close with this portrait of Woody Guthrie, one of my heroes. He was a singer/songwriter of the American people, from my parents' generation. I grew up singing his songs and didn't even know it.  I can't help but think how I learned of his worldview through music, a powerful medium, and how it influenced who I am and what I'm doing today.

This Land Is Your Land
Words and Music by Woody Guthrie

This land is your land, this land is my land
From California to the New York island;
From the red wood forest to the Gulf Stream waters
This land was made for you and me.

As I was walking that ribbon of highway,
I saw above me that endless skyway:
I saw below me that golden valley:
This land was made for you and me.

I've roamed and rambled and I followed my footsteps
To the sparkling sands of her diamond deserts;
And all around me a voice was sounding:
This land was made for you and me.

When the sun came shining, and I was strolling,
And the wheat fields waving and the dust clouds rolling,
As the fog was lifting a voice was chanting:
This land was made for you and me...