As another Thanksgiving approaches, I'm thankful to live in a state like Arkansas. I'm thankful to live in a place where I can eat a turkey sandwich at the original Burge's in Lewisville, grab a plate lunch at the Pickens Store in Desha County, consume some buffalo ribs at the Lassis Inn in Little Rock, pig out at Jones Bar-B-Q in Marianna and have a Friday night catfish dinner at The Whippet in Prattsville.
I'm thankful to live in a place where I can go to a winery near Altus before visiting the monastery at Subiaco, climb Pinnacle Mountain, visit one of the most beautiful state Capitols in the country, fish for smallmouth bass on the Kings River and attend the seasonal craft fairs at War Eagle. I'm thankful to live in a place where I can stand along the rail at Oaklawn Park on Arkansas Derby day, hang out on Dickson Street in Fayetteville after a Razorback football game, listen to the music on a Saturday night in downtown Mountain View and take a hot bath on Bathhouse Row in Hot Springs.
I'm thankful to live in a place where I can spend the night on a houseboat on Lake Ouachita, drive the Pig Trail through the Ozarks and watch the elk graze in the Boxley Valley. I'm thankful to live in a place where I can read the Civil War markers at DeValls Bluff before having some of the country's best barbecue at Craig's, tour the Johnny Cash boyhood home at Dyess, see the English Tudor architecture at Wilson and eat an entire hubcap cheeseburger at the original Cotham's in Scott.
I'm thankful to live in a place where I can float a canoe down the Buffalo River when the dogwoods are blooming, search for the Gurdon Light late at night, fish for trout early in the morning on the upper White River and run jugs for giant catfish at night on the lower White River. I'm thankful to live in a place where I can attend a Battle of the Ravine college football game between Ouachita Baptist University and Henderson State University each November in Arkadelphia, watch the sun rise on a winter morning from a duck blind on the Grand Prairie and sample dozens of versions of duck gumbo in Stuttgart on the weekend after Thanksgiving.
I'm thankful to live in a place where I can watch the toad races during Toad Suck Daze in Conway, have breakfast at The Pancake Shop in Hot Springs, attend the annual Gillett Coon Supper each January and then show up a few weeks later for the annual Slovak Oyster Supper. I'm thankful to live in a place where I can watch the rice harvest near Weiner on a fall day, go to Garvan Woodland Gardens on Lake Hamilton when the tulips are blooming, attend the St. Patrick's Day Parade in Hot Springs and have my photo taken while straddling the Arkansas-Texas line at the federal courthouse in downtown Texarkana. I'm thankful to live in a place where I can get a room at the Mather Lodge atop Petit Jean, tour the Lakeport Plantation near Lake Village, walk the boardwalk through the swamp between Brinkley and Marvell to see the Louisiana Purchase monument and eat a slice of melon at the Hope Watermelon Festival.
I'm thankful to live in a place where I can try to finish a tamale spread at McClard's in Hot Springs, attend the King Biscuit Blues Festival at Helena, eat a turkey leg at the Arkansas State Fair and sit on the east side of Mount Nebo while watching the sun rise over the Arkansas River Valley. I'm thankful to live in a place where I can spend a summer Saturday morning at the farmers market on the square in Fayetteville as the locals walk their dogs, take a slow walk through history at Mount Holly Cemetery in Little Rock, visit a sand blow in northeast Arkansas while contemplating the New Madrid earthquakes of 1811-12 and get a sunburn while attending Riverfest along the banks of the Arkansas River in Little Rock.
I'm thankful to live in a place where I can see the whole community turn out for a high school basketball game at Valley Springs and a high school football game at Nashville. I'm thankful to live in a place where I can dig for diamonds at the Crater of Diamonds State Park near Murfreesboro, buy a strawberry shortcake in the spring at The Bulldog in Bald Knob, sample the fried chicken at the Mount Nebo Chicken Fry at Daradanelle, gather wild blackberries in the summer and eat some peaches picked that day at the Johnson County Peach Festival.
I'm thankful to live in a place where I can go kayaking on the Mulberry River, cross the U.S. 62 bridge over Norfork Lake on a clear day, visit Judge Parker's courtroom at the Fort Smith National Historic Site and attend the Fourth of July community picnics at Corning and Piggott. I'm thankful to live in a place where I can take a boat onto Grassy Lake in southwest Arkansas to look for alligators and sit outside in Basin Spring Park at Eureka Springs on a fall Saturday evening while enjoying live music. I'm thankful to live in a place where I can watch Sonny Payne do his King Biscuit Time radio show at the Delta Cultural Center in Helena, fish for bream on a south Arkansas oxbow during the day, gig frogs on the same lake at night and watch the cardboard boat races at Greers Ferry Lake before having dinner at the iconic Red Apple Inn.
May your Thanksgiving be filled with family, food, football and sincere thanks for all Arkansas has to offer.
------------v------------
Freelance columnist Rex Nelson is the director of corporate communications for Simmons First National Corp. He's also the author of the Southern Fried blog at rexnelsonsouthernfried.com.
Editorial on 11/25/2015