ON THE ROAD It was back in October when we wrote about Todd Norris, the Sherwood man who visited Arkansas' county seats and posted photos of his travels on reddit.
He called it his pandemic project, and for Norris it was a way to escape the house and do something new during the early days of the virus when things were being shut down.
Linda Grossmann, 74, of Maumelle recently completed her own covid-inspired travel project. Starting in July, she visited all 85 of the Natural State's county seats and every one of Arkansas' 52 state parks, rolling up nearly 10,000 miles on her 2015 Toyota Rav 4.
"I've visited all 50 states," says Grossmann, who retired from teaching in 2008. "After four months of nearly going crazy I thought, there are a lot of places in Arkansas that I haven't been."
And so she hit the road, snapping photos at county seats and state parks, and documenting it all on her Facebook page.
"I enjoyed learning about history," she says. "I learned that the vast majority of the county courthouses are over 100 years old. I also learned a lot about small town pride."
She had already visited about half of the state parks, but returned to those and checked off her list the ones she had never seen.
"There is so much diversity in the state parks," she says. "They all have their special charms."
Though it's hard to choose a favorite, Grossmann is particularly drawn to parks near rivers, lakes and on mountains.
"I've been to Queen Wilhelmina, Mount Magazine and Petit Jean state parks numerous times, and those I absolutely love. I also love Village Creek State Park and enjoyed the ones in southwest Arkansas that I'd never been to."
Among those were Crater of Diamonds State Park and Daisy State Park in Pike County, and Cossatot River State Park-Natural Area in Howard and Polk counties.
Most of her trips were taken alone, Grossmann says.
"There were times when I didn't have cell coverage, and that might have been scary if I had car trouble, but I don't let things worry me too much."
She maintained social distancing, stopped only when necessary and wore a mask when she did have to be around others during her trips.
"Just go for it," she says about her advice for someone wanting to get out and explore. "Go out there and see this beautiful state we live in."
ON THE RECORD Mammoth Spring native Ashley McBryde landed last week near the top of stereogum.com's list of 2020's Top 10 Country Albums. "Never Will," released April 3 on Warner Music Nashville, is No. 3 on the popular music site's year-end tally. Quoting the entry: "It's her songwriting that makes this record so deeply and perfectly country, steeped in stories and characters she brings to vibrant life."
email: sclancy@adgnewsroom.com