I told you we went to a memorial service for Vietnam vets at the National Vietnam War Museum in Mineral Wells, TX. One of the highlights was a parachute jump by Sgt. 1st Class Dana Bowman (Ret.), a former Green Beret and Golden Knight. Dana is a double amputee who now jumps, skis, scuba dives and drives. He is a motivational speaker and a walking example of freedom of choice. As Victor E. Frankl says in his powerful book Man’s Search for Meaning, “Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms — to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.” Dana Bowman jumps with the Stars and Stripes attached to his prosthetic foot, but his life is every bit as symbolic of what it means to be American as our flag is.
Yard Art
Driving down the road we came across this enormous statue of Jesus surrounded by a bevy of angels whose wings seem upheld by a celestial wind.
Tucked around the corner by the garage, that same wind plays havoc with Mary’s (Marilyn’s) skirts. What’s the message here?
Hot Dog
I have to say this sculpture was much more to my liking. I doubt I’ve ever seen a bronze hot dog before. It’s placed right next to a fire circle in a hidden corner of Clark Gardens. I don’t know if the red wagon full of kindling is part of a permanent display, but it certainly added to the ambience.
The other piece we liked was Max Clark and his dog. This sits on top of a lovely terraced hill encircled by a ramp. The artist left us in no doubt of their mutual friendship and regard.
Grist for the Mill
This is the Grist Mill in War Eagle, AR. No one knows how War Eagle Creek got its name, though there is a very sad and romantic Osage love story connected with it. How ere it be, the creek is listed by name in the Louisiana Purchase.
There’s been a grist mill here since 1938. The present incarnation, the fourth, with its 18 foot undershot well is one about 60 working mills in the United States run by river/stream, wind or tidal power. It grinds stone buhr whole wheat flour, cornmeal, rye flour, buckwheat flour, grits, cereals, and whole grain mixes.
There’s a gift shop on the second flour and the Bean Palace café on the third flour makes a damn fine biscuit and the best pecan cobbler ever. Arkansas is full of wonderful back 
roads that twist and turn, double back and shoot forward. We took War Eagle Road across the bridge and just followed the GPS on our way to Oark, AR.
OOPS
There was a kind of weird moment at the memorial ceremony on June 1. The museum decided to honor the speakers with commemorative plaques. They chose to replicate the touching and beautifully rendered “Soldier’s Cross” from the Memorial Garden to decorate the plaque. I think it was a kind of shock to the recipients to see that headstone with their names engraved beneath it. To top it all off the presenter cheerfully said, “I’ll get you the box later!”
Oark, AR
Charles, a fellow aficionado of the road we met over breakfast at the Hateful Hussy (see previous post, Riding the Talimena May 31, 2013), turned us on to Oark, AR. Oark lays claim to the oldest continually running store in Arkansas (1890). It continues in business because it happens to be set in a network of fabulous paved and unpaved roads – the kind bikers like best. 
Our amazing BMW R1200 GS will go anywhere so we elected to try both. Back-of-beyond dirt roads never fail to thrill us. Hiking gets one deeper and further into the wilderness, but for almost instant access to remote forests and mountain tops there’s nothing like a country road with grass growing up between the ruts. If your bike doesn’t take too easily to dirt and gravel try paved Hwy 103. It begins a mile from the store, leaving 215 to corkscrew downhill to Clarksville. Besides their killer location, the Oark General Store has great burgers and pie and even better company. The parking lot is always full of bikers swapping stories and road tips.
Blog from the Back of the Bike 