After leaving Oklahoma, we welcomed seeing many more trees and sporting their Fall colors as well. The red leaves had fallen about two weeks ago. Now there are still some yellow leaves and lots of burgundy and rust colored ones.
Roads also began to get more winding as we approached town.
That also results in some amazingly steep streets. Being an old town, these steep, winding streets are also very narrow. And being a tourist town, that makes traffic interesting at times.
There are tons of great little shops that I would have loved to spent time exploring, however, since the streets are so steep in most places, I knew my knees would not be happy.
Also parking is a real issue meaning I would have to do lot of walking on those hills. I decided to save my shopping for somewhere else where the area is flatter.
Eureka Springs got its name from the many fresh water springs that have surfaced in various places around town. When I was here some 30+ years ago, you could go up to any of the springs and fill your water jug for wonderful tasting drinking water.
Now they have done a lot of lovely landscaping around the springs which is really beautiful to look at. However, there is no place to park near them and there are fences in front of the spring so you can’t get to the water. Times do change, don’t they.
From a view point you can see across the valley where the business district is and view the historic 1886 Crescent Hotel.
We had tickets for the Great Passion Play on Thursday night that is held at an amphitheater complex just up the road from our RV park. We had really been looking forward to this.
It was a beautiful Fall day with perfect temperatures when we checked into the park on Tuesday. We were told that Thursday it would be cold and raining. We immediately changed our tickets to that night. It was a wise move.
Eureka Springs is also known for the Christ of the Ozarks statue. It is on the Passion Play grounds and towers over the entire valley. It can be seen for miles. It is seven stories high with a 60 foot span. It was erected more than 40 years ago.
There were two other brief performances prior to the Passion Play.
The first was “David the Shepherd.” He was an actor who talked about being a shepherd and applied scriptural truths to the everyday aspects of that vocation.
He also made sling shots and gave a demonstration of how to use them (on a tree down the hill a bit from this venue.)
Next was “Josephus the Potter.” He was truly a potter who sells his work in the gift shops on the property.
He made this pot while demonstrating the relationship of Christ as the Potter and we as the clay, with making a real clay pot. Both of these presentations were very inspirational.
The Passion Play began after dark. We were in the nose-bleed section only because there were about a jillion steps to get down near the stage. Once again, the knees dictated where we sat. In other words, we watched from afar. We did have binoculars that helped a lot.
I tried to take a picture as soon as the play began. You would have enjoyed it. Several Roman soldiers in full garb came in riding four or five white horses.
That was followed by someone leading a camel and lots of sheep being chased by children. However, because of the darkness, my camera required a three or four second second exposure. In other words, all I got was a blur.
Anyway, it was a great Passion Play and we thoroughly enjoyed it. Unfortunately, I was told that the company that owns the Play is on the verge of bankruptcy and they don’t know if they will be able to open next year.
The Christ of the Ozarks statue is in serious need of repair as well. It would be very sad if all of this were to close. This Passion Play has been a very important part of Eureka Springs for many, many years as well as an inspirational experience for thousands of people.
We had seen a sign as we were approaching Eureka Springs advertising “Quigley Castle, Ozarks Strangest Dwelling.” We heard it was interesting so we went.
“Strange” was an apt description.
I had high hopes for Quigley Castle driving down the tree covered dirt road with all the Fall colors all around. After that, things got weird.
The property was owned by Elise Quigley and her husband back during the Depression. They lived in a lumber shack and had five children.
She designed a new house that was large enough for her family and would reflect her love of nature. The house design had 28 large windows but glass was unavailable during the war.
Elise and her husband argued about the house for months, then one day he went to the lumber mill and she took the children and tore down the house they were living in so he would have to start building the house she had designed.
They built the house completely with their own labor and lumber off their land. They spent only $2000 for supplies, including glass for the windows, which they were unable to get until three years later.
Elise wanted to bring nature indoors so she left four feet between the outside walls and the inside walls. In this space she planted large plants that grow up to the second story. They are still there today.
Inside the living room plants are between the two walls.
The same plants reaching up beyond the second floor.
Elise loved rocks and started collecting them out of creek beds, thousands and thousands of them. She covered the outside walls of the house with these rocks, fossils and shells. The yard is also full of things she built or covered with all these rock.
She also loved bottle trees and had several.
The back yard was full of rock wall, seats, and fences all covered with rocks adhered with concrete.
There were several rock flower pots.
Even the mailbox was covered with rocks.
Mrs. Quigley passed away at age 74 in 1984, collecting more rocks right up until the end of her life. Her granddaughter currently lives in a few of the upstairs rooms and shows the house to visitors.
This house was indeed strange, but I was impressed by the amount of hard work this woman put into building her house. It was obviously a labor of love.
As we left the Quigley Castle, we were greeted by this view as we reached the top of the roadway.
Tomorrow we point the RV toward Branson, Missouri. It’s only an hour or so from here, so will be a short trip. We are looking forward to seeing some great entertainers and fun shows in Branson.
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