398. Forrest City, St. Francis County (AR24)

Not that long ago, it seems I was lauding the joys of seeing clock towers. I never saw them before (at least I don’t remember seeing them often) but apparently I was in the wrong part of Arkansas. This one is interesting as a modern replica of an older style. I can totally appreciate and respect that. But that wasn’t the draw of this town. You see, I had to get a cache and…

…there’s always a cemetery. This is another one of those moments where I wish you could see with your eyes what I saw because, picturesque as it is, my photos do not do it justice. This place was more than just people being laid to rest. This is the history of this town. These are strata of days gone by in a way that most cemeteries don’t convey. Had I world enough and time (and far greater skill, I might add), I would photograph everything here: the rolling hills, the broken trees, the ancient stones so varied. Times like this, I’m sad I had to run on a schedule. This would have been worth an hour or two if I could spare it.

Alas, time is a currency to be spent wisely. I found the thing, but I had a lot of other things planned, too. In fact, I realized an opportunity had opened itself up. Since I had pretty much driven all night, I was here far, far earlier than I had intended. I realized that if I called an audible and put in a little work, I could get a huge jump on the end of the trip by basically doing the last few planned counties now with all the extra time I had. Routes were jiggered, timetables were analyzed, and I was off like a shot. Instead of continuing on my original direction, I turned south and ended up, unexpectedly for the day in…