Saturday 4-2 Train Ride & Tolley Ride

 

I'm excited

A front came in last night at 11:00, it brought rain and didn't leave until 7:30 this morning. 

Due to last nights rain it would have been too wet to hike but fortunately Larry had something else planned. He had booked us tickets on a train ride from Van Buren to Winslow.

The train depot was only about 8 miles from where we are camped and luckily we found a terrific parking spot in a small park right next to the depot. Before the train ride we walked around the train depot, War Memorial and the park by the depot.

Cool clock in Van Buren

Splash Park

 

First Responders in the Memorial Park

The ride was for three hours, about 70 miles. Our train car was on an old Frisco car that was built in the 20's, it was beautifully restored. The ride was through the Boston Mountains of the Ozarks. As we rode on the train we had a conductor telling the history of the Arkansas and Missouri Railroad route. He talked about the history of the old railroad towns and explained things like the difference between trestles and bridges. Trestles don't have any side railings and we drove over three different ones. If you look out the window you can see how high up you are. We saw beautiful creeks, waterfalls, deer in the trees and a lot of cattle. When we went by the cattle they ran off. Right before Winslow we drove through a tunnel, it was 1,000 feet long and very dark. We drove by three crosses commemorating 300 railroad workers who died of small pox when they were building the railroad. The train seats were very comfortable, the restoration of the wood and everything inside was beautiful. They had a snack cart, where everything was a dollar. The conductor was excellent. The server was friendly and nice. Towards the end of the ride a couple of crew members put out items you can purchase, they don't have a gift shop in Van Buren. We had a great ride.

Frisco Train Depot

 

The train

 

Woodwork inside

 

Comfortable seats

The coach we were in

 

Memorial of the crew members

 

End of the line

After our train ride we took a Trolley ride. The driver took us through the historic downtown of Van Buren. As we rode she told the history of Van Buren. She stopped a few times for us to see a few sites. One was an old one room school house. They had a beautiful old Courthouse, which is the oldest courthouse in state. She was very knowledgeable and did a great job. 

Old schoolhouse

 

The trolley

We had a wonderful afternoon in Van Buren. 

By the time we got to the park it was almost dinner time. We had been staying in a host site for two nights but when we got back there was someone there. We drove around and found that the tent that had been on the site we had reserved was gone. We setup the Minnie for another night.

For dinner I barbecued hamburgers. After dinner I walked around for an hour and a half. I walked to the boat ramp and day area a couple of times and I did three laps around the campground. By the end of the night I had done 27,000 steps, which put me in 4th place in my group.

After doing my steps I played my computer games. I did the Daily Challenges of Solitaire and Mahjong. I did the Event: Free Cell Adventure of 20 games. It took me 2 hours, 34 minutes and 55 seconds, which put me in 8th place in my group.