Oklahoma City to Conway

I awake and go for an early-morning run in Bricktown, discovering a beautiful system of canals downtown along which walkways wind, and more restaurants and shops, connecting with modern-looking office buildings.  Fountains spill into the canal, and a rosy light is shining on the City Plaza buildings.  I read earlier that the blast 20 years ago "destroyed or damaged 324 other buildings within a 16-block radius, shattered glass in 258 nearby buildings, and destroyed or burned 86 cars."  So this is a city that has indeed risen impressively from the ashes of that terrible incident.

We had intended to stay in Little Rock, Arkansas, near the River Market District, but discovered that there was a huge Harley convention there and all the rooms were booked.  So we opted for Conway instead, midway between Oklahoma City and Memphis.  We cross the Arkansas River, and on the way we pull off I-40 to check on a wildlife refuge and see a disturbing sight on the rural side road:  one of the most obese women we had ever seen being pulled in a trailer, backwards, by an equally obese man driving a farm tractor.  It occurs to me that the Summer Olympics in Rio had begun this very week.

Fort Smith has a nice downtown area, and we have lunch at the Bricktown Brewery (headquartered in Oklahoma City). 

There is a trolley museum here, and trolleys still operate in the downtown area.  And there are murals here, too.  I even find a local coffee roaster and have the best cup of coffee I have had on the road.

We drive on to Conway, about which there is not much to say, I suppose.  It has a downtown area that is still alive, sort of.   There is a mixture of thriving dress shops and things like that, but some abandoned buildings as well, as if it is teetering on the brink:  will it be able to restore this area as Oklahoma City has?  Or will it fall apart as so many downtowns do.