I had another class to attend. This time it was in Oklahoma City. Not my favorite place to go in the summer, especially with forecast highs around 102. I had to be in OKC on Monday at 7:15 and given all that can go wrong, I decided leave Saturday and go most of the way so I could drive the last bit if needed. I also was also looking to add another state and Arkansas was along the way. Not just Arkansas, but Bentonville, the home of Walmart. Ok to be fair, the Crystal Bridges Museum of American art had caught my eye.
I had been watching the weather and my expectation was for no issues on departure or on arrival in Arkansas. I was concerned a bit about storms along the way, especially by Memphis where we planned to stop for gas. When I woke, Memphis was getting hit pretty hard and rain was approaching our fuel stop. I had backup ones but I had chosen this stop because it had a great price on gas. Departing the weather was good at home but the rain was about 10 miles North of our stop.
We pressed on and after reaching 10,000 we had a new issue. There was a line of storms forming that started at Montgomery that extended into Georgia. A quick request to ATC and we were cleared MGM KHAB. Problem solved. Our next problem was headwinds, 30 knots on the nose most of the flight. There was no solution for this other than extra gas. Passing Montgomery we made the turn and it was smooth sailing. While we were busy rounding the storms, the rain at our stop moved on and started to dissipate.
We landed and pulled up to the pump. The plane ahead was still loading and it was like watching a clown car in reverse. Six people squeezing into a Cherokee 6. They were trying to get going but they couldn’t quite figure out the sequence to load. They finally got in and the pilot got the engine spinning after 3 or 4 attempts. We topped off as the gas was the cheapest I had seen in quite some time. I had a bit of trouble as the hose lock was broken but the manage came by and helped me. I like country airports because they are easy in and out. Departing, Memphis had our clearance and we were soon on our way. I thought I might be rerouted as my track took me right through Memphis class B airspace.
I should not have worried. It was empty, I even called approach once to make sure they were still there. The headwinds were still with us but we soon landed in Arkansas. I had to land long as there were 4 Black Hawk choppers blocking the taxiway I needed. We taxied around and soon had our stuff in the rental car.
After swinging by our hotel to check in and drop our stuff, we headed to the museum. It’s a new museum and it’s pretty stunning. We wandered a bit and took a tour of a Frank Lloyd Wright house they had moved to the site. We strolled through outdoor sculptures and topped it off by seeing a copy of the constitution printed in 1789.
The museum is pretty cool but it is the worst marked facility I have visited. They have great trails but no maps. There are a few diagrams in the museum but they are few and far between. Eventually we figured the place out. I would recommend it if you are in town, it was very cool to see both new and old American art.
After the museum we headed downtown to see the home of Walmart. We took a quick spin through the Walmart museum. It was more of an add than a museum but it was free. Downtown is quaint but after some walking we headed back to the hotel. We found some tasty BBQ and enjoyed some pork, brisket and ribs. After that it was time to get some rest.
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