After a typical Sunday morning of church and Sunday school, followed by lunch in town, i.e. Mountain Home, Arkansas, with church friends, we finalized packing the RV for an Arkansas Travelers rally in Mountain View, Arkansas.  Kay and I are only able to attend one, perhaps two, RV rallies each year because of our own travel schedule. However, the Travelers strongly urge each member to host a rally every two or three years.  Consequently, we chose Mountain View, Arkansas, as the site of the rally and this particular week in November for the date because it is sandwiched between the Bean Festival and the fall bluegrass festival.

I drove the motorhome south on Arkansas Highway 5, and Kay followed with the Expedition. Upon arriving the park was near empty, and as hosts, our site was adjacent to the rally room. Setting up went smoothly, and we visited with a couple of other Arkansas Travelers who had already arrived.

Bruce and Jeannie, our cohosts, had arrived earlier, and we visited with them, catching up on old and new news. As the afternoon turned into evening, we all decided to go to the Jimmy Driftwood Barn to listen to traditional folk music being performed by locals, many who have performed there for years; it was a hoot. A young Arkansas state fiddle championship competitor played several songs with many of the groups, and was quite good, though very bashful when it came to talking.  While the music was okay, but not great, the characters were quite interesting. One particular lady, Miss Lily, apparently came to the area as a flower child in the 1960s, was arrested for some deed against society, and at the court hearing met her future husband, one of the founders of the as yet unbuilt Jimmy Driftwood Barn; he was setting up for music at the courthouse. For those of you unfamiliar with Mountain View, music at the courthouse has been occurring since 1963, and I remember coming as a old teen and young adult in the mid to late ‘1960s to listen, but I don’t remember Miss Lily.

It’s going to be a good week.