My husband and I decided to take a day trip on Labor Day. The three day weekend afforded the opportunity to take the day and start our goal of exploring Arkansas. There is so much in our state, such beautiful and interesting places, so we decided it would be a good idea to just explore our own state for the next few months.
A Trip Down the Pig Trail Scenic Byway
One of the prettiest drives in Arkansas is Highway 23, also known as the Pig Trail Scenic Byway. It is a popular route in the state. Since we live in Fayetteville, we joined the scenic byway at Brashears and headed south to Altus.
We stopped at a scenic overlook. It was a little hazy that morning, so I didn’t take a picture. My husband rolled down his window and talked to some motorcycle riders who were from around Broken Bow, OK. The gentlemen said that this was one of the most beautiful rides he’s ever been on – there were two couples who had stopped for a break and the view. We wished them well and continued on our drive.
The road is winding, but lush with foliage that often frames the road overhead. Sometimes you can see beautiful waterfalls flowing over intricate rock formations. The Pig Trail intersects with Interstate 40 at the Ozark exit, so we proceeded on to the interstate and headed to Altus.
Altus, AR
We pulled into Wiederkehr Village and asked a lady who was setting up outside the restaurant if they were open. She said 11:30 for the restaurant, but I asked if the village was open (because we didn’t see many people there), and she said yes. Since it was only 10:45 am, we drove to the town of Altus and stopped at a memorial for coal miners. I looked for Campbells and Quicks (family names – two of my uncles had been coal miners) but did not find any. It was an interesting memorial, and we could see groups of names who obviously had several coal miners in the family as well as a list of the names of different mines. I wish I had taken a picture, but I wasn’t thinking at the time that I should write a blog post.
Post Winery
We drove back to the Post Winery & Gift Shop on our way back to Wiederkehr Village. We looked around the shop, saw some cute wine-related signs, and then decided to go ahead and do the wine tasting. It is $5.00/per person for 5 pours, so we each picked a variety and tried them. My husband is not a big wine drinker, but he did the wine tasting and picked some to purchase that he liked as did I. We also bought two Post wine glasses to commemorate the occasion (I used them last night when a friend came over for a social distance happy hour under our covered gazebo/pavilion).
Wiederkehr Village
We loaded up the box of wine, and then drove back to Wiederkehr Village to have lunch at the Wiederkehr Weinkeller Restaurant . I tried the Wiederkehr Sauvignon Blanc, and I liked it. We had fried mushrooms and the mini loaf of bread (yum!) – we were both quite hungry. I ordered the Swiss Sausage Platter with Knackwurst that came with German potatoes and sauerkraut, and garnished with relish, Deusseldorf mustard and horseradish. My husband ordered Back Hendel Vienna – a chicken breast rolled in breadcrumbs and herbs, fried to a golden brown and topped with a special bearnaise sauce. According to the menu, it is a famous Austrian dish. It came with green beans and German potatoes. He wasn’t a big fan of the sauce on his dish. We each ate ½ of our plate and then switched.
I recalled memories of eating there on special occasions as a kid with Mom and Dad. It was smaller than I remember but still dark and wood and Bavarian feeling. Being born in Germany and then traveling back when I was 18 years old, I have a special fondness for my keepsakes and memories of those travels.
After we lunch, we went out the restaurant door and just across the road to the door that leads to the gift shop/wine tasting. We looked around their gift shop, then sampled a few wines. While we were sampling, one of the men who oversees the vineyards came in with some freshly picked grapes that we tried. He was accompanied by a sweet black dog that was wet and tired who made himself comfortable on the cool floor. After sampling four or five wines, we bought the ones we liked as well as 2 commemorative wine glasses.
My Favs From the Trip
Between the two wineries, these three wines are my favorite.
Where Do We Go From Here?
Old Stomping Grounds
It was only about 1:30, so we decided to go visit a childhood home of mine. We drove back to Altus and caught Highway 64 out of Altus toward Coal Hill/Hartman. We drove to Hartman and looked at the buildings where I had attended 6th through 11th grade. It is now part of Johnson County Westside Consolidated School District. Obviously changed in the forty plus years since I was there (but maybe I went back for a reunion sometime in the 90s?), it was recognizable to me. I have very fond memories of my friends and the good times I had there. That was the longest that I spent at one school while growing up.
My Childhood Home
From there, we drove back to catch Highway 164. Then we headed to the “farm” where I lived from ½ way through sixth grade until I was a junior in high school. The place Daddy was born. The land Daddy bought back when he was a young adult. The property that we (his children) deeded back to him after Mom died (because the property went to her in the divorce).
My niece recently told me that someone she knew had told her the house was in disrepair. I only wanted to show my husband where we’d lived, the house Daddy built for Mom and us.
We drove down Highway 164, went through Hunt, turned down the dirt road, and went right at the fork. I remember the fork and walking up that damn hill to the house because the bus wouldn’t go our direction. The bus driver would let us off at the fork. I think it’s about ½ mile to the house from that fork, and I distinctly remember encountering tarantulas and snakes along the way.
When we got close, it was a little hard to see through the trees. Then I saw remnants of a driveway where Dad would turn in and park the truck. Just a little further and I saw the house. There is a gate and I saw cars there. It looked like someone was working on it because there was a ladder leaned up against the house. I could see the rock fireplace where Dad had used rocks from the land to build it. The upstairs balcony that is off the master bedroom that made it look like a Swissor German chalet. I honestly didn’t think the house looked in bad shape (or maybe just being hopeful). I was glad to see someone was living there or at least working on it.
The House That Dad Built
Just this past week I looked up the particulars of the house on various real estate sites. No pictures of the house, just the satellite shot overhead. One site lists the square footage as 1568 square feet which surprised me a bit. It seemed bigger than that in my mind, but that may have just been my perception as a child. It was a beautiful home as I recall. Unique features, one being a tree in the kitchen.
Loads of memories stirring up from that house, but I didn’t get emotional like I thought I would. Just fondly remembered our time there.
We turned around and drove back to Highway 164. Along the way I pointed out places and people I remembered while living in the area. We caught Interstate 40 at the Coal Hill exit. Then exited at Ozark and headed back up the Pig Trail to home.
End of the Day Trip
What turned out to be a trip to Altus to visit the Wiederkehr and Post Wineries also turned into a trip down memory lane for me. While it is not one of the iconic German vineyards, or even Napa Valley, it is our own little slice of interest here in our home state of Arkansas. It was a good day trip.