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Losing it in Little Rock

Writer's picture: Janette FrawleyJanette Frawley

A road trip requires meticulous planning to ensure that each day has a comfortable amount of driving time with a healthy balance of sightseeing and that meal breaks have been built into the itinerary. When I plan a road trip, I usually have a long discussion with my travel partner/s before carefully planning the route, adding bibs and deducting bobs, and making sure that the selected accommodation is close to restaurants and is on our outward route. I don’t like wasting time on back-tracking. Most importantly, there needs to be some wriggle room built into most days so that we can take detours to see things that we may not have anticipated or known about and to allow for delays due to bad weather, chatting to locals, and other ad hoc things. But I had been distracted since the discussions about this road trip began late in 2023 and largely left the planning to my travel companion.


Driving in America is easy for me. I enjoy travelling by road as they are generally in good nick, and distances between towns and cities are fairly short. There is also an excellent network of chain hotels, fast food restaurants, and service stations along the freeways, which all add up to a relaxing drive. What I did not factor in was a list of non-negotiable ‘must-see’ sites and photo stops that had somehow finagled their way into the itinerary. What I thought was a list of places we could see if we had the time, were in fact, set in stone. I should have been more aware that the itinerary had been expanded and tweaked; it was not without my knowledge but was without my understanding.


Our detour to the Louisiana Purchase State Park delays our projected arrival into Little Rock and after briefly walking along the lovely River Park by the ‘little rock’, after which the city was named, we drive a couple of blocks from the downtown area to the first on an extensive list of places to visit. Thank goodness the addresses had been included in the list, which can be quickly plugged into the GPS. We had been using Google Maps but found that the directions had been lacking the details I prefer when driving on unknown roads, so we are back to using Siri. I am ambivalent about State Capitols and other government buildings. Whilst I admire the architecture and the idea that the North American state buildings mostly have similar characteristics, I am not going to actively seek them out. Again, I had brushed off mention of these buildings as places to visit or, in our case, drive past because I had pigeonholed them into the ‘if we have time’ slot. Not in reality!

The old State House Museum, which was once the state capitol building, is the first stop we make. It starts to rain as I pull into a parking spot just outside; just a sprinkle, but enough for windscreen wipers, which I have to find in this new Jeep. They do not automatically switch on like my car at home, so whilst my companion jumps out to take photos of the building, I fiddle with the wipers. We have experienced quite a lot of rain since arriving in America ten days ago, and I am hoping that today’s rain will pass quickly.


Our next stop includes two sites on the ‘Little Rock’ list. The first is a group of life-size statues located on the slope of Capitol Hill. The Little Rock Nine was a group of nine African American students enrolled in Little Rock Central High School in 1957. The students had been initially prevented from entering the school by Arkansas Governor, Orval Faubus, but after intervention by President Dwight Eisenhower, they were permitted to attend the school. We have come a long way since 1957, and we don’t actively think about diversity in classrooms these days. Students of all ethnicities and colour study side by side, but in America, racial equality was a hard-won battle. Part of the official Civil Rights Trail, Testament: Little Rock Nine Monument is located on the northern side of the Capitol building facing the Governor’s office window. It is a very moving and significant monument, and I can only imagine the battle these brave students had waged against segregation laws to earn their right to an equal education.



A flash of lightning energises the darkening sky, quickly followed by a clap of thunder. We are very exposed here and as we hurry back to the car heavy rain begins to fall. We only just make it back to the car when the heavy rain turns torrential. The noise of it hitting the roof of the car is deafening. I am directed by the GPS up the hill towards the large white, domed Capitol building, which occupies the highest point of the city. My acerbic mind wonders whether the government had to fight with the Catholic Church to win the right to occupy this place. Despite my ambivalence, I do concede that the neo-classical style building is very imposing.


I pull into a car park at the base of the building and although I am occupying two reserved spaces to position the car for a good photo, I am not concerned about being shafted this afternoon. I doubt any parking inspectors would be out in this foul weather. I notice that it is a one-way road and after the photos had been taken and the window closed, I drive towards a small tunnel that is cut beneath an imposing staircase and the exit to the car park.


Whilst I am trying to concentrate on the road because visibility is now a problem and I can only see a few metres in front of me, I do not understand why my fellow traveller is demanding that I turn around and exit illegally through the gate. I am simply following the directional arrows and they lead to the tunnel. Once inside, it is like heaven. It is dry and no rain is thundering on the roof of the car. I can almost hear myself think, yet my offsider is panicking because we have apparently done something illegal. I am only crawling through the tunnel and when I see two security guards approach the car I stop and open the window on the passenger side. My companion leans through the window and explains that we are Australians, and that we are lost, and the security guards wave us on.


Then…


She asks them to pose for a photo.


And they oblige.


To be honest, it takes me until the next day before I realise what I had done. The carpark where I had stopped for photos would normally be closed to the public. There is a boom gate at the entrance and perhaps it had not been closed before the rain came pelting down, or on the other hand, perhaps it had been opened to allow official vehicles in. Whatever the case may be, I had inadvertently driven into a restricted area and since the only way out is through the tunnel, that is the way I went. In retrospect, I can understand why the area is restricted and the tunnel secured. At no time did I think I would be arrested or shot for my misdemeanour, but my fellow traveller must better understand the machinations of State Capitol security, thus my actions may have caused a level of anxiety for her. Like I said, it takes me about 24 hours to fully understand that I had inadvertently breached some security protocols.


But that was on 24 May 2024. If we were in a similar situation today, some two months later and ten days after the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump, we might have had some serious questions to answer.


I wind my way down the hill where I am directed to stop once more for the ‘long’ view of the Capitol building, and since it is getting close to the end of the day, I am anxious to find our accommodation because the weather is not improving. In fact, it is getting worse.


But first we must drive past the 1950s historic Daisy Bates House, which was used as a command post for those working to assist the nine students involved in trying to desegregate the Little Rock Central High School. This is a private home in a narrow street, and visitors are unable to go into the house. A plaque at the front denotes its historical significance. Photos can only be taken from inside the car as the ferocity of the downpour has not abated since visiting the monument to the nine students almost an hour ago.


And finally, we arrive at the Little Rock Central High, and fortunately can take a photo of the iconic staircase at the front of the school from where we are parked on the road. I feel very concerned about the weather since I am not familiar with the city and we are yet to find our accommodation, which is on the outskirts of Little Rock.

As we drive towards the hotel, and if it is at all possible, the rain teems faster and harder. There is a lot of water on the road and visibility is very low. We are driving through dodgy suburbs on the edge of town and there is absolutely nowhere I can stop to take shelter. Water is swirling on the road and the corners of the streets where I need to turn have formed huge puddles, their depths unknown, where the storm water gutters cannot drain the water faster than it is falling. I voice my fears just as I realise we are about 500 metres from the hotel. With a sigh of relief, I pull into the carpark and shelter from the relentless rain. Although the hotel room is cheap, it is clean and dry and I am glad to be out of the storm, although there is one raging within me.


Today I have been led by a blinkered obsession with ticking items off a list and I have put myself into a dangerous situation. Whilst I concede that the last two places were on the road to our accommodation, delaying our arrival could have easily been perilous. With the benefit of hindsight, it would have been more prudent to return in the morning to capture the shots of the Daisy Bates House and the Little Rock Central High School as tomorrow’s drive is relatively short.

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