We took a short road trip on Wednesday to the small town of Jasper, Arkansas (population 458) to visit my husband’s family.  Jasper is tucked in a valley between the mountains of Northwest Arkansas.  I grew up in a small city in the Ozarks (and I still live here), but, places like Jasper and other small towns were just a “stone’s throw away” from where I lived.  Having grown up in the Missouri Ozarks and hearing all the jokes about “hillbillies”,  I used to dream about living in a big city with tall buildings, art galleries, and stores with huge windows filled with lots of man-made desires of the retail kind.

When I sneak off to places like Jasper and take in the scenery, I’m very appreciative of the hidden nuggets of wonder and scenes from a time-gone-by.  The hills become my skyscrapers, old rock and wood architecture becomes my art gallery, and the landscape becomes my window to the beauty of creation.  I guess it’s true….”Tis a pleasure to live in the Ozarks!”

If you enjoy camping, canoeing, hiking, and finding unique little towns, you should travel to Arkansas and Missouri.  Just make sure to bring your motion sickness medication for the curvy and hilly roads!

Here are just a few pics of our road trip.  The pictures were mostly taken from my moving vehicle with an iphone, so please excuse the lighting and any flaws!  Enjoy!