We were excited to extend our westward journey over to Little Rock, Arkansas, if for no other reason than to be able to claim one more state where we have camped! We traded in our site on the Mississippi River out in the country for a campsite on the Arkansas River right across from downtown Little Rock. It’s a small city campground that is mostly paved and gravel but suited us just fine for a short 4-night stay. The dogs seemed to like the location based on the expressions on their faces.
We had three things to see during our short stay:
- The Clinton Presidential Library
- Little Rock Central High School, scene of the Little Rock 9 and the struggle for school integration
- The Purse Museum. Yep, that’s right, Little Rock has one of only two Purse Museums in the whole world!
We chose to visit the Clinton Library first as it was a rainy day and this would be a good activity to stay out of the rain. Regardless of your political views, we think these libraries are very interesting, lots of artifacts from the time he served and detailed history lessons of what happened during the time. They have created an exact duplicate of the Oval Office as it looked during Clinton’s time, unfortunately they do not allow photos since they want to sell pictures instead. But we did get pics of the duplicate of the Cabinet Room and several other interesting areas, as shown below.
Limo used during his time in office 
Duplicate of the Cabinet Room 
White House China 
Those blue binders hold about 2% of all documents from his two terms
There was also a special exhibit at the Library regarding trash that is filling our oceans. An artist has taken some of that trash and turned it into art while also spreading awareness of the damage done to wildlife and the environment from various materials.
On a clear day, we drove over to the National Park Service Visitor Center near the Little Rock Central High School. We were lucky enough to be able to join a tour that took us around the campus (still being used today) as well as go inside the school. We heard about the struggle to allow equal access for African Americans to the same level of education and how local, state and federal governments were involved in both fighting and supporting that integration.
After a good dose of history, it was time to visit the Purse Museum. This includes a collection from one person of purses that represent every decade of the 1900’s. From beautiful, to useful, to outlandish, it was an interesting walk thru time.
Our last night, the pedestrian bridge across the Arkansas River lit up in pink in recognition of Breast Cancer Awareness. A beautiful send off from Little Rock.
