Arkansas Again?

WHY? OK it does not seem logical to go to Arkansas again, but over and over people asked me if I had gone to Eureka Springs, a town I had never heard of until a few months ago. Eureka Springs is this wild community, as one of the guys I met said “Eureka Springs is 1/3 Gay, 1/3 Hippies, and 1//3 Christian Evangelicals” Regardless it was reminiscent of an old school tourist town before corporations invaded. With cool independent stores restaurants and a bonafide Gay nightclub that opened just prior to the AIDS crisis. I stayed at a Gay Men’s resort which was ironically located across the street from the Passion Play/Holy Land exhibit.
 
The weekend was quite amazing not knowing anyone there it was fun to meet a couple of Cowboys from eastern Colorado and other folks from all over the Midwest and Arkansas. The hospitality was amazing and it was just as great to be with the other folks that stayed there as they really were outgoing and fun. So much so that I had been on the fence about going on the big Gay rafting trip in Glenwood Springs, CO in August and since one of the couples there are going I pulled the trigger and booked!  
 
We also got discounted tickets to the Drag Shows on Friday and Saturday night, so even though it started after my usual bed time I had a great time. On Friday the show was a little over three hours, on Saturday I did leave a little early (12:30am) as I was fading fast. It was interesting that both nights were pretty packed and the energy was amazing. As for drag in Arkansas, some of the better drag I have seen with each doing three full sets plus group numbers before and after. The room was a real mix of folks with mostly straight women and a real presence of a safe space to just relax and be. This is the thing that most of the haters miss when it comes to Drag. To spite it’s impression, drag is not really sexual in the traditional sense, it is a license to be free to express oneself without the norms and expectations of society.
 
On Saturday during the day I took a bike trip through Eureka Springs and the historic routes. It was so cool looking out on the vista’s of the Ozark’s and the beautiful Victorian architecture that the town is full of, even found the famous bath house that boasted having the first Neon sign west of the Mississippi River. When you see the sign you’ll understand that it was a men’s bathhouse.
 
It was fun to meet some former ministers at the camp as well as learn a little more towards my project. Though the project itself is ever-changing as I learn more my mind is wandering to topics that seem more interesting/pressing as I have started to recognize some patterns and insights that are very interesting!   
 
Today I am heading back west with a couple of Harvest Host sites at a brewery in Oklahoma City and one in Albuquerque. As of this moment I don’t know what comes after Albuquerque, but I think I will end up heading north possibly towards Portland, but we’ll see.