I like to take drives in the Ozarks on my days off from the hotel. On Monday, I made it all the way down to Mountain View. It sure has a pretty downtown made up almost entirely of stone buildings. I didn't take a picture of it this time, but I will on down the road. The town sure earns its name because there are mountains in every direction.
On my way home, I ventured through a town I'd never been to before, Calico Rock, which apparently has quite the history. Once I came out of the mountains into the meadows, there were cliffs that appeared to my right and in front of me. I saw a couple of houses built on the cliffs to my right and I really liked how different it looked.
Well, that was nothing. Before I came to the bridge that crosses the White River and separates Stone County (Mountain View) from Izard County (Calico Rock), I saw the town laid out on the cliff complete with an old-fashioned water tower. I think it stopped me in my tracks, well, at least mentally. If I wasn't driving, I would've stopped instantly. I'd never seen anything like it before in my life. It was just so cool.
Then right as I crossed the bridge I saw the downtown and I swear I felt transported back over a hundred years ago. One of neatest downtowns I've ever seen. Love the architecture. The whole town ranks as one of the most unique towns I've ever visited.
I won't go into the colorful history or the ghost town within a town, Peppersauce Alley, because there's plenty of it on the Internet that can be readily had. I'll just share my photos.
I didn't feel like taking any photos downtown because I felt too overwhelmed with where to start. Maybe another day. You can see a glimpse of the downtown behind the White River - Izard County sign. Behind that first building is Peppersauce Alley.
The meadow between the mountains and Calico Rock.
This is where I ate the most amazing Mushroom Swiss Burger ever!
I want to spend more time in the town poking around. I especially want to see those downtown stores and maybe venture deeper into Peppersauce Alley.
