Eureka Springs offers beautiful fall. I am glad I visited there with ISS. I had no idea how beautiful and fun Eureka Springs could be until I went there. I love traveling and visiting different places, yet, to be honest, I was not expecting a lot because I assumed it would be a small town in Arkansas that may be similar to Fyaetteville. However, I found this little town such a charming place to visit!
Thorn Crown Chapel
On the field trip day, we stopped by the Thorn Crown Chapel on the way to the Eureka Springs Downtown. It is a beautiful and relaxing chapel which is surrounded by beautiful trees in the Ozark Mountains. As we sat in the chapel and enjoyed the beautiful building, there was a person who gave us a quick lecture about the chapel. We learned about quick facts, its history, how it was built, who uses it nowadays and such. It was designed by E. Fay Jones, who was a professor at the University of Arkansas. Jim Reed proposed the idea to Dr. Jones and they constructed their dream chapel in 1980. It is a beautiful glass chapel which is 48 feet tall with 425 windows. I was very surprised to know how much it costs to clean those windows! Additionally, I was very impressed by the fact that it was chosen as the 4th on the American Institute of Architects’ (AIA) top designs of the 20th century. The Chapel is often used for weddings. I learned that many happy couples from all around world come to this beautiful place to get married. If I could get married in this beautiful chapel, I would be really happy on my special day! I envy couples who plan their weddings in that location!
Eureka Springs Downtown
The next spot was the Eureka Springs Downtown. It is indeed a cute town in the Ozarks Mountains of Arkansas. Eureka Springs became famous for its hot spring. The first impression of the town was picturesque! The scenery somehow reminded me of small towns in Europe. We stayed there for about 3 hours for lunch and a walk. The downtown has steep winding streets filled with Victorian-style buildings. And there are many shops, boutiques, fine art galleries, craft emporiums, and restaurants along those streets. We had great time looking around and taking pictures in the downtown area. If I had had more time, I would have tried to ride on a trolley car, which I thought was very unique in this town! Later on, I also learned that Eureka Springs has been selected one of 100 towns to be in Great Towns of America and I completely agree to it because of its unique history, beautiful scenery and atmosphere.
Turpentine Creek
Finally, we went to Turpentine Creek. Before I visited there, I was imagining a fancy zoo in my head; but I was wrong. As its full name -Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge- shows, it is the shelter and home for Big Cats (tigers, cougars, leopards, and lions), bears, and other animals. We had a knowledgeable tour guide and we were able to see those animals at close range. The tour guide led us and showed us around the facility, from one cage to another, and explained those animals’ individual stories. Most of them were not pleasant stories: They were abused and abandoned. For example, the guide told us that one female bobcat was forced to live in the basement and she lost her sight because of the dark environment. After the tour, we were able to observe their feeding time, which was very exciting. I hope Turpentine Creek will keep providing a comfortable place for those animals to stay in.
Eun Hye in the Middle
In conclusion, the ISS Eureka Springs trip gave me a great educational opportunity to learn something new about the region and also such a relaxing time while having busy school schedules. I had fun with my friends and got so much closer to each other by spending a half day together. I recommend international students to visit the Thorn Crown Chapel, Eureka Springs Downtown, and Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge if you have a chance!
By Eun Hye Chang