Car Guy Magazine Car Guy Magazine Issue 1214 | Page 38

Arkansas has an abundance
of great driving roads, with plenty
of turns and elevation changes.

miles are crooked and steep. You will want to drive with care, and
trucks should use a lower gear.
In Hollis, stop at the Hollis Country Store. This store, along with
its associated tourist cabins and picnic tables, has provided drivers
with a variety of needs since 1932.
Further north is Petit Jean State Park, home of the Museum of
Automobiles. Housing a collection started by the late Arkansas Governor, Winthrop Rockefeller, the fifty-car collection is in a state of
constant change, since many of the vehicles are privately owned. This
means that every visit brings something new. One of the more interesting automobiles on display was built in Little Rock. The 1923
Climber Touring was designed for the primitive road conditions and
rugged terrain of Arkansas. The building where the cars were built in
1919 is still standing at 1823 E. 17th Street.
The road only gets better after crossing the Arkansas River in
Russellville.
Offering frequent elevation changes with more curves and aweinspiring views of the forests, hills and valleys, the road winds through
the Ozark National Forest. Also in this region is the hamlet of Booger
Hollow, population seven - “count’en one coon dog.”  Obviously, a
must-stop tourist attraction.
Highway 7 proceeds around and through geological clefts such as
Granny’s Gap and Moccasin Gap as it climbs higher into the Ozarks.

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After a few more twists and turns it reaches Rotary Ann Overlook. The wives of
Rotary Club members were the driving force behind the building of this scenic
overlook in the 1930s. Layers of mountains unfold as the vistas change from the
deep green at the foot of the overlook to the hazy pale purple of the horizon. This
type of rugged beauty only increases as the number of mountain ranges multiplies
into the distance.
In the town of Lurton, there’s a sign for a small road that bears right. This
road number is one to burn into your brain, as it is one of the great roads in Arkansas: State Highway 123.
Traveling northwest on Highway 7 brings you to Arkansas’ own “Grand Canyon.”
A major difference between this Grand Canyon and the “other one” is the amount of
vegetation present in the valley. Depending on the time of year, the colors range from
the rainbow hues of wildflowers to the fall crimsons, oranges and yellows.
Traveling the northeast route on 123, the road goes across the world to Austria. There’s no Edelweiss, but the way the hills and mountains roll and the forests
open up, the way the sky looks in the background, the way the flowers appear in
the distance, all make it seem a world away from Arkansas. The road through this
landscape twists and turns until it terminates in a series of about half a dozen hairpin turns. The sign that says ten mph isn’t joking.
After 123, take 374 east back to Highway 7. Nearly equal with 123 in terms
of the twists and turns, 374 has more elevation changes and a few more curves
with surprises, which means it is not as well marked. Be one with your car if you
want to get spirited.