Bentonville, Arkansas

Bentonville is pretty rad.

I know, I know, but hear me out, y'all.

I'm not a fan of the Evil Empire of Wal-Mart, and Bentonville is ground zero for said Evil Empire. It's also in Arkansas, which elected Sarah Huckabee Saunders as their Governor. Aside from that, though, Bentonville is pretty rad.

Let's start with the bike culture. I say "bike culture" and not "trails" because, IMO, the trails aren't anything special. But the culture here absolutely revolves around mountain biking. There is a paved greenway that loops around the entire city, and that greenway connects hundreds of miles of singletrack in each of the 4 quadrants around the city. You can literally ride from anywhere to anywhere. And the cool thing is that people actually do. There are coffee shops and restaurants and brew houses all accessible from the MTB trails, and each trail system has ample parking with a tool station, water fountains, and porta potties. I know that seems like a simple concept, but when was the last time you rode somewhere that was this well planned and resourced?

Just one example of MANY ... just a few blocks from a trail system.

I'd say 90% of the vehicles here have bike racks, and most of those are carrying MTBs. But the WAY COOL thing is that, because of this extensive trail system, people don't need to drive their cars. You can get from your home to school, to work, to the library, to the pub, to the grocery, and back home - all without taking your life into your hands by riding with cars. It's AMAZING. And it creates a CULTURE. The kind of culture, IMO, that this country needs a whole lot more of. Get out of your damned cars and on your bike!

Speaking of culture, I went to one of the best art museums I've been to since my NYC days. Everything about the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art was breathtaking. The architecture and grounds were absolutely beautiful. The sculpture garden followed a trail that connected to .... yep, you guessed it ..... the MTB trails.

The collection was beautifully curated. It wasn't just a bunch of paintings. It was a journey that inspired deep thought and conversation.

Contemplating all the art things.

And guess what? General admission was FREE to everyone. Yes, that's right, free. Because Wal-Mart. Say what you want about the Evil Empire, but if it means that folks who can't afford to spend a day looking at art can go have that experience without worrying about the money piece of it, then I'm all for it. Seriously.

If they didn't want people to ride the turtle, there would have been a sign that said "don't ride the turtle", right?

I thought about climbing the giant spider, but that would've been bad form.

After the journey through Crystal Bridges, and a long walk around the downtown, we settled in for a pretty amazing dinner at a place recommended by an old Army friend. It was all farm-to-table and locally sourced. Again, blowing my preconceived notions of what I'd find in the Land of Wal-Mart.

Locally sourced, farm-to-table goodness on a pretty great patio.

I still have a LOT of exploring to do here in this charming little city. Tomorrow, I'm meeting up with the women's MTB group for one of their SEVERAL group rides each week (yes, that's right, there are that many femme MTBers here that they have several group rides every week). I'm here for another two weeks, and honestly, am thinking about shifting some travel plans to extend my stay a bit longer.

Bentonville. Arkansas. Who ever would've thought???