Is there possum in Possum Pie? Whatever, it's good!

Arkansas is known for its pies — lots of ‘em and plenty of variety. Just ask Kat Robinson, author of a whole book on the state’s desserts, titled “Arkansas Pie: A Delicious Slice of the Natural State.” Robinson’s book is as much travelogue as foodie fare, and there’s lots of recipes as well.

There’s a reason Robinson wrote an entire book on the subject. Pies are everywhere in Arkansas and they are some delicious. Many are unique to the state, many carry strange names. Whatever you choose, it’s hard to find one not to your likin’.

            Take the Possum Pie, for instance. I sampled this delectable creature while dining on top Petit Jean Mountain about an hour north of Hot Springs. Petit Jean State Park offers a lodge built by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and there’s a fabulous restaurant that overlooks the mountains and the canyon below. My waitress claimed my slice of possum pie contained layers of cream cheese, chocolate mouse, cream cheese again, then topped with whipped cream, caramel and chocolate dribbles, and finally chocolate chips. Talk about good. And no, there are no possums involved in the cooking of this pie.
            In Eureka Springs, I sat on the balcony of the Basin Park Hotel in the aptly named Balcony Restaurant and devoured the Huckleberry Pie, the restaurant's signature dessert. This crescent-shaped trip to heaven includes a huckleberry filling (my first time) that’s fried and served with huckleberry ice cream. Take about good! And while you’re giving yourself a sugar coma, you can view downtown Eureka Springs and the nearby Basin Spring, where the town originated after the water there was found to be curative. Better yet, spend the night in the historic hotel, enjoy the spa and maybe see a ghost; the hotel’s haunted like most of the historic town.

Cheré Coen is an award-winning travel writer specializing in the Deep South. She is the author of "Forest Hill, Louisiana: A Bloom Town History," "Exploring Cajun Country: A Historic Guide to Acadiana" and "Haunted Lafayette, Louisiana" and co-author of "Magic's in the Bag: Creating Spellbinding Gris Gris Bags and Sachets." She also writes Louisiana romances under Cherie Claire, including "A Cajun Dream" and "The Letter." Write her at cherecoen@gmail.com.

People standing on rocks

            People love to stand on rocks in the South. Maybe it’s because our mountains are tired after years on this earth, resting gently to let the moss grow on their backs as opposed to the majestic heights of the Rocky Mountains to the west with its sharp precipices and mighty peaks. In the South, there aren’t that many grand places to step out on to. (Considering Southerners and their love of hijinks, that could be a good thing.) But life in the South is more like a soft Blue Ridge vista or an Ozark overlook sporting fall colors down a gentle slope.

            I hail from the Deep South, a land created by mud deposits of the Mississippi River where rocks are purchased at lapidary shops. So naturally, I’m all about shooting a photo of me on top of Lookout Mountain.

            “Offbeat Tennessee” writes about one such place that has drawn visitors for years, Umbrella Rock on Lookout Mountain above Chattanooga, Tenn., where up to 30 people at a time can pose on the formation — and have! Even presidents Theodore Roosevelt and FDR (must be a Roosevelt thing) have visited Umbrella Rock for a photo opp. Of course today taking one’s photo would be too dangerous so the rock formation is currently off limits.

            You can view a collection of photos taken on Umbrella Rock here. And even more here.

            And by the way, visitors standing on Umbrella Rock can view seven states from that impressive rock collection! On a clear day.

            I’m going to end with a couple of my own. My grandparents took my father on a road trip to the Ozarks and visited Pivet Rock and Natural Bridge outside Eureka Springs, Arkansas (that's the threesome in the photo to the right). When I visited the area, I stopped at the park and gazed upon this rock formation that I knew I had seen before. No, my family didn’t climb on top for their immortal photo — my grandfather would have never allowed it — but they did bring home a photo nonetheless. 

             And guess what? So did I.

Cheré Coen is an award-winning travel writer specializing in the Deep South. She is also the author of “Forest Hill, Louisiana: A Bloom Town History,” “Haunted Lafayette, Louisiana” and “Exploring Cajun Country: A Historic Guide to Acadiana” and co-author of “Magic’s in the Bag: Creating Spellbinding Gris Gris Bags and Sachets.” Write her at cherecoen@gmail.com.

They are out there — in the Ozarks!

  

          Eureka Springs is known for its quirky side. Nestled in the Ozarks on the side of a mountain, the town attracts a variety of followers — including a few from outer space!

            The 28th annual Ozark Mountain UFO Conference, the oldest UFO conference in the United States, kicks off Friday, April 10, 2015, in Eureka Springs, bringing together experts and investigators in the field of UFOs, extraterrestrials and ancient and lost civilizations. The conference takes place at the Best Western Inn of the Ozarks Convention Center at 207 W. Van Buren St. in the heart of town.

Peter Davenport

            The event was the brainchild of the late UFOlogist (I didn’t make that word up, it was in the press release) Lucius O. Farish. Since his passing in 2013, the conference has been helmed by metaphysical author and researcher Dolores Cannon.

            The event opens with a lecture by Peter Davenport, another UFOlogist and director of the National UFO Reporting Center since 1994. He’s also a current member and former costate section director and Director of Investigation for the Washington State chapter of MUFON (Mutual UFO Network). Also on April 10, Thom Reed will recount his childhood ET/UFO encounters from the 1960s. Several of Thom's childhood sketches from 1969, depicting what he witnessed first-hand, are displayed at the Roswell UFO Museum in New Mexico, and the Great Barrington Historical Society of Massachusetts will also include Thom’s extraterrestrial encounters in their collection.

            Psychic Nikki Pattillo, author of “Children of the Stars: Advice for Parents and Star Children and A Spiritual Evolution,” will also speak on day one of the conference, giving her lecture titled “Star Children and a New Earth.”
            On April 11, Kewaunee Lapseritis, researching the Bigfoot/Sasquatch phenomenon, will give his presentation “Overwhelming Evidence for a Bigfoot/UFO Connection” and Barbara Lamb, veteran crop circle researcher and author of “Crop Circles Revealed,” will speak on “Crop Circles: A Worldwide Mystery.”

Kewaunee Lapseritis

            Linda Moulton Howe, recipient of the Lucius Farish Foundation Award for excellence in UFO research, TV producer, documentarian, author and Earthfiles.com editor, will speak as well as a keynote speech by UFO author, investigator, researcher and reporter Richard Dolan, who hosts the Richard Dolan Show on KGRA Radio, is a frequent guest to Coast-to-Coast AM, and is featured in the new television documentary series, “Hangar One.”

Melanie Young

            On April 12, Melanie Young, a neonatal nurse, will speak about her research into The Starchild Skull, a 900-year-old bone skull found in Mexico in the 1930s that is strangely shaped and exhibits possible qualities of an extraterrestrial origin.

Sherry Wilde, author of “The Forgotten Promise,” will return this year as the final speaker at the 2015 Ozark Mountain UFO Conference to further discuss her decades-long encounters with extraterrestrials in the presentation “The Esoteric Life of a Volunteer.”

            The final day of the conference will also include a tribute to the late Dolores Cannon, who passed away in October 2014 after writing dozens of books based on her nearly 50 years of investigations into UFOs and metaphysics. She obtained information about ETs and UFOs from thousands of past life regression sessions and developed her own technique of hypnotherapy, Quantum Healing Hypnosis Therapy (QHHT), which also enabled her to directly communicate with extraterrestrials. Dolores was involved with the Ozark UFO Conference since its inception.
             For more information, visit www.ozarkufoconference.com.

Cheré Coen is an award-winning travel writer specializing in the Deep South. She is also the author of “Forest Hill, Louisiana: A Bloom Town History,” “Haunted Lafayette, Louisiana” and “Exploring Cajun Country: A Historic Guide to Acadiana” and co-author of “Magic’s in the Bag: Creating Spellbinding Gris Gris Bags and Sachets.” Write her at cherecoen@gmail.com.

The South's just weird all over!

            We drive along the South’s intricate web of Interstates and routinely come across this weird image. No, the truck isn’t driving backwards and heading straight for us, but this truck cab being towed sure makes for a scary sight, especially if you’re heading home after a night in New Orleans.

            This weird moment made us think of a few more.

            Like the no swimming sign at the Louisiana Welcome Center, on the Bayou State side of the Sabine River outside southeast Texas. Even the hardiest of souls who ignore undertow warnings and go outside during hurricanes will probably do exactly what this sign says.

            Or how about this dinosaur someone placed in their back yard in Eureka Springs. To keep cats away? To give the dog a fright when he takes a leak in the middle of the night?

           What’s a weird thing you’ve seen in the South, or is this a gross understatement? (Yes, we realize there are many weird things in the South, which is why we wrote this blog!) But we’d still love to hear about it. Or send us a photo by email with the subject line “Weird South” to cherecoen@gmail.com.

We've been told a lie. Humpty Dumpty lives!

             Eureka Springs is a funky little town. It began with a doctor’s discovery of the medicinal springs, drawing people to the area who built the town around the side of a mountain. Throughout town you’ll find old buildings and remnants of buildings along secluded roads and trails, an underground city from when the current town was built on top of the old and lots of caves and springs. 

             And then there’s Humpty Dumpty.

            He sits on a wall — intact — in the middle of downtown Eureka Springs. Apparently he hasn’t fallen yet — or we've been lied to! Visitors looking for the fairy tale need to know where to spot him or they will easily walk by and never see him perched above. Humpty makes his home next to the Basin Spring Park, where Spring and Main streets intersect. Just pass by and look up.

            The town is also home to the world’s largest tuned wind chime, a 36-foot-tall creation hanging from a 100-year-old oak tree that’s listed on the Guinness Book of Records. It’s located in front of Celestial Windz Harmonic Bizaar at 381 Highway 23 South. Listen here to the NPR story, which includes audio of the chimes.