Batesville Travel Guide

My Favorite place is Kelley-Wyatts Restaurant at Main St. and St. Louis. They have won awards for the Best Fried Chicken in Arkansas. They have a buffet line at noon every day and a large breakfast buffet on the weekends. I was in the hospital once and the owner, Mark, brought me my meals! That's hometown, small town service at it's best.
This is the hub of social acticity for most of the regulars. Some don't even eat, They just drink coffee and come in at 8AM, 3:30Pm anmd back at 7PM. I call these guys (the geezers)'the loafers'. I belong to the BUBBA Table. We all ride Harleys. There's another group of Cattle Farmers that must get there at 6am. There's a 'Widows' table on Thursday mornings, etc. My group pulls 3 tables together.

Favorite Dish: Fried Chicken, soups in the winter, and Cornbread Salad.

There is no real nightlife in Batesville [This ain't Manhatten] but if you live here there are Ball Games, theatre productions, a 7 Screen Movie theatre,etc. If your staying here in a motel I would recommend the Ramada Inn and it's private club, the Duck Blind. [I call it the 'Blind Duck']

Dress Code: The dress code is casual everywhere. Coat and Tie, for me any more, is Weddings and funerals.

There is no public transportation. Hwy 167 from Bald Knob is the usual route up from Little Rock. Little Rock is 90 miles. Memphis is 115 miles. The Lake, Greers Ferry Lake, at Heber Springs is 38 Miles. Conway,Arkansas is 80 miles. This is west of Little Rock and puts you on I40 West headed for OK and points west all the way to California.
I get around by Harley Davidson, good old American Iron Horse transportation. Of course, if you don't have a Harley, you need a Pick Up Truck. [I have both]

We don't use word's like 'culture' much, at least, not in the proper context. 'You all' is a common expression but I like to say 'You 'uns'. People are friendly. We're even beginning to tolerate Yankees for short visits.

Photo Equipment: Bring your camera if your a proper 'Virtual Tourist.' My favorite subjects are Faces (I love photographing grizzled old faces with lots of character)Places (I love barns, shacks and sheds and Grist Mills>) and things. ( I take photos of rusted things, old tractors and steam engines are my favorites).

I recommend visiting Mtn. View, Arkansas, @ 38 ,miles up Hwy 14. There is a major bluegrass folk festival the third weekend in April that attracts 10's of thousands. The Ozark Folk center is a major attraction with seperate buildings demonstrating and preserving Mountain Crafts and culture, lots of Antique shops and music. Mtn. View is all about music.
...It's also close to major Trout Fishing resorts and the Blanchard Spring Caverns.