Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art 600 Museum Way, Bentonville: World class American Art museum built and stocked by Alice Waltons, of the Walmart founding family.

Saunders Memorial Museum - 113 E Madison; Berryville, Ark. - 870-423-2563. One block off the square in Berryville sits one of the best collections in the U.S. of rare pistols and revolvers and unique, personal antiques. Bequeathed to the city by a benefactor in 1952. Modest admission charge. www.Berryville.com

Walmart Museum 105 N. Main St., Bentonville: Recreation of Sam Walton's vintage Five & Dime store and historic recreation of period dime store.

Bud Walton Arena Hall of Champions Museum 1270 Leroy Pond Road, Fayetteville: Arkansas Razorback sports museum & display at basketball arena.

Buffalo National River - The first National River set aside by the National Park Service, this national treasure is widely known for its scenic beauty and easy to float water (except the upper river after heavy rains). Floating, camping, hiking and horseback riding are available. For riders, canoe rental services offer put-in and take-out services. www.nps.gov/buff/

Ozark Folk Center 1032 Park Ave., Mt. View: State park celebrating Ozarks folk music and historic lifestyles with displays, folk music and historic demonstrations.

Blanchard Springs Cavern - Operated by the U.S. Forest Service, Blanchard Springs Caverns is a huge, developed cave and spring surrounded by hiking trails, camping and picnicking, and outdoor recreation. Outside of Mtn. View on Arkansas Highway 14. www.fs.fed.us/oonf/ozark/recreation/caverns

Arkansas Air Museum 4290 S. School Ave., Drake Field, Fayetteville: Biplanes, helicopters, military and civilian aircraft, and more are displayed very nicely at Fayetteville's historic Drake Field.

Daisy Air Gun Museum 202 Walnut, Rogers: History of air guns from the first models, to Ralphie's quest for a Red Ryder in “A Christmas Story”, to today.

Shiloh Museum of Ozarks History 118 W. Johnson Ave., Springdale: Preserving and displaying the rich history of the Ozarks.

Art Center of the Ozarks 214 S. Main St., Springdale: Featuring theater productions, visual arts, and production classes of the Ozarks.

Rodeo of the Ozarks 1423 E. Emma Ave., Springdale: Annual four-day rodeo over the Fourth of July holiday attract some of the best talent in the sport.

Opera in the Ozarks 16311 U.S. 62 at Inspiration Point, Eureka Springs: Talented young singers from across the nation gather at this musical workshop to perform the classic operas for a month each summer.

Monte Ne at the end of AR 94 East, Rogers: Early 20th-Century resort, a popular destination during the heydays of spending long periods of vacation time at resorts. Today mostly covered by waters of Beaver Lake.

Mammoth Spring State Park - Mammoth Spring, Ark. - 870-625-7364. Mammoth Spring is the 10th largest spring in the world with an output of 9.75 million gallons an hour (not day). Picnicking, museum, lodging and restaurants nearby. www.arkansasstateparks.com

Frank Lloyd Wright's Bachman Wilson House 600 Museum Way, Bentonville: Taken apart and moved from New Jersey to Arkansas, this example of Wright's Usonian architecture was rebuilt on the grounds of Crystal Bridges.

Aviation Cadet Museum 542 Carroll County Rd. 2073, Eureka Springs: A small, but high quality, air museum that's a celebration the Cadet Aviation era of training pilots, several jets, displays and exhibits, plus a grass landing strip.

Arkansas Historic Wine Museum 101 N Carbon City Road, Paris: A look at the history of wine making in the state of Arkansas.

Elk watching along the Buffalo River Boxley Valley, along AR 43. In the 1980s the Arkansas Game and Fish reintroduced elk along the upper Buffalo River.

Lost Valley in Boxley Valley on AR 43 three miles form Ponca: This NPS day-use park is a popular picnicking and hiking area. Trails are easy all the way back to beautiful Eden Falls and huge bluff shelter cave.

Devils Den State Park - Hwy 74 ( near Winslow, Ark.) - 479-761-3325. Beautiful 1930s Civilian Conservation Corps-built park nestled in the Ozarks south of Fayetteville, west of Winslow. Hiking trails, caves, restaurant, cabins and camping. Spectacular riding into and out of park, but especially on the hairpen curves on AR 74 east out of the park towards Winslow. www.arkansasstateparks.com

Ft. Smith National Historical Site/Judge Parker' s Courtroom - 301 Parker Ave., Ft. Smith, Ark. - 479-783-3961. This National Park site is where the West once began. "Hell on the Border" was once its nickname, until "Hanging" Judge Parker brought law to the area. Open every day. www.nps.gov/fosm/

War Eagle Mill 11045 War Eagle Road, Benton County just off AR 12. The mill and bridge are 15-miles east of Rogers. This rebuilt watermill (1970w-era) is home to the popular War Eagle Craft Fair, and sits along side the one-lane War Eagle Bridge.

Clinton House Museum, 930 W. Clinton Drive, Fayetteville: Before Bill Clinton was governor of Arkansas and president of the United States he was a law professor at UA. The house he and wife Hillary lived in is now a museum, a real blast back to the '70s.

Bikes, Blues and BBQ, Fayetteville: One of the top five motorcycle rallies in the nation. It has spread across a large portion of NW Arkansas, held last weekend in September.

Confederate Cemetery 514 E Rock St., Fayetteville: The Southern Memorial Association bought this site in 1873 to be the final resting place for Confederate soldiers. Placed on the National Register on 1993.

Pea Ridge National Military Park NPS, 15930 E. U.S. 62, between Pea Ridge and Garfield: Major Civil War battlefield, site of the battle that saved Missouri for the Union.

Prairie Grove Battle Field State Park 506 E. Douglas St., Prairie Grove: This 900-acre park is downtown in Prairie Grove and is the last major battle of the Civil War in Northwest Arkansas.

Lake Leatherwood Eureka Springs, 1303 CR 204 (four miles west on U.S. 62): CCC/WPA-era park and dam. It's 1 1610-acre park with an 85-acre lake. Camping and cabins, hiking, picnicking and swimming. A relaxing place to chill out.

Great Passion Play 935 Passion Play Rd., Eureka Springs: Outdoor pay based on the last week of the life of Christ. Also Sacred Art Gallery, Bible museum, Christ of the Ozarks statue, recreation of Biblical Jerusalem.

Blue Spring Heritage Center 1537 CR 210, Eureka Springs: A 38-million gallon a day spring forms the lagoon at this site that was sacred to the various local Indian tribes. Gardens, tour, available for wedding, with programs.

Elk Education Center #2 AR 43, Ponca: Operated by the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, feature not only education about the reintroduced elk of Boxley Valley but also educational displays on the ecology of the area.

Arkansas Grand Canyon Jasper: Three miles south of town Scenic Point on AR 7.

Bull Shoals Dam/James A. Gaston Visitor Center 153 Dam Overlook Lane, Bull Shoals: North end of Bull Shoals dam on AR 178, this state park is an environmental learning center and charts the history of the White River, the construction of Bull Shoals dam and lake with displays and programs. Named for local businessman Jim Gaston.

Historic Town of Canehill 17 miles west of Fayetteville on AR 45. The largest concentration of buildings on the National Register in Arkansas. Was also the site of the first college in the state. The school has recently undergone a complete remodling.

Walmart Arkansas Music Pavilion (AMP) 5079 W. Northgate Rd., Rogers: This is the premier music venue in the state, backed by the Walton family. Books top-rated acts and performers. Permanent seating along with grass hillside seating.

Chainsaw Art Sculptures Woodsdale Drive, Holiday Island. Across Holiday Island trees that had been slated for removal have found a second life as chainsaw art, becoming eagles, bears, foxes, racoons, and other wildlife as they were turned into workds of art.

The Little Golden Gate Bridge (the Beaver Bridge), 187 Beaver: On AR 187 is the classic one-lane, wood-planked suspension bridge beloved by locals and visitors alike.

Rush; an Arkansas Ghost Town south of Yellville on AR 14, Marion Co. 2063: When the price of zinc tanked so did this town of 5,000 along the Buffalo River. It had numerous houses, stores, barbershops, saloons, hotels and mines. Today this real deal ghost town sits within the Buffalo National River park grounds.

East Calico Rock; almost a ghost town At the former river boat town of Calico Rock on AR 5: Today Calico Rock is a thriving trout fishing destination. But the old town, East Calico Rock, is a ghost town within a community.

Wolf House Norfork: One of the oldest surviving pioneer houses in the Ozarks, the Jacob Wolf house, build in 1829, sits at the confluence of the White River and the North Fork River. It has been a family home, trading post, courthouse and post office. Excellent example of early style homes with a dog-trot between two living areas.

Mammoth Spring State Park 17 U.S. 63, Mammoth Spring: One of the top ten springs in the world at 10-million gallons and hour. Forms the headwaters of the Spring River. The power of this spring was harnessed behind a dam and use to power first a grist mill and later an electric generator.

Rotary Ann Park South of Pelsor on AR Scenic 7: This was the first roadside park in the state of Arkansas, built by the Rotary Anns (wives of Rotary Club members) of Russellville, Ark. in the early 1930, right after AR 7 was named a state highway. Beautiful '30s-era rock construction.

Peel Ferry AR 125 at Bull Shoals Lake, Peel: At one time Arkansas rivers and lakes frequently used ferry boats to cross the water. As bridges replaced these leisurely crossing modes the state is down to just one remaining ferry, the Peel Ferry. A slow ride across a couple miles of open water. Slow, but relaxing and a great opportunity to visit with the other riders who you will usually meet crossing too. So give you Hog a free boat ride from Arkansas up into Missouri.

David Bell says: "I love riding in the Ozarks. The area is one of the top places to ride in nation. But I also really like cruising out to the Southwest. I have been to Northern New Mexico on several occasions and produced several stories for magazines on those rides. Here's a paperback book that's a compilation of these stories, in a photo-essay style that I think you will enjoy. The book covers Northern New Mexico and includes lots pictures and maps in addition to two stories about my rides in the area. It would look great on your coffee table. This book will make a wonderful gift for the rider in your life, or even for yourself. Go to Amazon to order this print-on-demand glossy book by clicking on this link today: More great rides... Check out the new ride guide from David Bell - "Two Wheels and Asphalt: Rides across northern New Mexico"... Click on the links above to order direct from Amazon.com