Did you know that Arkansas’s* state name is the Natural State? I was a little bit surprised to see quite how much natural beauty that little unassuming state holds. Arkansas has tons of waterfalls. These are the Natural Dam Falls, near Alma, Arkansas.

*In 2007, the state passed legislation that established Arkansas’s as the proper possessive form for the state.

photo by thilak

Probably the first thing I think of when I think of Arkansas is this homie. Bill Clinton is one of my favorite presidents ever, and he holds a sort of special place in my heart. My parents voted for Perot in 1992—and I have a very vivid memory of going with them to vote—but I wrote and illustrated a little book about Clinton winning the election. I was pretty excited about it.

Arkansas actually swings more to the left than I would have thought: The state tends to elect Democrat governors, and the state legislature is held by a Democratic majority.

photo via dawnandtom

Arkansas is the biggest producer of rice in the U.S. I love rice, so I’m very grateful to them. I think that vast fields and large silos are such a neat visual—it’s definitely what I think of when I think of the rural midwest or south.

photo by kboyington

Arkansas has lots of mountains. Isn’t this view, from Forked Mountain, stunning?

photo by zack andrews

This photo almost doesn’t look real. It’s Two Rivers Park Trail, near Little Rock.

photo by clayton wells

There’s a town in Arkansas called Flippin. It cracks me up: Flippin Police, Flippin Church, Flippin Grocery Store. : )

photo by susie howard smith

I love signs painted on old buildings. This one is near Hot Springs National Park. The Park has, of course, lots of hot springs (which visitors use by going to various bathhouses), as well as hiking trails and spots for camping.

photo by wayne kizziar

Eureka Springs is a quirky little town with lots of Victorian-style buildings and windy roads. (One hotel with eight stories has street-level entrances for each floor! Boggles the mind!) You can see in this picture of the city’s flatiron building that the roads are pretty wonky.

photo by jerry shelton

One more funny fact about Arkansas: In 1881, there was a dispute about how to pronounce the state’s name: one state senator insisted it should be pronounced ar-kan-ZES, but the prevailing senator maintained that ar-KEN-saw was correct.

See more posts in my fifty states series here.