Four Things to Do on 4th of July Holiday Weekend

With the fourth of July falling on a Friday this year, offering a three day Holiday weekend, here are three suggestions for ways you could spend your Holiday weekend in Arkansas, the Natural State, and a fourth idea you can do most anywhere.

Little Rock, Arkansas' state capitol, is located right in the center of the state and is easily accessible with I-40 running through the city from east to west and I-30 running north and south. The city is home to the William J. Clinton Presidential Library located just down the street from downtown Little Rock at the end of President Clinton Avenue.

The library is open from 9 A.M. to 5 P.M. Monday through Saturday and from 1-5 on Sundays. Admission is $7 for adults, &5 for seniors over 62, $3 for children from 6-17 and free for children under 6 years of age. Children can take a White House mini-tour including seeing a replica of the famed Oval Office. And cynics, no, there is not a mannequin of Monica Lewinsky in the room, I checked. There is food there in the form of Cafe 42, named so due to Bill Clinton being the 42nd President of the United States. There are other eateries just down the street towards downtown Little Rock.

What better way in middle America to spend a three day Holiday weekend, especially 4th of July weekend, than to visit a Presidential library? There is sure to be a major fireworks show in Riverfront Park on the night of the 4th, just a short walk away. All these attractions are located overlooking the scenic Arkansas River. If politics are not your thing or you are just not a Clinton fan, Pinnacle Mountain State Park is home to a Fun on the 4th festival on Independance day. The state park is just a few miles east of the city of Little Rock.

The attractions of the Natural State are not limited to Little Rock or central Arkansas by any means. Hot Springs is just a short drive south on I-30. Hot Springs is home to numerous spas, bathhouses and the like. Babe Ruth, Al Capone and many other celebs used to come to Hot Springs for the mineral baths and other attractions. Magic Springs, a theme park is located there also. The park features many rides, and a water park among other things. There are numerous golf courses there and in nearby Hot Springs Village and throughout the area. All in all, Hot Springs would be a fine place to spend your Holiday weekend on July 4-6.

Just an hour or less down the road in Murfreesboro is the world's only diamond mine where the public can dig for precious stones and keep what they find. It is located a few miles outside the small town in the Crater of Diamonds State Park. There are only a few motels in the town, but the state park offers campsites. Admission to the diamond mine is cheap enough and you can rent equipment for a reasonable price. I would recommend getting there early in the morning as soon as it opens to beat the heat, which can be searing in July. How many people can say they spent a Holiday weekend digging for diamonds? Can you imagine finding a diamond on the 4th of July? For more details on the park check an earlier article from last fall.

If you don't dig diamonds, beautiful Lake DeGray is nearby with golf, fishing, swimming and a host of other outdoor activities. Maybe a float trip on the Ouachita River is your idea of a good 4th of July weekend. Hold the Deliverance jokes, please. That was many miles away in Georgia and a fictional story as well. The little town of Hope is not too far down the road. Hope was the birthplace of one William Jefferson Clinton and also the hometown of Mike Huckabee, former Governor of the state and more recently a Presidential candidate himself.

If south Arkansas is not your cup of tea, there are numerous things to do for a 4th of July weekend, or any three day weekend, for that matter, in the western part of the state. Lake Fort Smith State Park just reopened in a new location after a 7 year absence due to a need to increase the water supply in nearby Fort Smith. The sparkling new park has campsites, boating, fishing, swimming, kayaking, mountain biking and other outdoor activities in the park near the 1,400 acre lake. Call 1-800-264-2435 to reserve a campsite or more information.

Just up the road on 1-540 in Springdale is the Rodeo Of The Ozarks, held annually around the 4th of July Holiday. If you're a rodeo enthusiast, what better way to spend a Holiday weekend?

If theme parks are your thing, Branson, MO is just a couple of hours away with Silver Dollar City, Celebration City and the White Water water park.

If you're not the outdoor type and more of a couch potato, why not get the Indiana Jones trilogy if you intend to stay home for the 4th of July Holiday? I know before I see the new Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull film, my family and I intend to buy the trilogy and watch all three of the previous installments to refresh our memories. At least in the case of my wife and I. My 11 year old son has never seen any of the films, so he needs an education on the Indiana Jones series.

With all three of the films having a run time of around two hours, it would probably be too much for all but the most fanatical fan to watch all three in one sitting. Therefore, you might split the movies up over two of the days and go to the theater to catch the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull on Sunday. All of the Indiana Jones movies were released as summer fare.

Most fans and critics consider the 2nd film in the series, The Temple Of Doom the weakest and Steven Spielberg reportedly was quoted as saying the third film was an apology for the second. Indiana Jones And the Temple Of Doom led to the creation of the PG-13 rating, by the way, due to gore mostly, but was still better than most action adventure movies these days. You and your families could do a lot worse than spending part of your Holiday weekend on the Fourth of July watching these flicks.