It was Day 3 of our “Wild, Wacky Adventure” to Arkansas and Oklahoma. You can click here to see our complete trip itinerary.

The original plan was to see the University of Arkansas and then head to Oklahoma. Since we had driven around the college the previous evening, we had extra time in the morning to do some more exploring.

I read all about the Wal-Mart Museum and decided it would be fun to see since it was small and only took about 1/2 hour.

But then I realized the Wal-Mart Museum was close to the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. I read that it was great to see not only for art, but for its architecture – similar to the Getty Museum in L.A. When I found out it was free (thanks to the Sam Walton family), I felt we had no excuse not to visit.  We’d go and stay about 30 minutes. Well an hour and a half later, we finally left and I’m so glad we visited it!

Wal-Mart Museum

But I’m getting ahead of myself. First to the Wal-Mart Museum. Heading back up I-49, (yes the same interstate that runs from Shreveport to Lafayette), it was amazing to see how many vehicles used the highway and I felt I was driving on the outskirts of Dallas or Houston. We didn’t have any slow traffic, but just lots of cars. Again – thank you Wal-Mart. I remember the days when I-49 was just a pipe dream in the very distant future.

Downtown Bentonville was a cute, historic town complete with town square. Parking (free) was easy on the tree-lined streets. You can’t miss the original store that Sam Walton originally opened as a Ben Franklin’s in 1950 with the red letters “5-10 Walton’s 5-10” above a red awning. But except for that, the white, two-story building fits in with the adjacent buildings.

This museum is also free. We’re making money on this trip – right? We walked in and instead of it looking like an original Ben Franklin store, the walls boast various museum displays. To the right, the theatre section has pictures of Sam Walton, the family and the stores while the audio version of George Bush’s medal of Honor ceremony plays on a loop. The medal of honor proudly hangs outside the theatre.

Exhibits show the packaging of common household goods the Walton’s would have sold. We learned that he turned it into Wal-Mart in 1962 and throughout the early years, growth expanded to only four states.

Another display shows various returned items with letters and explanations. One returned thermos bottle came without a receipt. Although Wal-Mart didn’t carry that brand, they still accepted the return. Another item was a fishing pole and in the accompanying letter, the customer explained he was returning it because “it didn’t catch fish.” No wonder Wal-Mart was known for its generous return policy.

Towards the back of the store, we saw Mr. Walton’s original office. No, this isn’t a sleek penthouse corner office inside a skyscraper, but a wood-panelled room with no windows, a stuffed fish handing on a wall and a 1950’s era desk with framed pictures of family members. It looks like it could be in the back of a tire store. Later, we saw his Ford F-10 pickup truck.

As we entered the next building, we saw how the company grew from the four neighboring states to the rest of the United States and to other countries.  We learned about the introduction of Sam’s Clubs and saw how the company continued to grow after his death in 1992.

Now we were at the front of the adjacent building and they had set up an ice cream soda shop in the decor of the late 1950/60s. Sam Walton’s favorite treat was butter pecan ice cream. The first ice cream brand he sold at his first Ben Franklin store in Newport, AR was Yarnell’s. Today, they still sell Yarnell’s ice cream, as well as offer a full restaurant menu for hungry tourists. For more information, click The Wal-Mart Museum.

Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art

Now on to Crystal Bridges Museum. Founded by Sam Walton’s daughter, Alice, the museum opened in 2011. It boasts some of the largest collections of American Art. Upon arrival, we passed by numerous art sculptures.

Entering the circular paved driveway, older and happy people greeted us much like the Wal-Mart greeters without goofy blue vests. As we continued walking outside, they directed us to a glass elevator where we descended two floors!

There’s a big courtyard and we went to another building. It is beautiful and architecturally a jewel.

I immediately liked the organization and layout of the museum. The first room contained portraits from the late 1700’s including the Gilbert Stuart painting of George Washington. There are only two in the world and this is one of them (the other is in the National Gallery I believe). Anyway, portraits were what was popular in the US at the time.

The next room,Westward Expansion, displayed prairie type paintings. At this time the country was moving westward, and art reflected that as well. Between the rooms, are windows to bring the outside in, which was so refreshing. The security guards are retired and happy people from the community.

The next section is about industrialization and the art here reflects how the country was growing in the late 1800’s.

Then, we learned about post WWII and pop art. A timeline showed things happening in the country – most notably, the atomic bomb and JFK’s assassination – with the emergence of modern and contemporary art.

Afterwards, there was a large dining area, but it was too early to eat. We followed along a windowed corridor past the special exhibits (Warhol was opening a few days later) and exited at the other end to take the art trail.

On this garden path, we saw sculptures and even passed a restroom. We were getting tired so we turned back around. For not expecting anything, I found multiple exhibits that kept our interests and spent 1.5 hours there. News has it that someone is moving a Frank Lloyd Wright house to the museum.

It was great and easily would be worth a $20-$25 charge. Click here for more information about Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art.