Little Rock Marathon EXPO And A Small Tour Of Nature.

On our way to the EXPO

5 and 10 K races finishing. 

The day before the Marathon and Cheryl and I are taking a day to recover from travel and prepare for the race.   What better way to do that than go to the EXPO?

Inside the Expo. 

Cheryl and I make Several "Wishes"
for tomorrow's events.

Actually,  we have to attend the EXPO to pick up our packet.   We scoped things out and surveyed the race course. There were races today.   A 5K and 10 K were run by the folks too wimpy...I mean...  Less ambitious than the Full and Half Marathon people.   Small trivia:   The Marathon Medal is HUGE! (3 lbs!)   The Half Marathon is .... you guessed it!  Half as big.  And the 5 and 10 K are equally proportioned.    So... If you want the BIGGEST,  then you have to put forth the Largest effort.

Bill Clinton is Very Popular here.

And so are  Zoo Animals.

While waiting to get into the EXPO. ( we arrived about 45 minuted early)  We toured the notable sighs.   Bill Clinton had an entire section committed to him.    As well as other celebrities.

Show me the Alien!

Warning signs never kept me out
before....

Once in the EXPO,  we moved to gather our packet and information. It was easy to find the area...   All the signs suggested that it was a restricted area.  Everyone knows that restricted areas are the most desired area's to explore.   Human Curiosity is a funny thing.

Space!   Say Hello to our little green
men.

Alien Autopsy.  Fun for the whole
family.

The theme... in case you did not figure it out by now...  is SPACE!   And everything that comes with it.   I think they opened the door for space ships and rockets, but instead got aliens.   Lots and LOTS of aliens.  Everyone likes little green men.

Pay no attention to the green man.  

 I enjoy battling them in my XCOM game.   Folks like performing Autopsies on them.   And sometimes people get Beamed up by them.  Pay no attention to the Green Blow Up doll behind the man.   I'm sure he is doing something for Science....

Pinning in Wellman, Iowa.

We are the first folks from Iowa...
so far.

Cheryl posted a pin to show that we were from Iowa.  We were the first ones to put a pin in from Iowa.  I'm sure we would not be the only ones though.   Someone was there from Alaska!  Others from Australia!

Alien  greets Cheryl using
 a version of the Vulcan Greeting.

Checking out the Route.

We posed for pictures,  greeted some aliens,  and bought a shirt and a sticker.  The entire event took a little over an hour.

Exploring Nature. 

Hidden Gems.

With all that left over time,  Cheryl wanted to do something while in Arkansas.   I did no want to shop, eat or do much driving.   So...  We found a park with a pleasant walking/biking trail.   YEAH NATURE!

Baffled by the Green.

And they're Yellow! 

Wild Daffodils. 

It's still winter?  right?

And purple... something. 

Can you see the Moth on the Moss?

How about now? 

By the way,   Spring is  already peaking through here in Arkansas.  Trees are budding,  Flowers are sprouting, and some plants are turning green.   There was a limited selection of items to discover, but the ones we noted were new in their own way.   I even accidentally took a picture of a moth and did not realize it until I got the pictures home on the Computer.

Warning signs never stopped Cheryl
before....

The trail was paved and skirted along a ridge.   There were a number of signs warning us about the dangers so we would not get too close to the edge.   But everyone knows that Signs warning about the Dangerous of an area only make it the most desired area to explore.   Human Curiosity is such a strange thing.

Quite the View.

And even more. 

Looking at the pictures,  you really can't tell just how high we are.   I'm sure that had we jumped over the fence,  and leaped off the cliff...  we might have been is a really bad situation.   However,   With the signs AND the fence... and the nice little path along the fence... I think we were perfectly safe at all times.   So much for those warnings signs.

Check out the City, 

Cheryl points out the Race location.

I noted other people walking along the fence as well... so I'm sure it was not that big of a deal.   And there were lots of trees to break your fall.  But seeing the city from the other side of the river was pretty cool.   We could almost see the Race Route from there.  Had there been 3000 runners running it, I'm sure we could have seen the exact path.  But for now,  the buildings were the only landmarks.

Time to get back down. 

I really should be more careful when tempting Cheryl with those off road places.   She is always up for adventure,  and climbing.  But when it comes to direction and getting down... she is seriously challenges.   And she breaks so easily.    Marathon runners are so Fragile.

Subaru from Iowa!   And a Sporty WRX version.

Twice today, we were followed by some people from Iowa.   Once at the EXPO. And finally at the trail we noted that someone  parked next to us in with a Subaru WRX!   With Iowa Plates.   We did not see these people, but I would not be surprised if I discovered that they were  here for the race as well.

Fish and Beer?
Sounds good to me. 

Well,  That is all for now.  Big Day tomorrow.   Perhaps we will celebrate with some Catfish and Frog legs...  Or maybe some Gumbo.   (Still don't know what Gumbo really is....)  Hopefully,  I will not be too tired to blog and can give an immediate   report of the day's proceedings.  We shall see.   Wish us Luck!