Posted by BEN BEAUMONT – When many of our students arrive at the Clinton School, they have never before set foot in Little Rock much less explored the state of Arkansas. They come from all across the country and the world—from Anaheim, Calif., to State College, Penn., to Birmingham, Ala., and from Amman, Jordan to Nha Tran City, Vietnam to Harbin, China. With all of these new visitors to Arkansas, it’s really up to those students who are homegrown Arkansans to show off the culture and beauty of the Natural State.
Russ Swearingen of Rogers, Ark., did just that in organizing a Buffalo River camping trip for some of his non-Arkansan classmates this past weekend. The students camped near Ponca at Steel Creek along the Buffalo. They endured sub-40-degree temperatures overnight after spending the day hiking to Whitaker Point (pictured below). Upon returning to civilization, the students reported sightings of turkey, deer and North Arkansas’s growing elk population. Aluminium foil dinners and Tonka pies were the cuisine of choice for the campers.
Those who attended include Swearingen, Ryan Lewis, Tim Giattina, Loan Vu, Tina Dian, Carly Benkov, Jay Thompson, James Szenher and Lukman Arsalan.