Thursday, August 14, 2008

Toad Suck--Arkansas

We travelled to Conway, Arkansas on Sunday to take DK to college at University of Central Arkansas. We expected to get DK settled in and everything set up for his apartment, but we didn't expect to have so much fun!
The previous weekend Matt's dad was telling us about some of the wierd places some of his coworkers were from. We laughed as he told us the names of these crazy towns, but didn't think much else about it.
UNTIL...Monday afternoon we were driving through Conway bored (DK was in meetings) heading to Sonic for happy hour (gotta love that!). On our way there I spotted a sign that said "Toad Suck" with an arrow pointing left. I screamed in excitement and told Matt to turn left! We weren't sure how far it'd be, but we thought we'd drive a ways and see.
That's when we came upon...
Legends of Toad Suck:
1. There was a big spring that kept water on the surrounding ground most of the time, attracting toads to set up camp around it. Then every now and then, the spring would suck in all the water, and the toads.
2. Long ago, steamboats traveled the Arkansas River when the water was at the right depth. When it wasn't, the captains and their crew tied up to wait where the Toad Suck Lock and Dam now spans the river. While they waited, they refreshed themselves at the local tavern there, to the dismay of the folks living nearby, who said: "They suck on the bottle 'til they swell up like toads." Hence, the name Toad Suck. The tavern is long gone, but the legend and fun live on at Toad Suck Daze.


Toad Suck is only a town of 230 people, so there's not much to see other than the pics above. However, the first weekend in May, every year, is when they host the "Laid Back Weekend." The weekend is full of hillbilly games, but the best of all, are the annual toad races. Due to flooding in Toad Suck a few years back, the weekend festivities are now held in Toad Suck Square in downtown Conway. For more information, you can check out their website at http://www.toadsuck.org/

Needless to say, what we thought would be a boring afternoon while DK was in meetings, turned out to be lots of fun!

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