Heh. In 1993, I took the future Mrs. Siam Sam on her first visit to the mainland during our university summer break. All she’d known until then was Hawaii, which I assured her was not really representative of the whole country. After meeting the folks in West Texas, she and I drove to Arkansas to see my grandmother in Ozark, Arkansas. People were nice, but some of the stares she got were those otherwise reserved for outer-space aliens. Some of the citizenry, their jaws seemed to have dropped all the way to their shoes. I told her now she knew what a farang (Westerner) like me frequently experienced in rural Thailand.
My in-laws lived near Perry, Arkansas for about 16 years and we’d visit often. It’s a very pretty state, but what I found jarring was the overt religiosity of almost everyone and religion means Christian. We would go to my wife’s cousin’s football games and anytime anyone got hurt, everyone on both teams, including the cheerleaders, would get down on their knees in prayer and the people in the stands would bow their heads in prayer. When the kid got up, you’d hear shouts of “praise Jesus!” As a pinko east coast liberal, it was an eye opener.
I was there for a few weeks 30 years ago and my main recollection is the pervasive smell of chicken shit. The hills were memorable also.
Where were you, a Tyson chicken farm?
Springdale - Rogers? Nice small cityish. If you want more stuff, head up to Fayetteville for fancy or more varied shopping and/or eating. Tulsa’s not that far either and that’s fairly metropolitan. You’ll see a lot of SUVs and Pickups. The folks may not be all that friendly to cross country bicyclists. It’s Razorback country, so prepare yourself.
I wouldn’t really consider that NW Arkansas.
Thanks. 
" head up to Fayetteville"
You have moved to Australia?
I am not sure they put South Pole at the top of their maps, do they?
Boy, pilots flying from LA to Sidney must be really good with map reading.
All the part of
Arkansas that has hills and beauty and fun is considered heaven by dirt bikers, adventure riders, cruiser riders, bicycle riders trail riders, foot runners, hikers, nature lovers, Sunday drivers, Tourist, has all the neat places from caves to lakes to towns like Eureka Springs, and on & on and it is all considered NWA. So Petit jean is in…
All the flat boring rice growing parts is the bad part known as East Arkansas and only liked by the farmers and ag pilots. 
No, NW Arkansas is north of I-40 and west of Harrison. Petit Jean is not.
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We’ve visited family friends in Rogers many times and thought it a great place to visit. nice scenery, Eureka Springs was a hoot, walked under the big Jesus statue, saw the Pea Ridge battleground. Ate lots of brown food (everything seemed to be deep fried or covered in gravy), and saw lots of Baptists churches, sometimes right next to each other. The Confederate flag was everywhere; I don’t know about that recently.
I see no complaint about my post #29. 
I get to Eureka Springs every fall to fish.