OPTION A, YOU ARE A:

Pachyderm Pal

The green woods of the Natural State may lie thousands of miles away from Africa’s sunbaked savannah, but look closely and you’ll still find elephants huddled amid the trees. At Riddle’s Elephant and Wildlife Sanctuary, guests get to feed, groom, and ride these majestic transplants.

Husband-and-wife conservationists Scott and Heidi Riddle founded their nonprofit in 1990 near the town of Greenbrier, 35 miles north of Little Rock. After arriving on Friday for the Elephant Experience Weekend, you’ll spend the evening chatting with the staff and watching an Animal Planet documentary on one of the three sanctuary-born elephants, Maximus. Rise early Saturday morning and lug tubs of breakfast bran to the eight African and Asian elephants. Then grab a bristle brush as the staff brings out two gentle Asian females and has them lie down so you can pet and brush their trunks and sides. Watch them wriggle with pleasure and raise their trunks as you scrape dirt from their hides. On Sunday, climb aboard female Betty Boop’s broad back for a ride. Each guest gets to take in the view from up here, holding on to a special frame as Scott leads Betty Boop down a short trail and back.

The Riddles hope Experience Weekends will give visitors a deeper respect for pachyderms. “As I tell people all the time, be careful,” Scott says. “Once you’ve been around elephants long enough, they’ll change your life.” elephantsanctuary.org

Photography By Lisa Healy

Wild Bunch Nosh on cheese dip at Stoby’s Restaurant in Conway, 10 miles from the sanctuary and your last chance for Friday lunch. stobys.com Meet Ellen and Mary, two female Asian elephants who live in Little Rock Zoo. littlerockzoo.com Pick out a carved elephant figurine ($4) as a souvenir of your adventure at the Riddle’s Sanctuarygift table, located in the no-frills cook house. elephantsanctuary.org

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OPTION B, YOU ARE A:

Wildlife Watcher

Downtown’s rejuvenated River Market District along the Arkansas River best represents Little Rock’s arrival as a cultured Southern hot spot. As you stroll along the Arkansas River, you’ll find once-vacant warehouses and rundown stores replaced by quirky pubs and shops with everything from dueling pianos to homemade soap.

Charge your creative side at River Market ArtSpace (rivermarketartspace.com), a gallery featuring mostly local work. Browse colorful, modern paintings and earthy sculptures from more than 70 Little Rock artists, with pieces ranging from $13 (silver paperweight) to $8,990 (mixed-media collage).

Go a few blocks to the district’s namesake, the River Market (rivermarket.info). The area sports a seasonal farmers market and more than a dozen vendors selling sushi rolls, Southern barbecue, and other delicacies.

Finally, walk less than a mile east to see the glass-and-steel William J. Clinton Presidential Library and Museum (clintonlibrary.gov). The library and archive, which opened in 2004, boasts nearly 77 million pages of historical documents and more than 84,000 museum artifacts, including the former president’s CD collection and letters sent to him from Arsenio Hall and Elton John. Thanks to the library and museum, locals now share their town with historians and political junkies. Small wonder that they credit the $165-million facility as a turning point in the comeback of downtown Little Rock.

Photography Courtesy Little Rock Cvb

Hip Hangs Rock to live music in the River Market District as you munch on biscuits, chicken strips, and banana pudding at the Sticky Fingerz Rock ‘n’ Roll Chicken Shack. stickyfingerz.com Survey the River Market District from your room on high at the 19-floor Peabody Little Rock. www.peabodylittlerock.com Browse art after dark on Second Friday Art Night, a once-a-month event when galleries, museums, and businesses in downtown Little Rock keep their doors open until 8 p.m. 2ndfridayartnight.com

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OPTION C, YOU ARE A:

Political Animal

Arkansas is the only state with three state capitol buildings still standing—or so some scholars claim. Tour all three buildings and take a trip through the state’s history.

Start your tour at Little Rock’s first claim to capitol, also the city’s oldest structure: the Hinderliter Grog Shop at the Historic Arkansas Museum (historicarkansas.org). Arkansas’ last territorial governor, William Savin Fulton, lived there. Some historians believe that Fulton’s son held political meetings at the Grog Shop, earning the spot’s reputation as the last territorial capitol building.

Head a few blocks away to the Old State House museum (oldstatehouse.com), the state’s first official capitol building. Builders started the Greek Revival–style structure in 1833 and finished in 1842. The Old State House claims the title of oldest standing capitol building—not counting the Grog Shop— west of the Mississippi. The museum includes Arkansas governor Orval Faubus’ fedora and bumper stickers from Mike Huckabee’s gubernatorial campaign. Visit the Senate Chamber upstairs where the original House of Representatives met in 1836.

Wrap up your tour at Arkansas’ current statehouse: the State Capitol (www.state.ar.us). Walk through the massive bronze doors on the eastern side—purchased for $10,000 from Tiffany’s in 1910—then stroll over to the Old Supreme Court Chamber. Restorers have returned the brass- and mahogany-lined room to its 1912 splendor.

Photography Courtesy Little Rock Cvb

Capitol Spots Enjoy fried-oyster poor boy loaf at Flying Fish. Hundreds of Big Mouth Billy Bass singing toys line the eatery. flyingfishinthe.net Sleep at the 1880-built Rosemont Bed and Breakfast, an authentic Victorian farmhouse on the National Register of Historic Places. rosemontoflittlerock.com Walk the steps of Central High School, where in 1957 nine black teenagers—the “Little Rock Nine”—were escorted to class by troops, a turning point in the U.S. civil rights movement. nps.gov/chsc

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OPTION D, YOU ARE A:

Bling King

Arkansas native Shirley Strawn dug up the most flawless diamond ever recorded in 1990, just 120 miles southwest of Little Rock. See the sparkling gem—and unearth your own hidden jewels—at Murfreesboro’s Crater of Diamonds State Park, the only public diamond mine in the country.

Although you can dig for diamonds in three ways, try dry screening, the most efficient method. Rent a small hand shovel and screen for $8 from the facility or bring your own. Turn the soil over as you look for shiny objects, and use the screen to sift the dirt. You’ll know you’ve discovered a diamond by its rounded edges and metallic shine, and because mud and dirt slides off. Best of all, the park lets you keep whatever you dig up.

Famous finds include the flawless 4.25-carat Kahn Canary diamond and the 40-carat “Uncle Sam Diamond,” the largest recorded diamond discovery in North America. In the park’s tourist center, you can see Strawn’s flawless gem, the Strawn-Wagner diamond, in a protective case.

The park averages about three diamond finds a day. And people find them in all sorts of ways, park assistant superintendent Bill Henderson says: “We had this one girl who came and dug for diamonds with her family but didn’t find any. As she headed back to her car, she took off her shoes to shake the dirt out of them and found a 10-point diamond, about half the size of a BB, in her sock.” craterofdiamondsstatepark.com

Photography © Buddy Mays/Corbis

Dig Sites FRest up for your day of digging at the cozy Diamond Oaks Inn, less than a mile from the Crater of Diamonds State Park in Murfreesboro. diamondoaksinn.com Eat your way through a monster chicken-fried steak at Buddy’s Ranch House Café in Murfreesboro on the way to the park. 870-285-4097 Rejuvenate after your excavation by taking a dip in the 100-degree thermal water at Buckstaff Baths, about 60 miles northeast of the Crater of Diamonds. buckstaffbaths.com

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Lay of the Land

GET THERE

Fly In Land at Little Rock National Airport, about five miles from downtown. Grab a cab or call your hotel’s concierge: Most provide free shuttles to and from the airport.

Get Around For historic sightseeing in town, climb aboard a River Rail Electric Streetcar. The three replica vintage trolleys run past some of the city’s best sites, like the River Market District, the Alltel Arena, and the Historic Arkansas Museum. $2 for a day pass; littlerock.com

Get Away Rent a car at the airport to reach out-of-the-way spots like the Crater of Diamonds, Greenbrier, and Hot Springs.

DO THERE

Sept. 6 Peer through a telescope to see Jupiter, double stars, and nebulae with members of the Central Arkansas Astronomical Society during the Star Party at Pinnacle Mountain State Park. arkansasstateparks.com/pinnaclemountain

Sept. 9 Head to the grand opening of the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center, an 8,000-square-foot museum dedicated to telling the story of black life and business. mosaictemplarscenter.com

Sept. 17 Learn firsthand what becoming a citizen feels like during the annual Naturalization Ceremony at the Clinton Presidential Center on Constitution Day. clintonpresidentialcenter.org

Photography John Muggenborg/Muggphoto (shells)

Little Rock, Big Facts 1) The Rock The capital’s namesake stone bluff lies along the Arkansas River. 2) Name Game Towns like Possum Grape, Toad Suck, and Pickles Gap Village are less than two hours away. 3) Dog Eat Dog Little Rock’s Finkbeiner Meat Packing Company in 1956 invented the “cheese dog.” 4) Ar-kan-law Arkansas is the only state to insist on its pronunciation by law. It’s “Ar-kan-saw.”

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