The Buffalo River is one the last free-flowing rivers in the lower 48. Its preservation came at a cost: the dam-builders wanted to fill the canyons with water; the developers wanted to crest each ridge with condominiums; the farmers and ranchers wanted to stay on their land. But in 1972, the Buffalo National River was created by Congress and signed into law by Richard Nixon. Today, it is truly one of the last great wild places. The river has created a labyrinth of hollers and bluffs through the north Arkansas mountains. She rages in the spring and purrs in the fall; her moods are many. The park is a glorious place to enter solitude and to paint.