Sunday, July 12
Today we used our new track to get us from Searcy back onto our planned track. Arkansas is beautiful and doing much better economically than Mississippi - at least in the areas we travelled.
The farms were large and well maintained. Clearly, not all farmers are poor.
We met another TAT rider today. Doug has been riding from his home state of Kentucky and will likely end up in Utah. He's riding a 1999 Honda 230 that he has basically built himself. It's refreshing to see a capable mechanic/jury rigger riding a fairly worn out bike and keeping it going on the trail. We got a chance to ride with him occasionally today.
We lost track of him during the day so we were surprised to see him check into our hotel tonight (he has been camping up to this point). He told us that he was following us down one of the gravel roads, as he took a turn too fast and went wide. As he was trying to correct and get back on the road, there was a washed out area. He went over the bars and his bike went over the side. A passing truck and a rope, helped him get his bike back up the hill. He was mostly OK and his bike survived with a broken headlight and bent bars. He's committed to getting back on the trail tomorrow. Great job Doug!
Turtle crossing!
Hank taking his daily shower
We stopped and talked to this couple for a few minutes. They moved from San Diego 25 years ago!
As we have been traveling across the last three states; Tennessee, Mississippi, and now Arkansas, I have been noticing that they have a different formula for life:
More swimmin' holes. Fewer swimming pools
More Churches. Fewer gas stations
More gardens. Fewer grocery stores
More front porches. Fewer back porches.
More fishing. Less work!
I'm not ready to trade places yet but it does get you thinking about balance.
Tomorrow we continue through Arkansas and into Oklahoma. We will be traveling directly down the pan-handle of Oklahoma so it will take us over three days to get across but that will drop us off at the foot of the Rockies!
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