Well, what can we say about Arkansas.  They say if you don’t have anything good to say it is better to not say anything.  This blog is meant to track our good and bad days, though, so I will post a few words on today’s experiences.

 We set out from the Heartbreak Hotel at 8:30 AM this morning, fresh and ready for “The Natural State” of Arkansas.  Highway 70 between Forrest City and Little Rock is very straight and very bumpy.  Our excitement on this route was armadillo road kill, a minnow farm, one curve, and a crop dusting.  We tried not to inhale the crop dusting . . .

Little Rock . . . Bill Clinton, your home town is a poop hole.  We learned that the hard way today.   We approached Little Rock from the wrong angle, I guess, as our Garmin GPS routed us through “North Little Rock” (aka the industrial zone/slums of Little Rock).  We saw a Wendy’s just past the last of the industrial complexes of  “North Little Rock” and decided to have a little “taste of home.”  It was a poor choice.  We got more and more nervous as we watched the people coming and going from this little Wendy’s and the questionable activity on the streets around the restaurant zone.  Let’s just say we did not feel comfortable finishing our lunch, hopped on our bikes, and got as fast out of Little Rock as we could.  Today was the first day that I was thankful for the 70 MP/H (120 KM/H) speed limit on the interstate.

Arkansas redeemed itself somewhat by the end of our ride.  The roads going into Hot Springs, Arkansas were much nicer and scenic.  We have a beautiful hotel room right now at the Holiday Inn Express.  Hot Springs is an old resort area that had it heyday during the gangster era of the 20s and 30s.  Al Capone used to frequent the same hotel where Bill Clinton had his junior and senior prom – The Arlington.  Tomorrow we will try to get some pictures of the downtown core, its historic bathhouses, and The Arlington.