Checking in from Springhill, Louisiana …
Our last stop in Arkansas was the town of Magnolia. 
On Saturday morning, May 12, “gone fishing” was literally what every elementary school child was doing. Children from kindergarten through six-grade were invited to the city pond for the 23rd Annual Fishing Festival. The fun started at 8 am and all participants could bring a parent and compete in catching the single largest fish in the pond or combining three fish for the most cumulative weight. The kids were having fun learning how to bait the hook, cast the line, wait for the bite, and reel in the catch. Some kids were so excited you could hear squealing for miles. Hope fish can’t hear. What a great idea for the Coast Guard to set-up this event for the children of Magnolia each year. One grandmother told me her grand-children participate each year and would not miss it for anything.
I also visited Southern Arkansas University while in Magnolia, a school that was not familiar to me. Seeing mostly farmland in my walks across Arkansas,
I was not surprised to learn that agriculture is the major course of study here. In fact, there were pastures full of cows right next to the Science Building. SAU must be a commuter college, however, since not a single student was in sight on this Saturday morning.
We moved the RV to Springhill, Louisiana on the 12th, and I walked into the state on Sunday morning the 13th. The path we chose through Arkansas was a mixture of huge and impressive farms, dense forests and small towns. The roads, at least where I walked, were the best I have encountered so far—wide paved shoulders to allow farm machinery to pass. 
(Probably doesn’t hurt that a two term President came from the state.) The route, however, was pretty monotonous. We were also beginning to think that the people of Arkansas were a little standoffish and disinterested in my journey–that was until our last day in the state. Our faith was restored as two people asked about the purpose of the trip and volunteered small contributions to the cause.
Happy Mother’s Day and get well wishes to our granddaughter Reagan who broke her right elbow last weekend and had surgery to insert pins.
So now I have walked through six states with five remaining. And the path just touches the northwest corner of Louisiana, so it will only take a few days. Here is our proposed schedule:
Monday, May 14 … thru Plain Dealing to Hosston, LA
Tuesday, May 15 … thru Vivian, LA to the Louisiana/Texas border
Wednesday, May 16 … to Jefferson, TX
