Day 22. Hope, Arkansas.

Day 22.  To mile 3636.  Today we drove through southern Arkansas to Hope, the birthplace of William Jefferson Clinton.  

Signs will lead you to the home of his birth.  Hope has 10,000 people.  There is a large ag center where pig shows are popular.  Nearby the town of Washington Arkansas features a little historic state park.  Washington is where Mr. Black, a local smith, fashioned the Bowie knife for James.  The knife was as legendary as Mr. Bowie himself.  A number of trails to the West and Oklahoma came through Washington, was did the trail of tears.  Jo Ann and I got off the interstate to enjoy this part of our country.  We met a lot of friendly people, including a traveling evangelist at a Wal-mart.  Everyone was open and friendly.  Sweet tea refills were free and abundant.  The county where we ate our dinner was dry.  You have to go 45 miles for a beer.  I couldn’t help but notice that in Arkansas there were a lot of adult bookstores, located usually not far from truck stops.  

We camped at Baird's Bluff near Ashford, AR.  This was area was built by the Army Corp of Engineers on Milllwood Lake.  

 This part of the country is beautiful and its people, although for the most part poor, are friendly and generous.  Tomorrow we head for Plano Texas, home of Marty and Sylvia Gertson, my cousins, and their children Michael and Arlene. .