23 March 2017 Little Rock, AR - Memphis, TN

     The Clintons may have put Little Rock on the map, but this charming and historic capital city offers plenty of reasons to keep it there. The Central High Museum tells the painful, powerful story of the city's racial struggles. For those who love to shop, hours can be spent at the River Market wherein lies a collection of tasty eateries and eclectic stores.

     Arkansas’s capitol city provided us with a lovely visit and our RV park was right on the AR river making all of our destinations very accessible by bike, public transportation, or on foot. We were close enough to the river bank to throw a rock and hit it. There were bass tournaments, barge traffic, and practicing rowing teams for our entertainment. There is a pedestrian bridge beside the park that once was a train trestle lift bridge. The evolution to a pedestrian bridge was quite cleaver and beautified by planters filled with blooming annuals. We made many trips across that bridge both on foot and on our bikes. 

     The pedestrian bridge ends/begins at the Clinton Library and Museum. Our docent kept us thoroughly entertained for 90 minutes. We weren’t ready for her to go home. She’s a retired history professor from the University of Arkansas and was a colorful delight. She was cute, spunky, and full of interesting AR history.

                               The Clinton Presidential Library

     Next door is the Heifer International Museum. We didn’t know a thing about it and only heard about it last week from boating/RV-ing friends who have volunteered with the organization for several summers. Their mission is to work with communities to end world hunger and poverty and to care for the earth. 

     A farmer from the midwest, Dan West, went to the front lines of the Spanish Civil War as an aid worker. His mission was to provide relief but he soon discovered the meager single cup of milk rationed to the weary refugees once a day, wasn’t sufficient. He had a brain storm—“What if they had not a cup but a cow?”  That “teach a man to fish” philosophy is what inspired Mr. West to found Heifer International and now, 70 years later, that philosophy still inspires their work to end world hunger and poverty throughout the world once and for all.

     Families are empowered to turn hunger and poverty into hope and prosperity by linking communities and helping bring sustainable agriculture and commerce to areas with a long history of poverty. Their animals provide the families with both food and a reliable income from products such as milk, eggs, and honey that can be traded or sold at market.

     The core of their model is Passing on the Gift which means that families share the training they received and pass on the first female offspring of their livestock to another family. This extends the impact of the original gift allowing a once impoverished family to become donors and full participants in improving their communities and achieving self-reliance. This is definitely a “must see” when you visit Little Rock.

     The River Trail is paved and perfect for cyclists, skaters, and walkers. It runs 28 miles along the river and was fairly flat which was a great relief after those AZ and NM hills. Needless to say, we throughly enjoyed our visit there.

     Now we’ve moved farther east on I-40 and are parked on the banks of the Mississippi River in Memphis.

Till later---

Bill and Laura