November

 

At the end of November I am in Bono, Arkansas, which I am going to guess was not named after the singer, nor was the singer likely named after the town.

November was month number 14 of my trek, and I have walked just short of 2,400 miles to date. I have a new streak of 30 days at 10,000 steps or more each day, and I averaged about 11,800 steps per day despite some very inhospitable weather here the last few days. We had snow on Tuesday and Wednesday. It is snowing right now.

My goal is to reach Miami by next June 28, but if I average 11,000 steps per day going forward, I will arrive more like June 18, and that date keeps moving up as I go along averaging closer to 12,000 steps.

The next couple of months will be challenging due to the weather, but last year I picked up the pace in February and beyond, so it won't be long until it gets easier.

Week 60: Hoxie, Arkansas

Union Station depot at Hoxie; circa 1918

Hoxie is a literal crossroads in Northeast Arkansas, with five highways converging in or near town, plus two railways. Also two rivers, the Black and the Spring, come together a few miles away.

Hoxie was the third school system in Arkansas to integrate.

The mayor of Hoxie is named Dennis.

As of the 2010 census, the city was 98.15% white.
 

Since Arkansas is a state I still want to visit in real life, this is a fine time to consider what I might do when I go there. Here are a few possibilities:

• Hot Springs National Park.
• Buffalo National River. It's a free-flowing unpolluted river, so they say, with three designated wilderness areas.
• Mammoth Spring State Park! I was just there! Flow from the spring is about nine million gallons per hour.
• Crater of Diamonds State Park. You can still find diamonds there, and you can keep anything you find.
• Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. It's funded by the Walton family, so it's probably pretty good.
• Blanchard Springs Cavern.
• The Walmart Museum. See how it all began, and how it became a retail powerhouse that spawned a family of union-busting multi-billionaires. Did you know that the richest person in Arkansas and the richest person in Texas are both named Walton? It's true.
• Or, we could visit the Bill Clinton presidential library. I have never seen a presidential library.

A little over 100 miles to go until we get to Tennessee.

Week 59: Mammoth Spring, Arkansas

Mammoth Spring

Long ago and far away (but not far, far away), I visited Arkansas. Jackie and I stayed in a motel somewhere in Arkansas, I could not tell you where, when we drove from Stringtown, Oklahoma to Montgomery, Alabama for Jackie's cousin's wedding. It does not count for my quest to visit all 50 states, because we did not visit any interesting sites, just drove through and spent the night, but I have seen the place.
 

The first town at the Missouri-Arkansas border is called Mammoth Spring, which is a small town (less than 1,000 people) with a big spring contained in it. According to Wikipedia, Mammoth Spring, the spring, is the third largest spring in the Ozark Plateau region and the seventh largest natural spring in the world, which must mean that three of the seven largest springs in the world are in the Ozark Plateau region, right? I think so.

Last week I said I might get to two-thirds of the way through my trip in seven or eight days, but it only took me six. This week I walked about 17,000 steps on Monday (walking to bridge and back), Thursday (Democrats of Jubilee meeting), and Friday (walking with Joel.) So my activities are helping me put in some extra steps.

The Mississippi River and the Tennessee border at Memphis are less than 150 miles from where I am now, so I will only be in Arkansas about one month. My total distance walked is now over 2,300 miles, which seems like quite a lot to me, but there are still almost 1,200 miles to go.

Week 58: Pomona, Missouri

 

Who knew there was more than one Pomona?

Wikipedia says that Pomona was the Roman goddess of fruit trees, that they used to grow apples around this area, and that the local post office has been operating since 1895. Google Maps shows a dollar store and a Baptist church.

That's about it for Pomona, MO, population 440.

The map I posted is kind of small, but the US is a big place, and I have walked a long way (the blue line), and I have a long way to go. I am almost two-thirds of the way, but not quite. That will happen at 4,666,667 steps, in seven or eight days.

After a shaky October, my walking has gotten back on track in November - over 10,000 steps every day, over 11,000 average. Arlo and I have a new morning route that puts me in good shape to hit my goals each day.

Pomona will be my last stop in Missouri, which I entered back in week 49. From here, I will cruise through Arkansas, Tennessee, and Mississippi in the next two months. I like it when I pass through states quickly - it feels like progress. Also, trying to say something about a place like Alabama for eight weeks in a row can be a challenge, but I will persevere.

Week 57: Mountain Grove, Missouri

 Can you see the red dot? That's where we are, at Mountain Grove, Missouri. I entered Missouri near the northwestern border, so you can see that I have walked a long ways east and almost to the southern border. Still, Missouri is a big place, and it will take me two more weeks to walk a bit farther east and over that southern border into Arkansas.

Walking is proving to be more difficult this time of year than I thought it would. The weather is a a factor, as I am reluctant to drag Arlo out for too long if it is too cold or too wet, and it is always cold and wet now. Also, someone put up No Trespassing signs on the route I used to take in the morning, so I am working on another route.

A bit of a lesser factor is that I don't feel the need to continually exceed my own goals, so I have toned it down a bit. Still, I hit at least 10,000 steps every day this month so far, although I have walked around my living room a few nights to get the last steps in.

The plan going forward then is to grind out the next few months, then maybe pick up the pace on the home drive as the weather gets better and we approach Florida.

October

 The month of October was not my best walking month. I came up short of 10,000 steps nine times, I suppose because once I missed once, there was no incentive to keep my streak going. However, there was also the problem that I was on vacation, and some days we did a lot of driving, and other days it was cold and dogs barked at us, and vacation may not always be an ideal time to get my steps in every day.

Nevertheless, I averaged over 10,700 steps per day, moved forward more than 160 miles, walked over 16,000 steps one day (at Arches National Park), and kept my average steps since day one over 11,200, so the journey continues without any great setback.

At the end of October, I was at High Prairie, Missouri, an unincorporated township with population of 1,010 about 100 miles from Arkansas. Trip.com says High Prairie "is home to an impressive selection of attractions and experiences, making it well worth a visit." Then it highlights a few attractions that are in nearby towns, not in High Prairie. Then it suggests that you might want to visit New York, Saipan, Los Angeles, or Las Vegas - all good suggestions, but not really on the way to Miami.

It's cold, wet, and dark here. It always is in November. December and January will be colder, wetter, and darker. But Arlo is as eager for a walk now as he ever was, so we'll knock out the miles and make our way to spring.