It's been a while since my last entry, so I'm going to break up the past couple weeks into two blogs to ease your reading.

Leaving Little Rock was really tough. Not only did I thoroughly enjoy my time there and everyone that I was able to meet, but the actual travel that day was very difficult. Highway 67 leaving Little Rock is basically an interstate with a 70 mph speed limit and a very rough gravel shoulder with tons of debris. I went 93 miles that day.  Exhausted and sore I finally made it to my contact's house in Newport, AR early that evening. Brent, childhood friend of my host Ben in Little Rock, is a teacher at the local public school teaching 4th grade and an honors high school English class. The following morning he invited me to speak to his 4th grade class about my experience in the Peace Corps and my bicycle trip. One his student's mom worked for the local newspaper and came to observe and ask a couple questions. I asked her to send me the article when it came out, but I never heard from her. Today, I was blown away to see that Chris Gilson, a returned Peace Corps volunteer from the 80's who works for the Peace Corps in D.C., saw that article online and decided to donate $300 to me to help keep me on the road. Needless to say I am so thankful for that opportunity to speak to Brent's class. When the 4th grade class ended, I also went upstairs and spoke to two 11th grade classes.

After I did my talks and had a little high school cafeteria lunch I got back out on the road and headed 57 miles up the road to Pocahontus, AR where Ben's family offered to shelter me. Ben's family was huge and they had a big cookout when I arrived. One of their friends was a reporter for the local paper there and she did a quick interview, but I also never heard back from her or how the article went. This time no random donors resulted in the printing.  Pocahontus is a small farming town, and Ben's parent's are some of the larger rice and chicken farmers in the area and do very well. I spent the night in a beautiful, giant house and got a good nights rest. The next morning before leaving I was speaking to Ben's mom about how my camera had broken in Niger and that I was using disposables on my trip. As I was walking out the door, she reached into her purse and hands me her 7 megapixel HP digital camera. I was totally taken back, and immediately said that I couldn't accept it. She insisted and I left the house with a new camera. Ben's dad and I went back over to his grandma's house (where the cookout the night before happened) and had an amazing country breakfast. We woke and ate by 6:30am first because farmers wake up at dawn, and second because I had to cycle 57 miles before noon in order to make it to the Poplar Bluff, Missouri Rotary club meeting. So I pedaled, and pedaled, and pedaled....