The Sixth: Magazine Mountain, Arkansas

Maybe it is the pork ribs. Perhaps it's the accumulation of miles after seven days on the road. Weariness sets in. 112 miles to Little Rock; another 50 to Russellville; 46 to Paris. And that's the point where the navigating to Arkansas' high point begins. Another 2o miles or so beyond that is the actual trailhead, and then a brief hike. We pass Subiaco Abbey, a Benedictine Monastery near Paris that has an imposing edifice on a hill. It honestly looks like they brought the whole works over from Europe, stone by stone. Paris is a nice little town off the beaten path, and as we make our way toward Magazine Mountain we pass many beautiful homes, and discouragingly, just as many with broken windows and piles of junk in front. We take a brief wrong turn thanks to the poor signage, then find the trailhead. We take a brief wrong turn on the trail for the same reason, then up we go the half mile or so to the top, our final high point of the week. We laugh and take pictures, and take a moment to pray and thank the Lord for a wonderful time together and the safety on the road these many miles. Then down. Then the drive, the long drive to Ft. Smith and on to Muskogee Oklahoma.