Well I made it to the cool temperatures I was searching for ever since I left New Orleans. The last two nights I stayed in Queen Wilhelmina state park in western Arkansas. It's on the same sight as a historic lodge built as a resting place for wealthy railroad travelers in the Quachita ("Wa-shita") mountains. It's much cooler, with far less humidity and a nice breeze coming up from the valley.

I put aside the comforts of being at a campsite within the RV crowd near the restrooms on the top of the hill and chose to camp out at the end of the campground in the tenters only section. This guy is Alex M., and I'd seen his cool little two person tent and an old 1980 Honda cruising motorcycle sitting out and thought: this guys going to be interesting.

Sure enough, this is one of the most interesting guys I've met on my roadtrip so far. Alex is on his own road trip with his own set of questions and his own journey to answer them. We both wanted to stop travelling and stretch our legs a bit so we did a few hikes in the park. Some of the trails lacked maintenance to the point where we couldn't see where the trail went after five to ten feet. But the two trails we did take were interesting and they gave us a chance to talk about life, where we've been and where we're headed.

I think that day was just what the two of us needed and on Tuesday: a break from putting more miles on the road and a chance to reflect. This is why people hike the Appalachian trail: not just to physically push yourself but to mentally push yourself and be in a different place as well. If you haven't tried it.. it's there for you when you want to try it..