I forgot last night and left my kit outside hanging on the bike in the rain, but by morning the wind and dry air moving in actually dried them out a bit. It was so nice and cool but I still had to do battle with the mosquitoes as usual when gathering my things in the morning. I usually put on my rain jacket plus put bug lotion on my exposed skin. They still bite me through my shorts sometimes though. The ride began in the middle of the rolling hills of St Francis National Forest, and it felt wonderful. The hills were actually pretty fun and put me in a great mood. I stumbled onto a cool little interpretative display about the initial baseline survey for the Louisiana Purchase, done in 1815. The road I was following was designed the Baseline bike route. And there was a metal survey marker at the top of a very sharp ridge. I continued on north to the town of Marianna. It was a cute little town but it might as well have been 2am for all that was going on there. And somehow I neglected to route myself by a store, so I was glad I had filled up my bottles at the St Francis National Forest visitors center. Heading south out of Marianna the road was still quite wet, and I rode about 3 feet of it and determined it was impossible mud. Couldn't even walk on it or my shoes would have turned to bricks. It cut through a tall cornfield, and on each side of the road was chest high grass. So rather than turn around I walked on the edge of the shoulder through the grass. Thankfully the mud only lasted a half mile and then I could ride again. Before long I was back on the original route and I went through the small town of Marvell for my first DG of the day. There was a nice paved rail trail running through town so I took that. People looked at me like I had ridden there from Mars but waved just the same. I don't think it gets much use, at least not from bikes. It doesn't go anywhere so no one visits just for that. The old downtown buildings were all empty and in bad shape. Not long after I found a couple of 7/8" wrenches and a pair of pliers in the middle of the dirt road. I left them at the foot of the next mailbox which looked like it was a farm. Soon after I went through a somewhat challenging sandy section which I cleared without too much trouble. Right after i emerged and rode onto gravel again, another Trans America Trail rider came up beside me, on a dirt bike. We chatted a bit and he continued on. At the next turn he was stopped waiting. I asked if he was ok and he said he was just waiting to see how his buddy got through the sand. As we chatted he rolled up. We all swapped stories a bit and wished each other well. They were even concerned about the dust they kicked up so they made sure to leave first. Soon after I took a little out and back diversion to visit the initial survey monument for the Louisiana purchase. One surveyor worked the meridian, another went west. They met in the middle of a cypress and tupelo swamp. County surveyors found the witness trees in 1921 and after the state bought the land, several decades later it was designated a national historic landmark. It also preserves one of the few headwater swamps left in the heavily farmed Mississippi basin. There was a nice boardwalk trail that led to the monument. Well worth the trip. And it's free! They even had pit toilets. The temperature never got hot at all and a strong northeast wind blew all day. A bit slow going north but I was really flying going west. This really helped leaving Clarendon which was a lot of highway over the White river and associated wetlands. The shoulders of every highway I've been on in Arkansas are more than a bike lane, usually an extra full car lane. And actually paved smooth. Gravel here is also quite thick in places. But now I'm getting used to it. I wander around looking for a good line while keeping an ear out for an upcoming tractor or farm truck. I rolled up to Wattensaw WMA and stopped at the first designated campsite beside the gravel road. No water or power but it's free and has nice shade and it's flat.