Much beauty to view

It was good to see the letter by the mayor of Helena-West Helena, on behalf of himself and mayors of other Arkansas towns, promoting Memphis-to-Little Rock bicycling trails for tourists. Not mentioned were the cities of Forrest City and Brinkley. Highway 70 would make a neat bicycling path. Coming in from the east, the cyclists would pass over Crowley’s Ridge, where in the late 1860s Nathan Bedford Forrest (for whom the town of Forrest City was named) cut the roadbed rightof-way for the Memphis and Little Rock Railroad. (The kudzu-draped ridges in the spring and summer are a spectacular sight.)

They could also tour the St. Francis County Museum. In Brinkley they could walk through the Central Delta Depot Museum in the town’s old train station and check out the antique and collectible shops. A few miles out of town they would pass through the Dagmar Wildlife Management Area, view some of the stately cypress trees, and view some of the old Highway 70 concrete bridges built in the 1920s which are nearby.

Crossing the White River at DeValls Bluff, they would have a grand view of the 1927 railroad lift bridge. Further west they would pass through the Grand Prairie region. In the spring the bright green terraced rice fields there are beautiful. Further west is Lonoke, where cyclists could visit the Lonoke County Museum with its fascinating wildlife display and other exhibits.

BILL SAYGER Brasfield