During my first year on the road, I met a woman in Houston who was from Arkansas. I asked her the question I ask everyone from a state I have not yet visited: “What are the must-do’s in your state?” Without hesitation she replied, “Bentonville. Home of Wal-Mart.”

I was taken aback. I had never been a fan of Wal-Mart. When I was working I did not shop there; I told friends that I had the luxury to skip Wal-Mart because I made enough money to avoid it. I cheered for a small town in Washington when they voted against opening a store there.

Not long after speaking to the woman from Arkansas, a friend in Portland, Oregon also recommended I check out the Bentonville area, based on the reading and research she had done. The area was becoming known as a “foodie” destination, with inexpensive housing prices but a high standard of living. Suddenly, the home of Wal-Mart was on my must-see list. Strange days, indeed.

Leaving the Mississippi Delta en route to the Pacific Northwest for the summer gave me the perfect opportunity to stop off in Northwest Arkansas. I tried to clear my mind of preconceived notions. I figured most Americans know very little about the area, other than stereotypical depictions found in media, like Jason Bateman’s “Ozark” on Netflix, where residents are portrayed as backwards, petty criminals and meth heads. I chuckled when an old friend, a self-described “Mississippi Hick,“ told me, “Watch out for the Rednecks up there.”

I ruminated on my biases as I drove; I knew people on lower and/or fixed incomes could stretch their dollars at Wal-Mart. I also grew up in a small town in the south and witnessed the genesis of the downtown’s demise before Wal-Mart ever came upon the scene. There are no easy answers.

Besides, living in a motorhome on a fixed income changed some of my habits, including shopping at Wal-Mart. Many stores allow overnight RV parking (not all – call ahead), and I will boondock there when making miles. Wal-Mart is a good, and less expensive, place to buy many supplies for the RV. I also grab a roasted chicken, some vegetables, and a $1 Redbox movie and make a night of it when I’m overnighting there.

Staying at Wal-Mart in Russellville, Arkansas, it seemed everyone got the memo and wore at least one piece of camouflaged clothing. They were as nice as could be; an employee at Wal-Mart Automotive helped me replace Nellie’s windshield wipers, purchased at AutoZone across the parking lot. He refused a thank you tip, but when I insisted he said he would put it in the Employee Assistance Fund, and I believed he would. Another gentleman struck up a conversation about traveling as we fueled our vehicles, asking if he could give me a hug, saying with a tear in his eye to enjoy this great country of ours.

After a particularly harrowing day on the road, I arrived in Fayetteville, Arkansas, 22 miles from Bentonville, to set up camp. Fayetteville is home to the University of Arkansas Razorbacks, and university pride is on full display at the Road Hog RV Park.

You don’t need a reservation in the off-season, but you couldn’t pay big money for a space during a football game; this is a tailgater’s paradise, and every spot is already leased. The wind blew mercilessly, carrying the aromas of chipped beef and pancakes across the street from the Pinnacle Foods frozen meal factory (Hungry Man, Aunt Jemima), but it was a short five-minute drive to all Fayetteville has to offer.

Fayetteville is a town of approximately 83,000 people, with over 27,000 students at the University. The Fayetteville downtown square and gardens were in full bloom as vendors set up at the farmers market.

Restaurants and bars line up along Dickson Street, which leads directly to the U of A campus.

The Clinton House, where Bill and Hillary lived and married when they went to school there, is now a museum. There’s lots of public art and good vibes around town.

Rogers, Arkansas sits between Fayetteville to the south and Bentonville to the north along Interstate 49, its claim to fame being the location of the first Wal-Mart store. The struggling downtown adjacent to the railroad tracks caters to bicyclists, who can pedal from Fayetteville to Bentonville on the Razorback Regional Greenway, a 36-mile, shared use trail.

Up in Bentonville, population 47,000 and Wal-Mart headquarters,

Sam Walton‘s original Ben Franklin five and dime is now a museum;

Sam owned and operated Ben Franklin franchises before opening his own store. A confederate memorial stands in the town square, surrounded by innovative restaurants, breweries, coffeehouses, yoga studios, pet stores, clothing boutiques, and even a five-star art hotel.

There is an Arvest Bank branch, where Sam Walton‘s son Jim is Chairman of the Board. This is the town Wal-Mart built, literally, to entice young, energetic talent to a region historically devoid of anything resembling urban living. And, it appears to be working. The median age in Bentonville is 32.

Touring the Wal-Mart Museum, espousing Sam Walton’s homespun, down-home values while simultaneously lauding the corporate goal of world-wide retail domination, all I could hear in my head was Waylon Jennings: “I Don’t Think [Sam] Done It This-A Way.” (Sorry, Waylon.)

The gigantic numbers and profits speak for themselves, while Wal-Mart is buying primarily foreign products, paying poverty wages in its overseas factories, freezing U.S. salaries, reducing medical benefits, and employing people part-time to avoid providing benefits at all. Walmart encourages employees to avail themselves of local public assistance, such as food stamps, to make ends meet. Meanwhile, a Wal-Mart Associate in Russellville put a $5 tip into the Employee Assistance Fund.

Some hides were fairly chapped by the opening of the Crystal Bridges Museum in Bentonville, funded by Wal-Mart heiress Alice Walton, the richest woman in the US — and the world. With an estimated net worth of $43.7 billion, she ranks 13th on the Forbes 400. The Museum is often snidely referred to as “Wal-Art.”

The museum opened in 2011, to much criticism. The exact cost of constructing the building designed by architect Moshe Safdie has not been divulged, but we do know the museum has over $600 million in assets. Art collectors worldwide sorely complained, criticizing Alice for paying inflated prices which no one could match. Others countered that she bought art which was for sale, and she could afford to pay. There have been excellent articles written about the acquisitions and the museum itself, one of which you can read here.

Say what you will about what is prudent, and just, when it comes to the redistribution of wealth, but this much I know. The Crystal Bridges Museum was the first major American Art Museum to open in probably over 100 years – certainly the first one in the 21st Century. The architecture and grounds are stunning.

The collection is jaw-dropping.

As I opened my wallet to pay for admission, I was informed an endowment provided free admission for years to come.

I wonder if Wal-Mart employees visit the Crystal Bridges Museum.

I suppose Alice could’ve sat on her money, neither increasing Wal-Mart wages or benefits, nor building the Crystal Bridges Museum. Given that set of potential circumstances, I’m glad the museum exists.

A docent at the museum informed me Alice’s next project is to transform an old Kraft factory in Bentonville into a Museum of Modern Art. Inequities aside, I would return to see it.

A friend asked if I would consider living in Northwest Arkansas, and I don’t think so. I did not find the Ozarks to be as picturesque as other mountain areas of the United States. The closest big cities of Tulsa and St. Louis just don’t appeal to me the way other big U.S. cities do, and I fear I would grow, and harbor, an even greater resentment of Wal-Mart. Worse still, I could become complacent as I fed from the Walton trough, growing fat on dinners at Walton family subsidized restaurants, loans from Walton family-run banks, plays at the Walton Arts Center and concerts at the Wal-Mart AMP – Arkansas Music Pavilion.

While it may not be a good fit for me, Northwest Arkansas has a lot to offer retirees, young people and families, with decent housing prices, seemingly unlimited outdoor activities, and the amenities of much larger cities, thanks in no small part to Wal-Mart.