Our Impressions of the Area

Geographically Texarkana and Mt. Pleasant, TX are in the Piney Woods of North East Texas. Magnolia, AR is in the southwestern part of Arkansas. Overall, we have spent several months in this area. Four of those months were as workamping volunteers for the Army Corp of Engineers (ACE) in Texarkana. We had plenty of time to explore and find our favorite places.

When you think of east Texas or western Arkansas, you probably do not think of piney woods! However, there are HUGE towering pine trees in this area.

Texarkana is a hub of trains and roads. I-30 and I-59 converge here. Texarkana is about 180 miles east of Dallas and 200 miles north of Houston. There is a smaller downtown area, but mostly a sprawl of big box stores and chain restaurants. Texarkana, TX and Texarkana, AR share a five-lane highway, State Line Avenue. During a snowstorm in 2021, Texas did not plow their half of State Line Avenue, but Arkansas did! This made national news!

In Texas, a sixty-mile drive is nothing. This is why we have included 4 towns in one blog!

Attractions and Businesses

Texas-Arkansas Post Office If you are in the area you must stop by the post office!!!! It is the only post office in the country that is physically in two states. When you walk up the front stairs, you have the choice of going into the doors on the left, the Texas side, or the doors on the right, the Arkansas side. One building. Two states. Amazing!

Texarkana, TX

Alpha Defense Industries is one of the best gun shops we have been to in our travels. They sell pistols, rifles, and ammo, offer classes for Texas concealed carry permits, and have multiple lanes for indoor shooting. The staff is knowledgeable and friendly.

Clear Springs ACE In Texarkana there are two Army Corp of Engineer campgrounds. We much prefer the Clear Springs campground. There are lots of shady sites available, some W/S/E, and the ones directly on the water are W/E only.

Puff N’ Stuff Cigars If you are looking for a cigar shop in the area, this is a shop that has a large supply of product at a reasonable price. The staff is always available and ready to answer any questions you may have.

Mt. Pleasant, TX

Sweet Shop USA has been around since 1972. This family-owned chocolate manufacturer is dedicated to preserving the craft of American handmade chocolates. Their 80,000 square foot factory makes Sweet Shop USA the largest handmade chocolate manufacturer in the country. Going to the store is the BEST, but you can also order online.

Magnolia, AR

Steve’s Outdoor Sports is one of the best sporting goods stores we have been to during our travels. They have probably the largest selection of pistols, rifles, and ammo within a 1,000-mile radius. They also have a vast selection of fishing and archery equipment. Looking for gifts, camo gear or cold weather clothing? They probably have it!

Food and Drink

There are hundreds of restaurants to choose from in Texarkana. Most are either national or regional chains. While we are traveling, we tend to gravitate toward private, locally owned restaurants. One of our reasons for traveling is to immerse ourselves in the culture. While Cracker Barrel, Waffle House, Popeye’s or McDonalds might provide consistency, they do not give us the local cultural fix we crave.

One of our “problems” is if we are in a geographic area for too long (four months), we tend to find our favorite restaurants and return multiple times as opposed to continuing to search for something “better”. One of our favorite restaurants in Texarkana, AR was Me-O-Myo Cajun Cafe. Sadly, the restaurant closed, but it still deserves mention.

Texarkana, TX

Blue Water Bayou Cooking This is our new go-to Cajun restaurant in the area (Texarkana, TX). EVERYTHING was cooked to perfection!! Offerings included crawfish etouffee, gumbo, jambalaya. They also offer pork chops and other traditional regional foods, but we are just hooked on their Cajun cooking. The peach cobbler is homemade and “to die for”!

Texarkana, AR

Johnny B’s is an absolutely no frills, casual, breakfast and lunch diner. It is our go-to breakfast spot. We have been here at least twenty times. We have had consistently quick, friendly service, with large portions at a reasonable price.

Home Base: The Campground

For us, a campground is not our destination. Our RV is self-contained. Except for water, electric and sewer rarely do we use campground services or amenities. We are explorers, not campground reviewers!

We stayed on site B25 at the Texarkana RV Park. 30 and 50 amp service were available. The campground was clean and well maintained. The staff was friendly. Our full hook up (water-sewer-electric) site was on level gravel.

The site was long enough to leave the Jeep hooked up and still have both vehicles off the road. There was good cell phone coverage (Verizon) and a good open southern sky for our satellite. Easy off and on I-59.

It is a nice, convenient campground. We would stay here again.

If you are interested in a more rustic camping experience, we would recommend Clear Springs Campground. It is an Army Corp of Engineers area. There are approximately 75 campground sites, with about half having full hookups (water/electric/sewer). Senior discount rate is offered.

Fun Facts

The name Texarkana contains abbreviations for both Texas (Tex) and Arkansas (Ark). What you may not know is that the last three letters (ana) are a reference to Louisiana.

The Texarkana Post Office and Federal Courthouse was built in 1933 and sits on the state line of Texas and Arkansas. It boasts being the 2nd most photographed Federal Courthouse in the United States, only behind the Federal Courthouse in Washington DC as the first.

Statistics:

	Texarkana, TX	Mt. Pleasant, TX	Texarkana, AR	Magnolia, AR
Population	36,017	16,079	29,314	11,105
Founded	1874	1848	1873	1853
Elevation	299 ft.	404 ft.	361 ft.	338 ft.
Average Income	$26,863	$25,782	$23,620	$34,815
Average Price of Housing	$190,252	$360,000	$195,500	$229,000
Average Age	37	30	40	29

Websites:
https://www.texarkanatexas.gov/
https://mpcity.net/
https://www.magnolia-ar.com/
https://cityoftexarkanaar.com/

Summary

This is a wonderfully wooded area of Texas. While Texarkana, TX and Texarkana, AR share a road (State Line Avenue), a courthouse and a post office, they could not be more different. The TX side is more urban with more businesses, while the AR side has a more rural/suburban feel. We have spent a lot of time exploring this area, and plan on returning, especially to the restaurants!

Since beginning our full-time journey to discover the country, we have found something to appreciate in every city and town we have passed through. We hope you enjoy reading about them as much as we have enjoyed discovering them!

Your partners in travel,
Kathryn and Dave
RVing Nomads

It’s a lifestyle

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No person, business or attraction has paid us for an endorsement. AI has not been used to create any of the content in this blog or website. All of the photos in this blog and website were taken by Dave or Kathryn Harrington.