The CR 57 Rest Stop

Why a Rest Stop?

Newton County Road 57 — CR 57 — runs past our gate, and it carries a river of travelers: motorcycle groups, Jeep runs, cyclists, and folks on horseback, all of them headed toward the Buffalo National River country. Dozens of groups pass on a fall day. Out here there are long miles between shade, water, and a place to simply stop.

So we're building one, and it's free. Hospitality is an old habit on this farmstead — the spring house here served the whole community a century ago. The rest stop is that same instinct with a gravel pad: a place to rest, refill, and be treated like a neighbor.

What's Planned

• Rest and fellowship space — shade, seating, and a stone fire pit to gather around.
• Wi-Fi and device charging — check the map, call home, top off a phone.
• Water and grills for a trail-side break.
• A pygmy goat play area — because no one, of any age, rides away from goats in a worse mood than they arrived.
• One-night traveler camping — a few simple tent pads for folks passing through: one night, no hookups, fires in the pit only, pack out your trash, and the road is yours again by mid-morning.
• The ministry's story, told in signs — who we are, what the food bank and rescue do, and how a traveler who wants to can help keep bowls full.

Part of the Mission

The rest stop isn't a side project — it's a front porch for the whole ministry. Everything here exists to fund and feed the pet food bank and the rescue: donations from passing travelers, shirts and goods from our gift shop, and the simple fact that people who stop for water tend to ask what the place is about. What's raised here keeps animals fed and families together back in Newton County.

Build-out runs through the winter as funds land — clearing and gravel first, then the goat enclosure, the fire pit, and the fit-out. If you'd like to help it along, see our Give page.