Southlands Selects

America’s wealthiest family has long been refurbishing its hometown of Bentonville, Arkansas. But when the Waltons cast their eyes east, toward one of the most beloved rivers in the Ozarks, they found themselves in troubled waters.

The Mississippi River is big, dangerous and industrialized. But from St. Louis down to the Louisiana bayous, more than 500 miles of the great American river remain wild. And you could have no better guide through the river’s ever-decreasing “wild miles” than John Ruskey.