I'm pretty sure I read that the only place helium is "mined" is in the US-- Montana or South Dakota, maybe? I would think wherever that is, should be come a high priority, too.
HTML Code:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Helium_Reserve
Oh, crap, it's stored in Amarillo! But it can be recovered from natural gas fields, like the ones around central Kansas, apparently. Well, that will have to be one of the stops from Arkansas to Colorado Springs, then.