Eastward Bound! (Mon., June 24, 2013)

This morning Peggy and I got up later than usual and lingered over breakfast till 9:30. After a quick stop to fill up the car's gas tank and dump fresh ice in the cooler, we were refreshed and ready for another day on the road.  From Marshall, we motored easily to Texarkana, Texas/Arkansas, then northeast to Little Rock, Arkansas.  A mileage check as we crossed the Arkansas state line showed how many miles we've traveled so far, since leaving Lexington, Kentucky on Thursday, June 6: 2,778!  Peggy said, "That's shocking!"  And it doesn't included days of riding with Patty, Don, and Dorothy.  Truly awesome!

Oh, Yes, Welcome to Beautiful Arkansas!!

 

In Arkansas, we passed many cornfields with the tallest corn we've ever seen.  This part of Arkansas, I-30 to Little Rock and I-40 beyond, is lush green.  Twice, in the distance, we saw large plumes of grey smoke. At first, we were alarmed.  Then we realized, these must be controlled burnings of particular fields. 

Oh, the Interstates!  We appreciate them much more now!

We were thrilled by the increasingly taller hills and winding roads in Arkansas.  This so reminds us of our home, Kentucky!  Does this mean we may be homesick?

By late afternoon, we had reached our driving goal for the day: Memphis, Tennessee. It was fun to drive over the very wide Mississippi River.  We actually saw a paddlewheel riverboat close to the middle of the river.

To the left of the bridge is the bright, gleaming silver Pyramid Arena. Peggy googled it to see what it is, a civic arena, the sixth largest pyramid in the world, behind the ancient pyramid of Giza, Egypt.  Memphis is an area in Egypt famous for its pyramids.

Pyramid Arena in Memphis, Tennessee

Skyline, Memphis, Tennessee

When we paged through the travel brochures Sunday night, we found many places overlooking the Mississippi River we would like to visit.  Perhaps a special dinner and time to watch the sun set?  Fatigue trumped our desires and we finally found a hotel for the night in Cordova, Tennessee.  The River will wait until tomorrow.