Day’s mileage: 289 miles

Lunch: gas station, Santo Domingo Pueblo, NM

Dinner: Waffle House, Albuquerque, NM

Lodging: Motel 6, Albuquerque, NM

Confusion.  My day started confused.  I logged onto the hotel internet this morning to find out where about the Petrified Forest is and it is in Arizona!  Bummer.  But I found another potential time wasting spot: the Kasha-Katawe Tent Rocks National Monument.  The photos looked cool and it is just north of Albuquerque so I will try that.

Left out of Amarillo and it was funny because the city stops abruptly.  You are driving…Waffle Houses and other things all over and wham-o after the city limit there is nothing!  Daylight has confirmed my estimate that the Texas Panhandle is the flattest place on earth.  Seriously.  It is crazy flat!  And then, maybe an hour west of Amarillo, the flatness suddenly gives way to a mesa strewn desert.  Very cool!  Plus as I crossed over into New Mexico, the time zone changed and I gained another hour!  Sweet!

New Mexico is very cool.  It looks like an old cowboy film.  Scrub brush, mesas, cool rock strata…what amazes me is that you never hear of anyone going to New Mexico or who is from there.  New Mexicans must like it so much they never leave but why don’t people go visit?  I don’t know. 

New Mexico also brought a shift in the radio station listening.  Much of America is radio no-man’s land.  Vast swathes of these random radio wastelands are unfortunately filled with country music stations.  Even in surprising places like Central Pennsylvania or Indiana often the only station you can get on the radio is country.  What the heck?!  Personally, I think there can be only one explanation.  Some entity is beaming country music to the US from space in an effort to undermine and slowly destroy our civilization.  There are only two potential groups dastardly enough to devise so brilliant a plan: aliens or communists.  Take your pick but if you think about it it makes sense.  Anyway, so in the New Mexican desert, I flip through the radio stations and what is the one station I get?  Not country but melodious mariachi music comes wafting to my ears.  Sweet relief has come at last!  New Mexico has somehow avoided the intergalactic onslaught of country music!  And coincidentally, Roswell is in New Mexico…maybe there is a connection…

So, I got to Albuquerque around noonish.  It looks like a very cool city!  Again, I am mystified that nobody ever talks about New Mexico!  I was doubly pleased to come to Albuquerque because of a personal connection with the place.  Two or so years ago, I got Vonage VOIP service to talk with my family n the UK.  You are allowed to choose your own area code and so I chose Albuquerque, NM to be my area code.  The good ol’ 505!  So that was cool.  But I found 25 North which was the road to get to the Kasha-Katawe.  I nearly missed the exit but saw the sign of it on the off ramp as I drove by so I had to turn around.

The Kasha-Katawe Tent Rocks are unbelievably sweet!  It is a canyon formed by the Rio Grande (I think) and the rocks form chimneys that resemble Dairy Queen soft serve blips.  Very cool.  You start out hiking up this slot canyon and scramble up the path until you are on the top of the ridge looking down into the canyon.  From there you can see all the surrounding mountains, mesas, etc.  it is amazing!  You can see the photos here.

So I got to hike around there for a few hours which was great and my body was so thankful to be outside getting exercise and not cooped up in the car for yet another day!  I had never heard of this place before but it is very cool and definitely worth the visit if you are in the area.

On my drive back to town, I saw the sign of the Coronado State Monument so I went to check it out.  It is a Native American archeological site and also talks about Coronado’s expedition here from Mexico looking for the City of Gold.  This brings up an interesting point and that is about our European heritage.  We always focus on the Pilgrims or Jamestown as our historical ancestors but often ignore the Spanish influence on our country that is much older.  St Augustine, FL is the oldest known European settlement in the US.  It was founded in 1584, 23 years before Jamestown in 1607.  New Mexico was founded as a Spanish Colony in 1598.  I might be mistaken but I think I read too that Santa Fe, NM is the oldest continually settled place in the US.  I could be wrong.  But anyway, I just find it interesting and unfortunate that these places and events usually don’t get much mention in the history books.

Below are some pics.  The first is of part of the Kashe Katawe Tent Rocks and the second is a random mountain north of Albuquerque that looked cool.

Day’s mileage: 718 miles
Lunch: Sonic, Sallisaw, OK
Dinner: McDonald’s/Dairy Queen, Shamrock, TX
Lodging: Super 8, Amarillo, TX

The day began well. Got back on 40 West and headed off. I was not sure what to expect of Arkansas. I drove through the part which parallels the Mississippi in ‘05 and that was mostly farmland but I knew I would be going through the Ozarks so my curiosity was piqued. It was cloudy as I headed off but about a half-hour into the drive, the morning sun burst out of the clouds and brilliantly illuminated the brown barren farmlands. It was amazing! The fields almost turned to gold in the sun and it was beautiful! After driving through Arkansas, I have to confess that I had erroneously held a bad opinion in my mind of Arkansas. I had always pictured a boring state of hillbillies. Most of my impressions of the state, unfortunately, are colored by the connection to Bill Clinton. Arkansas is a beautiful state. The mountains remind me of Western Pennsylvania. And honestly (this is where the post-dating effect comes into play) Arkansas was probably the prettiest part of the whole drive west. Little Rock looks like a cool town and kind of reminded me of Pittsburgh, maybe because of the rolling topography.

Anyway, Kirk continued to perform admirably. I stopped and added a little oil in Little Rock but other than that, he was golden. War and Peace continues to fill my voyage. (WARNING: Potential Spoiler) I think I realized one reason I like classic Russian literature: The characters are amazingly realistic. Often, fiction is written with a clear protagonist and antagonist. It is obvious who you should like and why. The heroes are nearly flawless and the villains dastardly. As I listened to War and Peace I realized it is not that way. Granted, there are some characters whom you will tend to like and dislike but generally speaking nearly all of the characters have both admirable qualities as well as bad qualities. Characters are human, make good and bad decisions, etc. I found that my feelings toward certain characters changed over time as time progressed in the story, characters were changed by events and time, etc. For example, I liked Pierre Bezukhov throughout although, for most of it I considered him a bit of a moron. Andrei Bolkonsky I did not like at the beginning due to his treatment of Lise but grew to like him as the story progressed. Anyway, I have been enjoying it.

My arrival into Oklahoma was heralded by a resounding cheer from the car and I stopped at the state welcome center to check it out and stretch my legs. I will have to read up a little on Oklahoma history since I am unsure if the Native Americans were settler there or how it works. It appears the state is divided up into different Indian Nations but I am not sure how this was done. Anyway, as I started the drive into Oklahoma, I was very impressed. Rolling hills and farmland. Very pretty. My estimation of this same landscape was to drop drastically as mile and after mile, hour after hour of farmland passed me by. The highlights of the drive included passing the hometowns of Carrie Underwood (apparently an American Idol celebrity?) and Troy Aikman. These facts were proudly displayed on the town signs. At first I was thinking, “Wow, Oklahoma has a lot of ‘famous’ people if towns keep putting them on their signs.” Then I realized that no, there was just nothing else notable about Checotah, OK except that it turned out a game show contestant.

I am continually struck, as I make stops, that people get progressively nicer the farther west you drive. Or at least so far. I have had jolly banter with quite a number of folks on my way. Oklahoma does seem to have a disproportionate number of super-friendly people. Or maybe I am conversation starved so when I stop I am ready for a good chat. Anyway, I have met some good folks on the trip.

As I drove, I began seeing numerous signs for the famous “Indian Store” in Sallisaw, OK. As it was near lunch time, I decided to stop in Sallisaw and stretch my legs and get some lunch. The Indian Store was ok, a little cheesy. The store did feature an amazing assortment of post and greeting cards with howling wolves, Indian maidens in buckskin miniskirts and even, yes, cards with Indian maidens accompanied by wolves! I am kicking myself now for not getting one for Rich Wing, he would have been all over that action. Oh well, maybe next time I am in Sallisaw…

One nice thing about a solo road trip is that it provides ample time to reflect on things. I have spent a lot of great time with the Lord, praying, marveling at His creation. In the vast openness of Oklahoma I had some rambling thoughts:
1) Cross-country road trips are sweet. They are long and grueling but I realized what a great blessing it was to drive across my country and see it for what it is. We have a great country. Beautiful. Diverse. And to see it for what it is is a huge blessing and opportunity. The varied landscapes from place to place revealing more of God’s creativity as He painted on earth’s blank canvas. Meeting American’s from all backgrounds in different places and having conversations. It has been amazing. I am well up for another cross-country trip (next time hopefully with company!)
2) I have long known or suspected that I would be unhappy living in a place like the plains of Oklahoma or the deserts of New Mexico. In my mind, I thought it was because there was nothing there. No sights to see, places to go, etc. I knew this argument did not hold water as I lived for 4 years in the DC area which overflows with activities, places to go, things to see…and yet I spent most of my time hanging with friends. I finally realized what puts me off ruralish places…it is the lack of community. On Oklahoma, I passed one farm every couple miles. There are no people! And as a people person I realized that the lack of people to chill with would make me unhappy. Anyway, that was an interesting realization.

As I drove, the setting sun started blinding me so I eventually stopped in Shamrock in the Texas Panhandle for dinner and to let the sun go down. Shamrock apparently has a piece of Blarney Castle in Ireland in the town which you can kiss if you like. Definitely a worthy tourist stop but I could not find it. The sunset in the Texas panhandle was AMAZING! It is so flat there (flatter than anywhere I have ever been) that the setting sun colored the whole western horizon shades from deep purple and blue to orange and red. In the rearview mirror, pitch black. It was spectacular and the flatness of the area meant that the sunset literally filled my whole view. Absolutely beautiful.

Well, I made it all the way to Amarillo, TX where I will stay for the night. I am tired and my back and shoulder hurt from driving. My goal is to get to Albuquerque tomorrow which is doable since it is only a few hours away. Katie is meeting me in Albuquerque the day after tomorrow so I will have some time to kill while I wait for her to arrive. I think I will stop at the Petrified Forest National Park to have a look around.

Day’s mileage total: 878 miles
Lunch: Arby’s, near Bristol, TN
Dinner: Iron Skillet, West Memphis, AR
Lodging: Super 8, West Memphis, AR
I kicked off the trip dark and early rolling out of the Longstreet Hostel around 6am. It definitely feels strange knowing that I am driving away from my home. As I rounded the bend to get onto Gallows Road I realized I won’t be driving this ever again…very weird. I lit up the morning with Mix CD 1 which I had made expressly for the trip! My goal today, the first leg of the trip, was to drive as far as I could. I knew I would never be as alert and excited as I would be the first day so I wanted to capitalize on that and my goal was to get to Memphis, TN. The route involves going west on 66, south on 81 an then hitting up Rt 40 west in Knoxville which goes all the way to California.

I was hit by a realization today which I have had in the past. Virginia drivers do not observe the rule that the left lane is for passing. VA drivers are notorious for camping out in the left lane, cruising just about the speed limit either trapping you behind them or forcing you to pass on the right. This is very irritating but more so when you have endless miles of boring Rt 81 to traverse and there is someone in a Crown Victoria chugging along in the left lane. MOVE OVER!!

This leg of the trip covered familiar ground. I had driven the route to Bristol, TN a few years earlier when I went to Dukesfest at the Bristol Motor Speedway. Yes, that is correct, an event dedicated to the Dukes of Hazard. You gotta problem with that?! Ha ha! The route all the way to Memphis was also covered as part of the “Grueling Pace, Meager Rations Roadshow” of 2005. So when I passed well loved sites such as Hungry Mother State Park, it brought back fond memories. Kirk Camry (my car) was also loving the sweet road action at this point and gobbling up the road miles like a beast!

The one hitch in the day’s travels was the crazy rain I hit in Tennessee. Apparently, this was part of the big storm that saturated the Southeast US. It was several hours driving in heavy rain which slowed the progress some. Tennessee is a beautiful state. The drive between Knoxville and Nashville is particularly nice as you wind your way through the Appalachians. We drove this part in the dark when I was here in ‘05, as I recall or maybe I was snoozing as someone else drove. In any event, I had not remembered it so it was quite nice. I am struck, as I always am, at the amazing courage and tenacity of early explorers and settlers who set off west by foot into the unknown. I drove past the Cumberland Gap, Davy Crockett’s birthplace, other Daniel Boone sites and imagined these guys out there in the wilderness. Crazy! I think I would like to read a biography of Daniel Boone. That would probably be a good read.

Actually, there was another crazy incident today. Driving through the mountains in Tennessee, this 18-wheeler in front of me had a blow-out on one of his tires or something and as he continued to drive, the tired got shredded and was flinging large hunks of rubber behind the truck which I had to dodge a couple larger ones. That definitely added some excitement!

Speaking of good reads, my time in the car has been delightfully passed listening to an audio version of War and Peace. I have always wanted to read it and what better excuse then a beast long road trip! I am a fan of books-on-tape so this was quite a gem. Although, I must say, it was not a real book-on-tape. Not only because it was on CD but it was actually a dramatized BBC Radio version of the book. But very entertaining anyway!

Anyway, by the time I got to Memphis, I was beat after 14 hours of driving! I decided to stop in Memphis for the night (my goal anyway) and started looking for a hotel. As this point I made a disconcerting discovery. You know how when you are driving, at the exit signs they show what hotels, food, gas stations, etc are there? They do not do that in big cities! So I am driving through Memphis at night looking for a place to stay and of course you can’t see anything from the highway so I just kept going. A couple times I noticed hotels at a particular exit but only after I had passed and I wasn’t going back baby…forward to nothing! So anyway, I ended up crossing the Mississippi River and staying at the HUGE truck stop which is West Memphis, Arkansas. My room at the Super 8 was immediately next to the truck stop but I was so beat tired that the roar of truck engines all night did not keep me awake. So that was Day 1 people…let the good times roll.

After much clamouring from certain individuals, and in the interest of preserving an account of my cross-country journey for posterity, the black board will document a daily account of the road trip.  A few minor points before we begin.  I am currently writing this post on February 11, 2008 but as you can see, it is dated 1/31.  I am back dating all the posts to the day they occurred for my own sake really plus I think it will read easier.  Additionally, in the future, should I choose to commemorate any particular leg of the journey I will know which day to designate for the purpose.  (Actually, that was the only minor point, so just one point).

I will begin with the name…The “Go West Young Man Epic Voyage”.  Yes, I have christened my road trip after the cheesy Michael W Smith song.  Two main reasons:

1)  The title sums up succinctly what I am doing.  Going west.  I debated calling it the “To See about a Girl” road trip after the Good Will Hunting line but it did not seem to have the same ring.

2) I feel that a cross-country road trip has other similarities to a Michael W Smith song.  Namely, that you can appreciate it for what it is and perhaps deep down you really enjoy it and yet, at the end, you are relieved it is over.

The name is perhaps not as iconic as the worthy “Grueling Pace, Meager Rations Roadshow” to the Kastner’s wedding but I think “Go West Young Man Epic Voyage” will do.  (One disclaimer: these are the thoughts of a jaded Washingtonian (DC variety, not state) so if I inadvertently insult your state/town or you feel I do not give it a fair shake, then please forgive me as these are only my impressions.  I’m sure Sallisaw, OK is a lovely town once you get to know it.)  So, without further ado, I give you the trip account…