Oklahoma, OK!

So i took my sweet time leaving Memphis today so I could go to Graceland. Lots of pictures can be seen here: http://s216.photobucket.com/albums/cc86/ElCoffee/Graceland/

After that It was a loooong drive through Arkansas and Oklahoma. Arkansas - my first impression of it was that it was flat (see first picture). And wet. It all seemed to be bottomland for the Mississippi River, even into the Ozarks (second picture). But it was pretty green. What I found odd was the fact that 40 through the big cities doesn't actually go THROUGH the big cities. I went through Little Rock and Fort Smith without seeing either city.

On the other hand, the minute I crossed into Oklahoma, the grass turned brown. I will say this for Oklahoma: it has more trees than I expected. I don't think i care for OK City, though. Oklahoma is full of places with Indian names like Shawnee, Cherokee, etc. At one point I passed a road the name of which I questioned the validity of. It was called Lotawatah Road. I was like, that sounds kind of like it could be an Indian name, but it also sounds kind of contrived. So imagine my surprise when I came over the next rise and found myself staring at Lake Eufaula. I said, aloud to myself, "...Oh. Now i see." Lake Eufaula is the third picture above.

I didn't really take any pictures in Oklahoma. There wasn't much to see.

Walking in Memphis

Tennessee is a long and boring state.

Well, that's not really fair. Maybe it's just that I-40 is a long and boring road.

I left Winston-Salem at 9 am this morning. I hit Asheville by noon, got into Tennessee shortly after.

I had really hoped to have more pictures, but honestly, there was nothing to take pictures of. I got one of the Great Smoky Mountains when I came over a rise on the highway and suddenly I was in the middle of the mountains. It was so overcast this morning, with the clouds way low, that I never even saw the mountains coming. My ears were popping before I could even see mountains! The other picture is a smaller version of the "Welcome to Tennessee sign" at the state line. I wanted to get a shot of the actual sign, but yeah, curvy mountain roads + camera = bad mix.

One notable thing about the drive was what I saw just this side of the TN/NC state line: a pair of Oscar Meyer Weinermobiles! That's right, a pair of them, heading eastbound on 40. It happened too fast for me to get a picture. Naturally the first thing I did was call my brother Rob to tell him about it. If that's all I remember of Tennessee, well, what's the problem?

It shouldn't be, though. I drove 10 hours today to get to Memphis. Tomorrow I hope to get to OK City, which is a much shorter drive. With the extra time I have, I'm thinking a trip to Graceland might be in order for tomorrow morning.

The Beginning

Despite the title, this is not just about the four days it will take me to get from point A to point B. It will also involve the before and after.

Quite a few people have told me they're envious of the drive i'm making in two weeks. My brother Rob in particular mentioned to me that he's always wanted to drive 40 across the country. So for all of you who wish you could make the drive, i've created this.

Taking pictures of interesting things is a good excuse for me to stop and get my bearings. Plenty of things factor in to me not being able to drive more than a few hours at a time without needing to at least stop and stretch, not the least of which is rampant Attention Deficit Disorder.

The catch here is that i'm not entirely sure how many interesting things there actually ARE, to see along I-40. It may turn out that all i take pictures of are signs that say "Welcome to [Tennessee/Arkansas/Oklahoma/Texas/New Mexico/Arizona]" and some scenery that shows the change in geography. i'll just have to wait and see what i see.

In the meantime, here's a picture of what my room looks like at the moment. The cats on the bed are not going to Arizona. Poor cats.