AR
TS8 Hop 7: St Louis MO to Tupelo MS
376 miles via I-55, TN 175, US 78, I-22, Natchez Trace Parkway and MS 178, with lunch and refueling stops. Cumulative TS8 route miles: 1997. Cumulative car miles: 2316. Miles since the end of Hop 6: 418. Most of the 52 extra car miles were due to the trip to the St Louis Zoo. This … Continue reading
TS7 Hop 15 – Omaha AR to Vicksburg MS
369 miles, almost entirely on US 65 (about 20 miles on I-20 into Vicksburg). Cumulative tow miles: 3200. Truck miles: 281. Cumulative truck miles: 4539. The extra truck miles were the refueling trip in Omaha. This hop included a refueling stop in Pine Bluff AR. It was a very long day – about 6.5 hours … Continue reading
TS7 Hop 14 – Lee’s Summit MO to Omaha AR
Yes, there is an Omaha in Arkansas. I was surprised, too. 224 miles via I-470 (south of Kansas City), I-49, MO-7, MO-13, I-44 and US 65. Cumulative tow miles: 2833. Truck miles: 308. Cumulative truck miles: 4158. The extra truck miles were primarily due to a not-very-interesting auto tour of the KC area. You probably … Continue reading
QTE Hop 3: Oklahoma City, OK, to Branson, MO
1 day, 300 miles via I-44, US 412 and US 65. This was a 1-day hop that compensated for the previous 3-day hop. Both I-44 from Oklahoma City to Tulsa and US 412 from Tulsa into Arkansas were very hilly – lots of up-and-downs, the result being very poor mileage. Most of the route was … Continue reading
GTW Hop 14: Hot Springs, AR, to Bossier City, LA
211 miles via US 70, I-30, AR 245 and 549, US 71 and I-20. Cumulative distance: 2,183 miles. This hop was supposed to be just 190 miles, but I missed a turn which cost us another 20 miles. Oops. But, as Jett observed, if that was the worst thing that happened to us, it would … Continue reading
Hot Springs, AR
Hot Springs has always intrigued me. Is there a naughtier name in America? Just Intercourse, I think. Now we have been to both. And – surprise – the springs are really hot! The spring-fed fountains actually steam, even on a hot day (80 yesterday). I suppose that it is easy to like a town when … Continue reading
GTW Hop 13: West Memphis, AR, to Hot Springs, AR
186 miles via I-40, I-30, US 70 and US 270. Cumulative distance: 1,972 miles. Number 13 was lucky for us: no dings! The only real adventure of any sort on this hop was a mysterious 20-minute delay on I-40 east of Little Rock – no accident, no work crew (though it was in a work … Continue reading
West Memphis, AR
It is fun being on the Mississippi, but the river is very low right now – the first sign we have seen of the midwest’s severe drought this summer. The river would have to rise 20 t0 30 feet to overflow its banks and another 30 feet to get to the flood level experienced last … Continue reading
GTW Hop 12: Hermitage, TN, to West Memphis, AR
236 miles via I-40 and I-440. Cumulative distance: 1,786 miles. A few days ago it seemed unlikely that we were going to get so far as the Mississippi, much less California. But yesterday we crossed the Mississippi, so maybe California is possible as well. You may have noticed that the weather continues to be dark … Continue reading