1000 miles in one day!

After 1200 miles already, we still had at least 2000 more ahead of us. So we committed to the big push. It was almost 18 hours of driving through Missouri, Kansas, Colorado and Wyoming, we reached Casper, WY, about 10:30 p.m. Tired, dark, cool, disoriented we stumbled into a cushy bed to sleep hard and fast so we could get up and do it again on Saturday. (The photo above was taken in western Kansas.)

The highlights are shown below: miles and miles of corn fields, sunflowers, soybeans and other unidentified crops being produced for consumers around the world. One town name in Kansas that captured our attention was "Smileyburg!"

And there really was a sign in Sedgwick County, KS, that announced we were traveling on the "Yellow Brick Road." (The Wizard of Oz, featuring a young Kansas girl caught up in a tornado, was written by L. Frank Baum who lived in this county.)

Finally after the rainy drive through Missouri, the long stretch of Kansas, there was Colorado and the Front Range (of the Rockies) with the sun about to set. We didn't stop and put the cameras away after dark.

Leaving Joplin, Missouri on Friday

In order to make good progress across this vast country of America, it was required that we make at least 1000 miles on Friday. We stayed overnight in Joplin, MO, had a quick dinner and got some good information on how to head west without going all the way up to Kansas City.

The city is named for Rev. Harris Joplin who was the founder of the first Methodist Congregation and is listed as established in 1873. Some people think it was named after Scott Joplin, the ragtime composer, who also lived in Missouri, but in Sedalia.

Anyhow, Friday morning started very wet... and we ended up driving off the Interstate to make some westerly progress. Here are a few shots, after the one above, of Missouri.

Visit to Centerton, Arkansas

As we drove over the Missouri River early on Thursday morning, the fog had lifted and we were able to see all of Memphis' skyline and the various tugboats on the river. We had a long drive ahead of us to reach the Ozarks and Centerton, the birthplace of Jey-hu's father.

The drive up and over the Boston Mountains and into the Fayetteville area was quite lovely. As we passed the University of Arkansas, I thought about a number of Multiple Myeloma bloggers I have followed who have had their treatments here. This medical center's focus is largely due to Sam Walton, another MM'er, who started his business in Bentonville, just 5 or 10 minutes north of Fayetteville.

This part of Arkansas is referred to as the Ozark region and encompasses the upper northwest corner of the state and most of the upper two-thirds eastward from the western-most boundary. It is also a state which appears to be growing and as the roads are improved, it will probably change quite a bit from its current rural atmosphere into a more cosmopolitan state.

So, it was not too surprising to find the little town of Centerton very much as it once was, at least on the old main street. Jey-hu took a number of pictures of the buildings, one of which can be seen below:

If you look closely you can see the signs of the early construction typical of the late 1800's, when the town was settled.

We will post more pictures tomorrow when we have better internet access and have a little more time. Heading west to Kansas and - deja vue - Colorado!

We didn't stay in Bucksnout, Tenn

We headed out of Florida under rainy skies taking 75 north until we were past Atlanta, GA. I cannot recall where it was that we stopped for gas and breakfast, in that order, but we had been discussing the merits of having "someone else deliver the goods," when we pulled up next to an international "goods deliverer," and briefly pondered how much it might cost to load up the truck and the trailer with everything in it.

After a week of packing boxes and throwing stuff away, giving stuff away, selecting items to go to flea market sale and trying to squeeze one last thing into the trailer, we were feeling like

the movie characters from the old T.V. show."Beverly Hillbillies." For those who are too young, or were deprived of television during the 60's, this was the story of the Clampetts who left Arkansas for Beverly Hills, California, after discovering oil on their land.

To add to this metaphor, Jey-hu's family reunion a couple of weeks ago revealed that he comes from Arkansas stock, including a Cherokee Indian maiden who married his great-great grandfather. So we are doing a turn-about and heading west through Arkansas in order to try and locate the family farm near Bentonville. The family lived in the Weatherly house for a few years and then moved to their own home a few miles away. We will see what we discover.

Afflicted with a cold from some infected individual on the airline we took to get to Florida, yesterday was a real downer, trying to finish things up with rain everywhere. We decided a treat was in order for dinner and stopped in Chattanooga for my second meal and Jey=hu's first at "Modern Dave's." It was definitely a good meal, but lacked something this evening.

Finally, after driving for 14 hours, passing up many more appealing hotel/motel options, including one "Traveler's Inn" in Bucksnout, Tenn. (Yes, really there is such a place!!!) we reached the outskirts of Memphis, Tennessee, making it possible

to reach the Bentonville area tomorrow in daylight. Here are some shots we took of the countryside in Georgia and Tennessee along the way. And we were rewarded with this lovely pink sunset after leaving the Nashville area to really begin trekking west. (This last shot was done by Jey-hu.)

La petite jeune fille

This little, young girl, "la petite jeune fille," reminded me of me when I was very much younger. She also reminded me of my daughters when they were about six and now of my grand-daughter who will be this age before long. This young lady seemed to be oblivious to everyone around her as she hopped from one particular rock on the wall to the next one.

Although I could have walked on the wall as well, I believe that the spectacle of a granny doing this would have cleared the park in a hurry. I was glad to simply sit in the sunshine and watch someone else enjoy herself and to catch that moment. We used to say, "catch it on film," only now it's mostly digital, so what do we use to catch it on now? Help me, dear readers, to answer this question....

It's not THAT hot here...

When we were driving through Granite Falls over the weekend, we saw this license plate "THNKSNW" and I wondered what does the driver do all summer long? Does he (it was a he driving) awaken each morning with a "snow" meditation? And then when the snow falls, eventually, if there is too much, do his neighbors get upset that he was "doing too much thinking?"

If we could all make things happen by just thinking 'harder' it might be beneficial for so many individuals in so many arenas... not just increasing the water table, but generating a more positive environment... assuming all thoughts were in that direction!