We woke up early because we’re now in the central time zone, walked around the campground, had a nice breakfast, checked the internet, took our showers and got on the road 8:30. Another scorcher – forecasting 100 degrees. We headed west on route 57 at the southern edge of Tennessee, going through small rural farms and then depressed areas with vacant businesses and dilapidated single wide trailers. Just outside of Memphis, there were a few upscale subdivisions and then we got on the interstate to circumvent Memphis. (We had spent a lot of time in Memphis in 2007 visiting Beale Street, Graceland and other attractions a few years ago, so no stops here for this trip.)
Just as we crossed the Mississippi into Arkansas, we stopped at the welcome center to have lunch – 102 degrees. Next to us in the parking area was a guy who needed a nap and apparently had no AC in his truck…now that is tired!We stayed on I40 through Little Rock (waved to Bill & Hil) and then dropped down to route 70 through Hot Springs and route 270 through the Ouachita (pronounced Washita) mountains and national forest. We stopped for the night at a Corps of Engineers recreation area on Ouachita Lake. We grilled some steaks for dinner and sat outside watching the kids playing in the lake. It was still 84 degrees at 9:30, so no choice but to sleep with the air conditioning again.
June 23 – Tuesday
Did our early morning walk, took showers, packed up and were on the road by 8:30. We continued on through the Oachita Mountains and then up to Fort Smith and picked up I40 again in Oklahoma. We stopped at a Walmart for a few things, filled the tank at $2.36 (cheapest yet), ate lunch and continued on boring I40 – lots of trucks and patches of really rough road mixed with stretches of construction. Not too many alternatives to I40 through this area, though.
We stopped in OK City to visit the Murrah building bombing museum and memorial. It was very moving – Kleenex is a requirement. The museum begins with a timeline starting early on 4/19/95 and proceeds through the morning with an audio recording of the bombing from the building next door at 9:02. The exhibits of building bomb debris and artifacts from the victims, including baby shoes from children that were in the day care center were especially sad. One exhibit showed the pocketknife that a surgeon used to amputate a woman’s leg at the knee that was pinned in the rubble to save her life. Interviews with survivors highlighted the heroism of the rescuers and people in the bombing helping others escape, including a blind man who led a number of people to safety.
The memorial has a stone and bronze chair for each victim with the person’s name etched in the glass base, with smaller chairs for the 19 children who were killed. There is also a large reflecting pool with black gates at either end marking the 9:01 minute before the blast and 9:03 after the bombing.
In addition to the uplifting stories of heroism, another positive note was the American Elm that was severely damaged by the blast, but survived and is a living symbol of resilience and hope.
June 24 – Wednesday
The AC ran all night long and it was 78 when we woke up. We slept in a little this morning and got on the road by 9:30. Drove I40 all the way to Amarillo. The landscape is dryer with fewer trees as we drove west. We passed a massive wind farm on a ridge with the huge turbines slowly turning.
The roadside wildflowers were spectacular – lots of yellows with some oranges and few purple thistles along with occasional clumps of pure white daisies.We saw a sign for the state museum of Route 66 and made a spur-of-the-moment decision to stop – lots of fun seeing the memorabilia from the Mother Road. We were reminded of the old tv show “Route 66.”
Continuing on I40 to Amarillo, we stopped at Palo Duro Canyon State Park, which is the second largest canyon in America – 120 miles long and 800 feet deep.
We camped in the bottom of the 
canyon and toured the scenic 6-mile road with nice views of the red canyon walls.
canyon and toured the scenic 6-mile road with nice views of the red canyon walls. After dinner, we walked ¼ mile to an outdoor amphitheater (encountering a very frightening spider – tarantula?) to watch the musical extravaganza “Texas” (what else?) that dramatizes the history of the Texas panhandle. 
The cast was huge – at least 75 mostly college kids that were very talented singers, dancers and actors with the canyon wall as the backdrop. The play started with a horseman on the top of the canyon wall waving the American Flag. During the play, horseriders would gallop along and an occasional covered wagon pulled by horses would provide a realistic background to the happenings on stage. The end of the play included horseriders carrying the five historical flags of Texas at full gallop and finishing with the American flag and fireworks. A great day!
The cast was huge – at least 75 mostly college kids that were very talented singers, dancers and actors with the canyon wall as the backdrop. The play started with a horseman on the top of the canyon wall waving the American Flag. During the play, horseriders would gallop along and an occasional covered wagon pulled by horses would provide a realistic background to the happenings on stage. The end of the play included horseriders carrying the five historical flags of Texas at full gallop and finishing with the American flag and fireworks. A great day! June 25 – Thursday
It was in the high 70’s when we went to bed, so we left the AC on. When we woke up, it was 65 and clear. The smell of the Colorado juniper and mesquite trees freshened the morning air, the birds were singing everywhere – what a gorgeous morning.
Jack checked the tires and found the tire that had been repaired was very low, so we stopped at a tire shop in Amarillo. They couldn’t find anything wrong, so apparently the repair shop at home never inflated the tire to the correct pressure.
It was in the high 70’s when we went to bed, so we left the AC on. When we woke up, it was 65 and clear. The smell of the Colorado juniper and mesquite trees freshened the morning air, the birds were singing everywhere – what a gorgeous morning.
Jack checked the tires and found the tire that had been repaired was very low, so we stopped at a tire shop in Amarillo. They couldn’t find anything wrong, so apparently the repair shop at home never inflated the tire to the correct pressure.
We got back on nasty I40 watching the scenery change to desert the further west we traveled. Few trees, cholla cactus in bloom, and cows, cows and more cows.
We had to make a u-turn to visit the "Cadillac Ranch" where vintage cadillacs were put nose-down into the dirt and visitors add their spray painted artwork.
We had to make a u-turn to visit the "Cadillac Ranch" where vintage cadillacs were put nose-down into the dirt and visitors add their spray painted artwork. We stopped for the night just east of Albuquerque, New Mexico.
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