Arkansas

I thought I better get back on here and finish this trip report, because too many things have been happening since then.

After Checotah, we stopped in Sallisaw and Roland. The scenery was pretty flat and boring part of the way, and when we finally got into Arkansas, it was pretty much the same thing. I thought I was in a suburb of Fort Smith when I got off in Roland, but we still had a ways to go. We stopped at a Wendy's/Pilot combo. I found wifi and sat for about half an hour, before we decided to go on. It was after 9:30 pm when we got to Roland. We had driven 176 miles from Shawnee.

When we crossed the Arkansas border, about 10 that night, I was the only car (I thought) on the freeway. I slowed down to read the "Welcome to Arkansas" signs. They also had a sign that said, "Speed Limits strictly enforced." I was probably doing 40-45. I saw a highway patrolcar as I passed the signs. He pulled out behind me, but after a mile I noticed he wasn't there anymore. Whew! I wasn't sure what I'd done wrong.

We stopped at Clarksville to look for a Walmart, then went on to Russellville. It was a dark night, and right before we got to Clarksville, we saw a beautiful, lit, white cross perched on top of a mountain. Thomas called my mom, who let him know she was trying to sleep.

When we got to Russellville, we spent the night at the Flying J. I could see the mountains surrounding the area. It looked interesting even in the dark. The next morning was wet and foggy, but I still found the area beautiful. We wanted to look for Walmart, so we drove thru the town. It had all the chain stores you would expect to see in a city, but still looked charming with the mountains rising up around it. I would like more time to explore Russellville later.