Squirrelly Roads and Hippie Towns

We headed out this morning a whole lot earlier than we thought we would this morning. Our plan was just head out whenever we woke up and got around, no alarms or rush. Well, Pops old and I'm a light sleeper. We woke up around 7 AM and were on the road by 8:30. Im making it my goal to make my dad snort on his tea in every small town we go through. If you haven't been to northern Arkansas, let me tell you, it is small town after small town. I mean populations of 84, 167, 236, etc, and the roads are really curvy. Hill after hill, forest, and small towns and then we come across this small town that is so beautifully hippie. It had an old time downtown and almost every shop was occupied, and occupied with The Rainbow Cafe, MooMoo's Organic Creamery, Mother Earth's Healing, etc... It was fantastically bright and surprising.

There were very few markers saying we were on the right route according to our purpose, but then again, when our family came to Oklahoma 170 years ago there weren't roads to travel on then. But every once in awhile we would come across a sign telling us we were on the right track. And we were only on the interstate highway for about 5 miles heading in to Memphis, TN.

I've been to Memphis only once before and we didn't spend much time there then either, but after a plea for food options for lunch on Facebook we were directed towards Charles Vergo's Rendezvous. It was DELICIOUS! Dry rub ribs, brisket, slaw and a beer makes this one happy girl. Neither pop or I were hungry when it came time to dinner. But to avoid the food baby coma we took a walk around Beale St.

After, we got back on the road on a state highway we thought would be very well marked by the Trail Markers. We didn't see a one of them. But we know we're on the right track since we are right now only miles away from one of the museums on the NPS website. As we move further east the history just keeps piling up. There's a cemetery near the hotel we're staying at so we went to look around since it looked like old headstones. They were. People who were born when our family was traveling through this area and passing away at the turn of the century. The tombstones were remarkable and beautiful, displaying craftsmanship that doesn't exist today. Tomorrow we are hoping to get over to Fort Payne, Alabama, one of the starting points for the Cherokee Trail.

Stay tuned for more.