Heading to Kansas City

I'm reminded of that old country song, "I'm Looking at the World Through a Windshield"

We loaded up and proceeded to head  north.  Now I have driven all across the United States with a road atlas and have never been a big fan of GPS and our trip back home would further my reasoning for paper over electronic.  My brother gave us good directions out of Texas and the traveling was going really quite smoothly.  We got to Shreveport and I gave in and took the advice of the GPS.  Well, it got us where we needed to go but sent us several miles out of the way to do so.  Nothing beats a good road atlas and some real study time so from now on I'll be utilizing my old practices.
We had decided to take some two lane roads and head up into Arkansas.  We had left Houston late in the afternoon and soon after we crossed into Arkansas, we stopped at a rest area and decided to have something to eat.  We chowed down like we were at a 5 star restraint, thanks to Nancy.  She had prepared several great sandwiches and some other good foods to satisfy our hunger.  Having finished eating we proceeded to head towards Kansas City.
We reached the half way point around 1100 pm or so and I was beginning to get tired.  The combination of a moonless night and the winding roads of the Ozarks prompted me to pull into a Wal Mart parking lot in Mena, Arkansas and take advantage of the courtesy that many Wal Marts offer to RV'ers and trucks, park over night and get some rest.
I was really liking traveling like this.  I had covered many miles on my bike but to just pull into a parking lot and climb into a nice, comfy bed was not something you had the pleasure of doing on two wheels.  This was indeed a very spoiling event.  I could see this developing into a real fun thing to do.
The morning came and we all awoke feeling very rested and mom was getting anxious to see her grand kids and great grand kids so we set out to make our home destination.  The beautiful day afforded my wife many opportunities to take some pictures as we drove north through the majestic Ozark mountains.

Just some shots of the Ozark drive
 

We made our way through the Bobby Hopper Tunnel along I 49. 

This drive brought back memories of the time I had driven from LeMars, Iowa to Clarksville, Arkansas hauling ice cream to the Wal Mart distribution center.  Back then ( I guess it has been a long time ago) there was no freeway.  The trip required driving on highway 71 and following its winding, mountain hugging trek.  Man I miss those times, but now with this new found freedom, I'm looking forward to reliving some of those great roads, including some of the prettiest and most crooked road roads around, the back highways of Pennsylvania, West Virginia and all throughout the Appalachian Mountains.


The Light at the end of the Bobby Hopper Tunnel

 

We arrived in Kansas City and let mom and Ruth get settled in while I detached Matilda from Brutus.  The next several days would be spent with family visits and great grandma becoming familiar and well acquainted with all her Kansas City family.  Thinking back on this entire adventure, I have come to conclude that none of this would have happened had I not stepped out of my comfort zone and made that bid.  Sometimes, in life, we have to take that chance.  Maybe you will fall, I know I have many times, but maybe, just maybe, that step will be the first in making some of your dreams become real!
(Just a teaser for the next blog and where this step has taken Cindy and I, stay tuned)

Until The Next Trip, keep looking up!