10/7 -- Arkansas and Oklahoma

We started out later than usual, hoping the rain would taper off, but no such luck. It was heavy at times, but cleared, fortunately, before Memphis. Then it was smooth sailing over the Mississippi and into Arkansas. We were surprised at the terrain of the state. It started out kind of swampy at times on the eastern edge and grew more into a flat farming area, reminiscent of Minnesota. After we passed Little Rock and started following the Arkansas River, it changed again into lovely wooded rolling hills and we navigated between the Ouachita and Ozark Mountains.

A reservoir along I-40. Looks like they drowned some
trees recently.

Scenic overlook from western Arkansas

The star of the trip -- the new car (now a year old)
and primary driver (who is wondering what I am up to).

We also encountered a NASTY traffic jam for 10 miles, right after we re-entered the freeway when we stopped for gas. The road narrowed to one lane for 4 miles, but there was a 6 mile backup as 2 lanes of trucks and cars jockeyed for position. It added 30 minutes to our trip, and kept us from getting past Oklahoma City.

For lunch, we let Liesl (the car's GPS) help us find something and thought the Pudgy Pig BBQ sounded unique. Unfortunately, Liesl's database is a bit out of date because the pig was apparently not sustainable and no longer existed, so we opted for the Waffle House instead. We have seen them all over down here and you will be pleased to know that they serve more than waffles. Lunch options are a bit limited, and make up in volume what they lack in taste. I am still full 6 hours later and I didn't finish everything! Now we can add that to the list of places to avoid, at least for lunch.

I-40 corridor in Oklahoma, this photo and next

Reservoir along I-40

Oklahoma has also been beautiful so far -- at least up to Shawnee, where we stopped, about 30 miles out of Oklahoma City. The terrain is like western Arkansas -- rolling hills and lots of trees and greenery, with the occasional oil rig thrown in for good measure. It is also interesting on I-40 to see the litany of Indian tribes that have been relocated here. It seems like we are continually seeing signs identifying which nations we are leaving and entering. I thought it was mostly Cherokee, but we have seen signs for Seminoles, Potawatami, Sac, and Fox so far.

We are well on our way to being a day ahead of schedule getting to Taos, with no hotel room until the 9th, so today we debated our options. One thought was to go to Santa Fe and head up to Taos the next day. Jim read through the AAA Tour Book description and mostly noted the number of churches and museums highlighted to visit (neither is a focus for us) and that the architectural style is locally called "Santa Fake" because the government has decreed that all buildings will look as though they are flat-roofed adobes while allowing actual current building codes to apply. Then I remembered researching National Parks and reading about one called the Capulin Volcano in north-east New Mexico, and that was more outdoor oriented, so it looks like we'll add that to the agenda.