Caitlin: Uncensored: Arkansas

We left Tennessee around 8:20 AM, and the sun hadn’t even reached our campsite yet. We traveled down the winding road to get to our next stop- Bull Shoals, Arkansas. On our route out of the Smokey Mountains, I finally realized why they’re called “Smokey” Mountains. Even after 8 AM the sun still wasn’t burning through the fog that lingered above the mountaintops. Despite the haziness, it was a magical effect.

The highway leading out of Tennessee was absolutely breathtaking and it was definitely something out of a postcard or National Geographic Magazine. I was very sad when we crossed over into Kentucky and Missouri. I felt like after five minutes of driving through, we had seen everything and all that lay in front of us was a vast, straight, unending road. Eventually we went over the Mississippi River and ended up in Illinois, with a lot of closed businesses. Whatever town we had to detour through was very eerie and I was so relieved when we got back onto the highway. After awhile the GPS lead us to a bunch of back roads for the last few hours of our trip. There was no town in sight, only houses every few miles (this went on for hours). To put things in perspective, there’s a Target or Wal-Mart every few miles on the East Coast. But from our destination, there wasn’t a Target for at least 82 miles in every direction. There was literally NOTHING but cows, cows, and more cows. Soon enough I started pondering that we’d probably reached the part of the country where cows turn into cattle as every mile they seemed to lose their trademark black spots and instead ended up with brown, black, or cream colored coats of fur. Eventually we made our way to Arkansas and found our next area of rest in Bull Shoals. By this point we were too tired and cranky from a day’s worth of driving to do anything other than eat and sleep. After setting up camp, we drove a few miles to a nearby restaurant overlooking the Bull Shoals Dam. We were seated in the corner of the building where floor-to-ceiling windows showed off a magnificent view of the landscape as the last few moments of daylight turned into dusk and fog literally began to roll across the lake. Rather than finding this scene to be out of a horror movie (though it would very well make a fantastic set-up for a zombie flick), I was in awe of the Southern charm and hospitality and couldn’t help feeling all warm and fuzzy as I admired the lake.

After dining on a delicious meal of chicken and bowtie noodles for myself and spaghetti with meat sauce for Ryan, we were ready to go to our tent and sleep. Unfortunately it was still muggy and 83 degrees outside even at 9 at night. However, we were able to enjoy a beautiful waning crescent moon with the Northern Star placed right next to it (unfortunately neither of our cameras lens’ work well enough to capture the essence of the moon). We both lied down on the air mattress without a blanket. Ryan was sweating and I could feel my own skin getting clammy. We stripped down to as little clothing as possible that still allowed us to appear decent, which unfortunately means a lot more clothing for a girl than a guy. Eventually we both fell asleep. In the middle of the night I felt Ryan roll over and pull me close and I was awake enough to gently squeeze his arm. Then he asked me if I just wanted to leave now. I looked at my phone to see the time and it was only 4 in the morning. However, I said, “Sure.” When that response came out of my mouth, I was thinking that we’d both be too tired to actually get up, but to my amazement, Ry got up and said he was going to take a shower in the communal bathroom. At first I was going to sleep for an extra half an hour while I waited for him to return, but I decided I might as well take a shower rather than wait until we got to Texas. So up I got and we walked to the car to get our clothes with lantern in hand.

When we got to the building, I felt a little scared (I’m a huge chicken) and asked Ryan if I could go into the men’s restroom instead. He said sure, and we made a plan that if anyone else were to walk into the bathrooms to take a shower, he’d get out of his shower first. So we both showered and got ready, then met each other back at the car to pack up the tent. I ended up driving first and it was still very dark by the time we left. On top of that, the fog was terrible. Finally after an hour of driving, we saw the sun rising behind us. I have to say that it was one of the most beautiful sunrises I’ve ever seen. It really makes me want to become an early riser so I can experience many, many more of them.

So far on this trip we have stopped over six times for gas; gathered numerous bug bites along arms, legs, and even our faces; listened to hours and hours of Coldplay, Blink-182, Ed Sheeran and Disney music (as to my request); and I can’t begin to tell you how many bugs I have witnessed hit my windshield as their lives have smeared across the glass. It hasn’t been a very pleasant sight.

This is goodbye, Arkansas and hello, Texas.

Interesting Facts:

1. Arkansas served the first fried pickles

2. Became the 15th state on June 15, 1836

3. Republican State

4. Wal-Mart was founded in Arkansas

5. The toothbrush was invented in Arkansas

6. The state bird is the Mockingbird

7. Known as the Natural State

8. Fourteen meteorites have been discovered in Arkansas

Likes:

1. Scenery reminds me of Splash Mountain from Disney’s Magic Kingdom