Thursday, March 22, 2018

Lonoke, Arkansas to Hornsby, Tennessee.....




Our Location: 
Big Buck Resort, Hornsby, Tennessee
(205 Sparks Road)
 
 
We spent the night in Lonoke, Arkansas at the Walmart there. I found the night to be fine, the big rig beside us ran ALL night which was fine for me,  it provided noise and I didn't hear anything except the steady drone of the big diesel engine. Riley on the other hand wasn't impressed with the noise and said she had a hard time getting and staying asleep. We were up at 7:30 am CDT and when I peeked out the windows, I noticed only the Class A beside us and basically everything else was semi's everywhere, behind, beside, and for rows upon rows they were lined up. They even parked in the driving lane. I thought they would have been moved but I guess not.  Anyway, we were on the road around 8 am after having packed up the few things we had unpacked to stay the night. 

Construction along our route....
 
Our first stop was a rest stop not far from our overnight spot. I had done a horrible job of cleaning the front window and had to do it again. We didn't stop long and were back on the road quickly. The rest of the morning passed with about the same amount excitement which was none, and we like that. 

Arkansas rest center...

 Construction was pretty good for the most part, a few slow downs on our side but the other side had a back up that must have stretched for 5 miles. Mostly big rigs as far as the eye could see at times. There really was no need for any slow downs, they have plenty of warning signs out and about, even 'MERGE NOW' signs but there will always be those that just have to get that last inch ahead. 

Construction back up on the West bound lanes....

We pretty much just cruised along taking I-40 East to Memphis, about 100 miles/160 km, and then we took US 64 the rest of the way. We crossed into Tennessee about 11:00 am CDT. We noticed the water laying in fields, the rivers running pretty full, and the creeks running high. They must have had significant rain fall here the last while. 

Some of the views from the road today...
 
We crossed into Tennessee with a sort of sigh as we are now much closer to home and back in the land that we know pretty well. We truly enjoyed our time across the mighty Mississippi but it's always nice to be back in familiar territory.

Water is in abundance over in this area, that is the Mississippi  with the Memphis skyline in the back, rolling with some swift currents you can see as you motor across the bridge.

The trip to Big Buck Resort in Hornsby took about an hour but we stopped once and stretched, did our business and enjoyed the warmish air, the grass and the greens we could see in various trees and flower gardens coming to life. 

Some signs along the way this morning in Arkansas...


 We checked in, Tina remembered us from our visit in the fall. She's a nice lady and always helpful. We've settled into site 18, a few down from our last site but we like this one better. The wifi connection is good, much faster than our own jet pack (we're waiting here for a booster for that very thing), and the sun is shining, the birds are singing, the lawn mowers were working, definitely a sign of spring!!! We're glad to be back. Now if Amazon can just get it's act together and get our packages here in a timely fashion life will be wonderful. 

Then we were welcomed to Tennessee......

We travelled approximately 200 miles/ 321 km today. It took us about 5 hours total. We used I-40 East and US 64 East. Both good roads, a few rough spots but those are to be expected, it's why there is construction on going. Again we used about 15 -18 gallons of fuel for the day. The temperatures are consistently warmish, not quite shorts weather but not too cool either. Roads are much busier here in the east, the semi traffic alone is astonishing. How quickly we forget. 

Some things we noticed in Tennessee. That killdeer was nesting at the very edge of the parking lot where we pulled over to stretch. Right in the town at the edge of the busy lot. Guarding those eggs she was pretty blustery.
 
 There you have it, our travel day. Thanks for stopping by, hope you enjoyed the ride, and I will tell you for the next couple of days we are going to be doing pretty much NADA, ZIP, NOTHING, except cleaning and doing laundry. So if you have no desire to hear about those things, you may want to take a couple of days rest from reading this blog. Feel free to drop a comment, I appreciate them all!


Pic 1, we noted a number of single rigs hauling up to 4 others behind, all new, all being delivered I guess. Pic 2, I could see that yellow truck coming in my mirror for a long way, love that it's a TONKA truck!! How cute is that? Pic 3 & 4, They too are hauling their house along, but they can park in different lots without someone having to sleep outside. Pic 5, is the Pyramid at the Mississippi River in East Memphis. Pic 6 is just a pretty house we noticed on US 64 East. Pic 7 is Funeral home also on US 64 E. It kind of looks like it's out in the middle of no where but is actually just a bit out of town. Pic 8 is another couple of nice houses we noticed on US 64 EAST not far from the Big Buck Resort.


Until next time..... take care, be safe, 


Deb





8 comments:

  1. Nice that you made it safely to Big Buck looking forward to your postings while there,. Enjoy it and decompress broker the final leg of your journey back to Ontario . looking forward to stopping there some day in the future.

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    1. We like it here and I hope that someday you come along and have a peek, I think you might like it here as well. It's a good place for us to sit and collect ourselves, and get ready for the last few days drive back to Ontario.

      Safe travels to you and Suzie.

      Take care, be safe,
      Deb

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  2. If I was that close to Memphis I would try and take Graceland in. It is easy for me to say as I sit here in my recliner . I did drive by there about 25 years ago but did not have the time to stop . ( family emergency )I did live in Missouri at the time now I'm in Idaho and a lot further away , maybe some day , still on my bucket list . Safe travels . Vern in Boise

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    1. I've thought about it a few times but Riley isn't a big Elvis fan although I could certainly go solo. The driving in Memphis wouldn't bother me. We have actually thought about visiting the zoo though. However I do appreciate the suggestion very much. Thanks Vern.

      Take care, be safe,
      Deb

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  3. Have a great time. I'm sure we must have gone through Hornsby on our way to Cornersville looking at the map. Hope it's warmer there than here! Love the back roads so much better than the interstate! But a necessary evil sometimes.

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    1. I'm sure you must have gone right by the front door. The park is literally about 1/4 mile off of US 64 on Sparks Road. Nice place for us to stop and rest and get ready for the last few days home. I enjoy the back roads but I also appreciate the interstates as there is much less slowing down and speeding up and I like to drive with cruise control. I think we may be sticking to the big roads now until we get across into Canada. It's not bad here, about 46F right now at 8:30 am, and it promises to get into the mid 60's. So can't complain, no chance of snow!!!!!

      Take care, be safe,
      Deb

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  4. Yes that increased traffic madness is sure noticeable to we folks who spend our winters on the much quieter west side of the country.

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    1. I can honestly say that the traffic doesn't bother me, it's just another part of driving and I enjoy driving. However I do know the traffic will only increase the further north I go and the roads will deteriorate as well and those things combined make me dislike this part of the drive. Always means more debris, less ability to miss those massive holes, and less rest areas open. However on the plus side, we'll be heading home and we like that part!!! We love coming to the USA for a visit but it's always nice to get back to Canada and family.

      Enjoy the soon to be spring weather!!

      Take care, be safe,
      Deb

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