What a BOOOOORRRRING day. Eastern Oklahoma has nothing worth mentioning. I drove US Route 270 from Shawnee through Seminole, McAlester, Wilburton, and Hartshome, Fanshawe, and other even less memorable villages. For the first time since Colorado there were sufficient trees to call some areas forests. That also meant that I could not see much beyond 200 feet on either side of the road, especially as I neared Arkansas. By the time I crossed that border I was in the Ouachita National Forest. The rolling wooded hills in western Arkansas reminded me of part of western Pennsylvania or West Virginia. It was equally a non-remarkable region.
Maybe the problem is that having just a few days ago been in the extraordinary beauty of southern Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico, that I couldn't make a fair comparison. Or, perhaps, that is a fair comparison.
My goal today had been to reach Hot Springs, Arkansas. Because there was so little to do or see along the way, I was there by 3:30. There wasn't much in Hot Springs either. It is where Bill Clinton grew up, as the sign into town proudly announces. And it was where a hot spring was discovered in 1803. Other than that, it is home to the usual raft of Walmarts, Dennys, Napa Auto Parts, Wendys, Home Depots, Kohls, Taco Bells, etc. I decided to push on to Pine Bluff, an hour further along route 270. Once there, I quickly determined that it was about the same as Hot Springs. So I decided to continue yet further.
Shortly after Pine Bluff on US route 65 the land flattened out completely and there were huge open fields of dark rich soil, all plowed. I was in the flood plain of the Mississippi. That was a nice change but the sun set and dusk limited visibility. By the time I crossed the Mississippi River it was dark. This was the first day of the entire trip where I had driven after sunset.
Greenville is right on the river. In fact, it is supposed to be one of the bigger ports on the river, although you could not prove that by me. It was dark here when I arrived and I couldn't see much of anything beyond the highway signs.
I found the location of a large number of motels, some chains like Days Inn, Econolodge, and Hampton Court, others the local mom-and-pop independent operations. I have a book that notes (correctly based on my experience) that the independents are usually $30-$60 cheaper than the chains.
But how to decide which independent motels are good value and which are dirty, run into the ground, and even potentially dangerous? The book suggests a number of useful ways. For example, it notes that if the driveway is clear of gravel and any plants and bushes are neatly trimmed, then the rooms are likely to be equally well cared for. It also suggests that a registration desk that is inside and behind bulletproof glass while you stand outside and ask for a room is probably not a good place. I thought that was a cute joke. Until tonight. One motel along the motel strip, Relax Inn, had a sign advertising free wifi and a $39.99 rate. I pulled in the driveway. Then I saw the registration behind a drive-up window just like a drive-up bank teller. Bulletproof glass, intercom, and all. There was even the little metal box that you were supposed to put your drivers license and credit card in and take your room key from. I moved on and found a slightly more inviting (and expensive) place to rest.
No photos today because there was nothing worth taking a picture of, except maybe the Mississippi and by then it was dark.
No comments:
Post a Comment