CA to NY 9

Day 31 8/7/17

This is where I usually place the state's Welcome Sign as I cross the border but even though I spent the night at the Memphis KOA, I was physically in Marion, Arkansas, about 18 minutes down I-55, over on I-40 and across the Mississippi River. If, however, there were a road from the campground to the TN border, it would measure about 1½ miles due east.  The next blog will have it. 

Note my site circled 54 in the above map; then note
its proximity to I-55 and the Service Road no more
than 100 yards away.

Another good KOA campground; Clean, maintained and well laid out
but its proximity to I-55 made is the noisiest campground I've been in.
In addition, a bit more in the distance...

...you can hear the familiar 2 long, 1 short, 1 long train whistle
as it approaches a crossing. In the above shot you will
see some interesting structures. They're tents with zippered
 "foyers" for sitting and not disturbing sleeping folks inside.
Never saw that type before.

The familiar Kampground Kabin of KOA. They're certainly taken
advantage of by folks who choose not to go the tent or RV route for
their weekend or holiday adventure.

On the up side, it was the first day I could leave my door open and not
use the AC at all. 72° all night. AND, I had a pulled pork sandwich
delivered to my site. It's cooked and smoked for 18 hours right here on site.

The three empty sites next to me were filled by nightfall and, amazingly,
empty when I looked out the next morning. Amazing in that the overnight
folks want to get going right away in the morning only to be part of
heavy traffic. My schedule of leaving by 10 am arriving somewhere by 3
or 4 pm has worked out nicely.

The highlight of any trip I take is to catch a sunrise and/or a sunset. I was
fortunate to catch this sunset because most of the day was overcast and
threatening. Again, at dusk, I heard that same sound I heard while in
Arkansas...cicadas.

I took lots but these are the best I think of the bunch.
There's a full moon tonight but, because of the overcast skies, I
won't be able to catch it.

A closer view of the tents as the sun continues to dodge the clouds on
its way down for the night. Speaking of night, the traffic noise, although
unabated did not affect my sleep. The annoying
sound was when trucks or cars veered too far to the right
and rode the "wake up" ridges. They work.

Day 32 8/8/17

Well, as mentioned above, I traveled south on I-55, then east on I-40 and over the bridge spanning the Mississippi. The last time I crossed the Mighty Miss was going west over The Fred Schwengel Memorial Bridge that took me from LeClaire, Iowa to Rapids City, Illinois on I-80. (Rapid City is in South Dakota). Once over the bridge you cannot but notice the H-U-G-E pyramid on the Tennessee side, right on the banks of the Mississippi

It's a 28 story outdoor shop, lodge, and entertainment facility. Take a look inside by CLICKING HERE.  I'm sure Chuck would have scheduled it in complete with WAZE directions to get there. Today's trip was all about paying attention to the road and the traffic. No prairie scrub brush, no flat lands to view the horizons, no farms and no animals. I encountered construction but again, the drive was just like driving in the wooded regions of NY State. The Grand Ol' Opry at this exit, Loretta Lynn's Dude Ranch Resort, exit here. Some guy named Elvis seems to be a big around here; lots of billboards with his name on it.  LOL. 

Site 4 on "Shady Lane" was just that. Very cool and shaded. 73° as I
write this blog. I'm finding the KOAs like to put their overnighters in
spots near the office. I was told by one owner that it's the "unwritten"
policy of all KOAs to have designated areas (sites) available
for the "emergency" pull-ins without reservations whose plans were
messed up by unforeseen circumstances.

There's a mother and two children in the site next to me. They drove in with a small, packed Honda sedan and set up one not-so-large tent for the mother and 11-year old daughter and a smaller one for the slightly younger boy. They left the site long enough tonight to pick up something to eat and bring it back to the site. After that, I see that the young man is in his tent reading a book and the mother and daughter are playing cards on the picnic table. Nice. 

Beyond them, two sites away, a couple on two beautiful Harleys drove into the site; he was towing a flat 6 x 6 cargo carrier; by the time they had it all unpacked, they had a huge tent that opened into a canopy and next to that a 10 x 10 screened in porch complete with floor mat. If they're still here tomorrow, I'll try to get a photo. I'll guess him to be mid-fifties and she younger.

That's it for tonight; two days recorded and tomorrow, I'm in Kentucky.