This is us just starting out in Tucson. We had a full tank of gas, a full to bursting Toyota Corolla and of course, Mama Phelps wouldn't let us leave with out a full stomach.
You can't see this picture very well but lets just say there wasn't much to take pictures of through out the rest of Arizona and New Mexico. But once we hit Texas, there was something we were all kind of looking forward to. The 80 mph speed limits on the free way. :)
Now Dave and I noticed an interesting phenomenon as we traveled. It all started with the oil wells. First we saw one, and were bummed that a picture didn't get taken. Then we saw a few more and snapped a few pictures. Then, they were all over the place.
And you can't really see very well in this picture, but they really were all over the place. There would be a plowed field, and then smack in the middle of the acre would be an oil well and tons of grass and weeds around it and then the field would continue like nothing happened.
Moral of the story is, yes crops are important, but oil makes more money.
Then there were the windmills, which I excitedly took pictures of. Then they were everywhere. And yes, those are bugs on the windshield. The smell of oil in the air apparently attracts a lot of them.
This is down town Dallas. There were some funny looking buildings that we kinda got pictures of... Sorry, you can't really see all that well, but trust me, there were. And much to my chagrin, this is the only point in the whole trip where we got lost because I was taking pictures instead of navigating. Luckily my husband is smart and had us back on track in no time.
The next few pictures are of a lake just east of Dallas. I watched it come on the map with great anticipation. And I was not disappointed. It was awesome. To see anyway. We didn't really have time to stop. But it was pretty all the same.
Then, things started to get a little greener. Okay, so a LOT greener.
Then we got to the Texas/Arkansas border. And we discovered that right there, there is a quaint town thats name is anything but.
Its Texarkana, which as the water tower at the entrance to the city proclaims, is "Twice as Nice" All I know is thats when people started to talk funny.
And to celebrate our entrance this is the only state sign I actually got a picture of. Which is kind of a bummer but Dave was particularly excited that I snapped a picture of the massive bug he'd hit a few hours before. Or what was left of it anyway...
Then we saw water. Lots of it.
And finally, the much awaited for Mississippi River! On our second day we could've stopped in Memphis instead of Little Rock AR but I wanted to see the Mississippi River for the first time in broad day light. And luckily my driver relented to my demands.
Now Dave and I noticed an interesting phenomenon as we traveled. It all started with the oil wells. First we saw one, and were bummed that a picture didn't get taken. Then we saw a few more and snapped a few pictures. Then, they were all over the place.
And you can't really see very well in this picture, but they really were all over the place. There would be a plowed field, and then smack in the middle of the acre would be an oil well and tons of grass and weeds around it and then the field would continue like nothing happened.
Moral of the story is, yes crops are important, but oil makes more money.
Then there were the windmills, which I excitedly took pictures of. Then they were everywhere. And yes, those are bugs on the windshield. The smell of oil in the air apparently attracts a lot of them.
This is down town Dallas. There were some funny looking buildings that we kinda got pictures of... Sorry, you can't really see all that well, but trust me, there were. And much to my chagrin, this is the only point in the whole trip where we got lost because I was taking pictures instead of navigating. Luckily my husband is smart and had us back on track in no time.
The next few pictures are of a lake just east of Dallas. I watched it come on the map with great anticipation. And I was not disappointed. It was awesome. To see anyway. We didn't really have time to stop. But it was pretty all the same.
Then, things started to get a little greener. Okay, so a LOT greener.
Then we got to the Texas/Arkansas border. And we discovered that right there, there is a quaint town thats name is anything but.
Its Texarkana, which as the water tower at the entrance to the city proclaims, is "Twice as Nice" All I know is thats when people started to talk funny.
And to celebrate our entrance this is the only state sign I actually got a picture of. Which is kind of a bummer but Dave was particularly excited that I snapped a picture of the massive bug he'd hit a few hours before. Or what was left of it anyway...
Then we saw water. Lots of it.
And finally, the much awaited for Mississippi River! On our second day we could've stopped in Memphis instead of Little Rock AR but I wanted to see the Mississippi River for the first time in broad day light. And luckily my driver relented to my demands.
It didn't disappoint. Unfortunately we were rushing to get to Knoxville before 7pm (the office of the place we are staying closed then, and we had forgotten about the time change when we decided to sleep in that morning) and so we didn't stop and look around.
This picture I pulled off the internet after realizing that we would not be entering Tennessee again, but rather leaving it so I would never get a chance to take a picture. So here is the sign Dave saw while I was oohing and ahhing over the Mississippi River.
All along our way we saw these beautiful wildflowers along the free way. Unfortunately they don't photograph well out the side window of a vehicle going 80 mph. But just trust me that they were beautiful.
Also along the way, were these really pretty white blossomed trees. They would just stick out of all the green like a frost bitten thumb, and it was really pretty. (Not that frost bitten thumbs are pretty, just, these were.) You can kinda see them in the back ground.
And when we got to our apartments, (JUST in time) there was one of these trees right across the way from our apartment.
Now, I haven't had time to ask some of the local wild life just what kind of tree it is... but, when I find out, I'll let you know.
This picture I pulled off the internet after realizing that we would not be entering Tennessee again, but rather leaving it so I would never get a chance to take a picture. So here is the sign Dave saw while I was oohing and ahhing over the Mississippi River.
All along our way we saw these beautiful wildflowers along the free way. Unfortunately they don't photograph well out the side window of a vehicle going 80 mph. But just trust me that they were beautiful.
Also along the way, were these really pretty white blossomed trees. They would just stick out of all the green like a frost bitten thumb, and it was really pretty. (Not that frost bitten thumbs are pretty, just, these were.) You can kinda see them in the back ground.
And when we got to our apartments, (JUST in time) there was one of these trees right across the way from our apartment.
Now, I haven't had time to ask some of the local wild life just what kind of tree it is... but, when I find out, I'll let you know.So there you have it folks, that was our trip. Soon I will put up another post regarding our sight seeing trip we took last weekend.
We would like to thank our car dealer for the car he supplied us with, it performed very well, our chef, for the fabulous sandwiches we were sent off with, and our travel agent for the great hotels with firm beds for Dave and yummy breakfasts for me. :)
We would like to thank our car dealer for the car he supplied us with, it performed very well, our chef, for the fabulous sandwiches we were sent off with, and our travel agent for the great hotels with firm beds for Dave and yummy breakfasts for me. :)
