Retracing The Steps - Day 1, Dec 7, 2012

At 645am the car was packed, and ready to roll. It was still dark, and the thermometer read 39 degrees. One last check around the house to make sure everything was in order. There were still some clothes I wanted to take hanging on the dryer, so I threw them in a bag and would deal with it later. Walking through the garage, I kicked over a bucket of paint thinner, so had a mess to deal with before departing. I hope that's not an indication of how this trip will work out.  Finally, with the smell of paint thinner on my shoes and Ronnie Milsap's "Smokey Mountain Rain" coming from the radio, I rolled down the driveway headed west.

The car is loaded to the roof with everything from Christmas gifts to "walkingman" t-shirts, to dozens of jars of locally made apple butter I plan to hand out across the country. If Rita was along she'd know exactly where everything was, I just know it's somewhere in the car. Once on the road, one of the first things I notice is gas prices are down, so that's positive.

The most direct route from Daleville to Fairview is I-81 to I-40 to I-30. At least as far as the TN / AK line it's a really pretty drive. Mainly through mountains. The major cities along the way are Bristol, Knoxville, Nashville, Memphis, Little Rock, and Texarkana. This part of the trip is just about getting to Fairview, no time for sightseeing. Plus there's not much to see along the way except nice scenery. There's lots of signs for things close by: Mt Rogers, the highest peak in VA, Bristol Motor Speedway or Thunder Valley as it's called in this area, Davy Crockett's birthplace, Dollywood In Pigeon Forge, Sgt Alvin T York state park, etc.

I pass a rest area with a sign: "Rest Area Sponsored by Geico", don't think I've seen one of those before. Will eventually everything be sponsored by something? I also notice on this part of the trip that on every state border there's a city divided between two states: Bristol VA/TN, Memphis TN/AR, Texarkana AR/TX. The lakes along the highway all appeared to be low, and several of the radio stations mentioned a shortgage of rain.

I had planned to stop in Memphis, but it was still light so decided to drive on a while. Darkness and work on I-30 finally convinced me to look for a place to stay. Found a motel near the interstate in Konoke, AR, and checked in there. Total mileage for the day: 770. After checking in and unpacking, I laid down to rest a few minutes and woke up at 330am......it was a long day.