One week on the road and it still feels like I just left for this trip yesterday. But six states later and I have made my way all the way to Taos, New Mexico.

The past seven days literally have rolled by with lines of the highway, Interstate 40 West to be exact. Heading west from Raleigh I made way for Cashiers, North Carolina, where I would meet up with a college friend, Ben Elmer who runs the Brookings Angler in town. After some good banter and hanging around the shop, we met with some other guides and Ben’s wife Maggie at The Ugly Dog for brews and a bite to eat. Talking fishing and plans for the summer, we all are looking forward to fishing more and getting outside. Continuing our reunion, we retired to Ben and Maggies house up on the mountain; they have an amazing view of Lake Glenville. Rounds of darts and a few more drinks made our reunion and the meeting of new friends enjoyable.

Departing for Nashville, Tn on day two, I had a lot to look forward to. But first I needed to refuel and headed to Sylva, NC where a month prior my sister, Liz, and I had stopped and found the best little small town coffee shop – The Farmhouse & Mercantile. Leaving my morning brew choice up to the barista, I was impressed by his pick – Second Breakfast (if you’re in or around Sylva, stop in and give it a try). After a quick recharge, I set my sights for the Newfound Gap (1st scenic byway of the trip). Heading into the Great Smoky Mountain National Park, the vistas never ceased to inspire, all the way up and over the gap. Finishing the drive, we entered into a time warp. I felt as though I had made a wrong turn and ended up in Myrtle Beach; but no, I had made it to Pigeon Forge, home of Dollywood. Every square foot of the main road is filled with Putt Putt courses, tourist attractions and even a $5.99 store, just like at the beach. I opted to skip Dollywood and continue pushing for Nashville, but not without a lunch break in Knoxville. Calhoun’s on the River was on my radar, but on a Saturday at noon it was a long wait, plus Nashville was calling me in and I had a hankering for some Hot Chicken. Arriving late in the afternoon, I had not processed the time change yet. Trying to find my way to Prince’s, I had not thought about the fact that Nashville was hosting the Carolina Hurricanes for the first round of the NHL playoffs and the fact that was Saturday in a town that is always alive. Frustrated with the crowds, I opted to try again tomorrow for lunch on the way out of town and headed for the hotel.

Starting off day 3, I took an opportunity to enrich my historical education and drove to The Hermitage, home of our 7th President, Andrew Jackson. Learning much about the time he spent on property, his life as a soldier, and the home itself was quite interesting. The architecture of The Hermitage is quite impressive and while it appears to be one thing, many features are a ruse. Not to cut corners, but save money (the General which he preferred to be called rather than Mr President, was a frugal man), had the design of his home to be soundly built with the appearance of a more regal taste. Strikingly, the downstairs and upstairs hallways, both feature a wall paper, which only 15 exist in the world, and two are in one place. The entire grounds were impressive and would have been a site to see in working fashion. Walking the grounds, I spotted three wild turkeys strutting through the bottomlands and a herd of deer scrounging their way across a corn field. Still a little early for a bite to eat, I ventured to Nelson’s Green Brier Distillery, and enjoyed a “Bloody Belle” – made with bourbon and not vodka before sitting for a history tour and tasting of the whiskey produced as it was in the first days of the Nelson Brand. The current owners of the distillery, two brothers are great-great-great-grandsons of the original founder. Now ready to cap off my trip through Nashville with some Hot Chicken, I headed back to midtown and made another attempt to fulfill my hunger. Failure, usually is not an option for me, especially when food is the goal; but this time I was left without attaining the oh so delicious fare, made famous in Nashville. Needing to get on the road to Memphis, I grabbed a quick bite and hit the blacktop again. Taking 40 west, I made it to Memphis where I would stay at the Pyramid Bass Pro Shops. Having been an employee of Bass Pro Shops, I saw many people return every summer while on vacation and did not understand the attraction to visit the same store, but after visiting and walking through the shops at the Memphis store, I can begin to understand. Now, HQ in Springfield, is on my list to see where it all started.

Day 4, can’t believe it. I have been planning this trip for so long and anticipating so much to see. Not knowing much about Arkansas, except that it hosts historically great bear hunting back in the time of the market hunters, but also is home to a hunting focused retail store, Mack’s Prairie Wings (MPW), in Stuttgart. Much of the waterfowl community is aware of MPW and the long tradition. they have to service waterfowl hunters across America. The draw for me is the allure of a place, a mecca of sorts for duck and goose hunters; after leaving such an amazing place like the Bass Pro Pyramid, I was a little deflated. But working in retail for so long, I understand the importance of serving you client base, and that, Mack’s does very well. Oh and there is a gigantic statue of a mallard duck outside. I will certainly continue to support companies like MPW and the like (small local business that do what they do very well, supporting a community of avid enthusiasts). Continuing West, I maintained course off interstate 40, until Little Rock. Today has been the first day I have had the most time on secondary roads, getting to see much more of the states I’m passing through. Alas, I had to hop back on the interstate to travel through the capital city. Passing through, I soaked up as much as I could, and then headed for Hot Springs National Park. Coming in to town, I had learned that this was the boyhood home of President Bill Clinton; making it the second city in as many states, I have visited a city where a President lived. Although I was only there to see Hot Springs, I didn’t fathom tracking down where he lived. Cruising into town, it looked just as I had seen in pictures. The two major hotels stand sentinel over the town, and the local bathhouses host many visitors to the park. I decided to head for the fire tower and climbed up the mountain road, winding to the top. The original tower is long gone, but now stands a monolith that provides a 360 degree view of the area surrounding Hot Springs. 306, that is the number of steps it takes to climb the tower to the peak elevation viewing platform; I climbed back down all 306 as well. The views from the top were astounding. Not being able to see much beyond a nearby airport and the town below, the remaining peaks, all help feed reviving water to town for the modern baths.

With daylight left, I departed the Hot Springs and made way for camp. Tonight, I had reserved a lakeside spot in the Tompkins Bend Campground. This would be Pearls first campout and she looked good doing it. We made it to camp, I pitched my tent, and then began preparing for dinner. With much daylight left, I took advantage of the sun setting over the horizon through the trees to capture Pearl where she was meant to be, as well as enjoy a tasty camp meal from Heather’s Choice, African Peanut Stew – it was amazing. Planning on an early start tomorrow, I got to bed early.

Today, Pearl and I would tackle the Talimena Trail. The scenic byway connecting Talihina, Ok and Mean, Ar, climbs through the clouds, winding up, down and around sweeping hills and panoramic vistas. Having our first rainy day, we took it slow and while we managed to capture a few good views, the rain and fog quickly socked us in, along with the gusty winds on top of the crest. Making it to Talihina, we had a decision to make, travel through small towns, or connect back to 40 and hang with the truckers. Choosing the long way through, Pearl and I drove through Chocktaw, Seminole, and Shawnee Nations. Arriving in Oklahoma City in the early afternoon, I took advantage of the central time and visited the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum. Growing up, I had an affinity for the stories of the west, cowboys & indians, heroes (fictional and real alike) like Pecos Bill (shoutout to “Tall Tales”), Wild Bill Hickock, Wyatt Earp and lawmen alike. This was a true testament to history of the west, from early native Americans to the days of Hollywood and rodeo heroes like Lane Frost. Thoroughly impressed by my education in western heritage, I headed to my hotel for check in and to prepare for dinner. OKC being one of the largest stockyards, I heeded all recommendations and headed to Cattleman’s and perched myself at the bar and composed myself to deliver every delicious morsel of USDA Prime Beef to be devoured; and to wash it down, the only choice had to be the local Deuce Deuce (available only at Cattleman’s). Another day of driving was ahead, so it was early to bed again.

Heading away from Oklahoma City, I took recommendations for coffee and was delighted at the responses, leading me to find Elemental Coffee on Hudson Street. It was a quiet little coffee shop with a cool vibe. I would have enjoyed staying to sip my coffee, but had places to be. I headed back to Stockyards City for another quick photo op of Pearl, and then hit the road for Amarillo. Oklahoma is the first state that Route 66 tied into or ran next to Interstate 40. Following the Mother Road, I took the opportunity to be a tourist and made stops along the way at Lucille’s Historic Service Station, the Oklahoma Route 66 Museum, the National Route 66 & Transportation Museum, and possibly the coolest place all day was McLean, Texas. Although the museums each had their high points – being mostly classic cars; McLean held something else that was drawing me there. The chances that the towns namesake is shared by someone I could be related to, is slim, but that would be pretty rad. The attendant at the McLean – Alanreed Museum was a local native, and who’s family still ranches cattle nearby. She told me many stories of her grandfather and other local children in town, the man that McLean is named after and another local rancher who provided the land for the train switch station. Ultimately McLean grew because of the railway and more timely Route 66, brought motorists and tourism through town. Having learned many new things and and enjoying the company of a fellow history nerd, Pearl and I set tracks for the big city of Amarillo. Along the way, the winds were picking up and it was a bit hairy at times with big rigs flying past. Making it to town and refueling for a quick departure in the morning, I followed up on recommendations again for a steakhouse; but this time I was hoping there would be a show too. Home to the 72oz steak challenge as seen on Man vs Food, The Big Texan has been around over half a decade. Unfortunately, while I was enjoying my dinner, a plentiful steak, salad and baked potato, no one attempted to best the challenge which includes:

72oz of steak – baked potato – shrimp cocktail – side salad – bread – all to be consumed in an hours time

I left the Big Texan stuffed and ready to get some rest. Tomorrow would be a long trek.

This would be our longest day on the road yet – 424.4 miles. Starting the day, we stopped at the Cadillac Ranch. While unassuming, it was actually kind of neat. About ten old Cadillacs all nose down in the ground have been tagged in graffiti over and over, with each person leaving their personal touch. While there are cans littering the grounds, it gives people the impromptu chance to leave their mark. I couldn’t find a red can to tag an nc state logo, and remained only a voyeur of the art. Next on the route was of all places a truck stop, but it had a neat little museum inside. If there are classic cars involved, I can’t pass it up. My favorite of this stop was an old Willys CJ-2A, painted in fire engine red; it was a cool site. I grabbed some snacks, and was back on the road for Taos. Detouring from Interstate 40 again, I picked up the 104 in Tucumcari. With many historic markers along this road, I made many stops including one below the Canadian Escarpment. It made for a great Panoramic view.

Climbing over the pass, were peaked over the mesa and I was struck by the beauty of what I can only imagine the sweeping valleys of Montana cattle ranches will look like. Making it to Las Vegas, New Mexico, where I would later find out “Longmire” was filmed, I refused Pearl and set off for Santa Fe. the beauty of Santa Fe is certainly not in the way the town was laid out. Frustrating is the simplest expression I could think of just trying to navigate around the illogical layout of roadways. Finding a spot right on the corner, next to Del Charro, I popped in for a late lunch and enjoyed a local brew with my burger. Now full, I was ready to make it to Taos. We had what I would find to be one of the prettiest views, driving up The High Road to Taos. Pearl was a little taxed, but they were some steep grades, going up and over. Making it to town, and settling in to my lodging for the evening, I made my plans for morrow and would find solace in a good nights rest.

Week 1 Mileage – 2442.5