Russelville, AR to Temple, TX

The new year came quietly in Russelville, Arkansas. At least, we slept through any noise. There were a handful of people at breakfast, and we were on the road by 9 AM, continuing down AR7 through the hills.

Yesterday's hills may have been higher but today's section had more pines and therefore more color and more beauty at this time of year. The road twisted through the Ouachita National Forest with gorgeous views. We didn't see the poverty that we had seen yesterday since virtually no one lived in the national forest. A few houses looked like wealthy retirees.

At one point on top a hill a car pulled off on the side of the road flicked its lights at us. We stopped along side them. "Ahead there is a logging truck on its side with a man lying in the road," the woman said. "You can get through, but we thought we should warn you." Her husband was on the phone with the 911 operator. There was no signal closer to the accident.

We continued on. At the bottom of one of the hills we saw the overturned truck and several cars that had stopped. Several people were trying unsuccessfully to call 911. We told them 911 had been reached although as we drove on, we never did meet any emergency vehicles. The place was so remote, I wondered if they needed a heliocopter for access.

A woman bent over the man at the side of the road. She seemed to be talking to him so I assume he was alive. I prayed for her, wondering if she was talking to him about the Lord and his eternal destiny. My thoughts went to Erika, the first on the scene of an accident several years ago. She sat in the car with an unconscious woman and talked to her (I think held her hand) until the paramedics got there. The woman later died. We prayed for this guy and his family several times today, but I don't suppose we will ever hear what happened. As we climbed the curving road on the other side, we could see skid marks where he tried to get control. Near the top were tire marks in the mud. Where he lost control? or his first attempt to regain it?

Believe me, we were conscious of driving carefully in those hills. We did see a couple logging trucks stopped on the side of the road further up and stopped to let them know one of their colleagues was at the bottom of the hill.

Mostly today we were trying to get somewhere. Someday (when there are leaves on the trees) we will have to come back and try all the spurs to interesting places described in the Scenic Byways book. Hot Springs looked fun with its 1890s baths. At one point in the national park Steve pulled off and suggested I take a five-minute walk. I was only wearing loafers and the trail was wet and rocky so I wasn't tempted to go farther, but it felt great to stretch my legs, and I did take a couple pictures.

I loved the sunlight on moss at the edge of the trail.

Stream in Ouachita National Forest

We found a truck stop open for lunch despite its being New Year's Day. $9.99 a head for a simple, but good buffet of salad, soup, and comfort food. We drove across Texas in the afternoon, taking TX19 instead of the Interstate to avoid Dallas, but the countryside was awfully flat after the Ozarks. A string of bowl games on the radio kept Steve alert and Mom interested. I knitted or read an e-book in the back seat. Tonight it is pizza and the Sugar Bowl in the hotel room after seeing Iowa out of their misery in a pitiful Rose Bowl.

Tomorrow we reach our destination at Bibleville. Still praying for the driver of the logging truck.

St. Louis, MO to Russelville, AR

Mom joined us for the rest of the trip. We left Bob and Nan's at 9. It took almost an hour to get out of town. I-44 was closed. So was I-55 and I-270 and a bunch of the usual alternate routes. The flooded Merramac crested last night, but it will take a while for water to go down and roads and bridges be fixed. Steve and Bob studied routes on the internet last night and concluded that Route 100  was the only west-bound route open. At the gas station this morning they met a woman who had had to stay in town last night because she couldn't find an open route home. She hadn't considered Route 100, which seems to have been the only one left. Needless to say, it was heavy traffic despite the holiday. It merged into westbound I-44 where a long string of cars east-bound cars waited to exit and find their way into town on city streets.

Another hour or so down the road gaps began to appear in the clouds and eventually sunlight fell on the fields--the first we had seen in days. Lots of billboards around Branson. They even have their own visitor TV station. Although I would love to see the Shepherd of the Hills outdoor theatre, based on a favorite book of my mother's youth that I embraced in mine, I'm basically not a show person. Branson interested me far less than the surrounding hills.

Once we got into Arkansas, we turned south on Route 7, one of the scenic byways of our National Geographic book. It was "crooked and steep" according to the warning signs. Mostly it followed a ridge top with wonderful views. We kept thinking how spectacular it would be with leaves on the trees. Sigh. We'll have to come back.

Buffalo River from bridge

There was a lot of poverty, uncared for cabins with piles of junk on the porch and in the yard. Some were obviously not lived in (roof fallen in). Others, we weren't so sure. We wondered what people out here did for a living, if anything.

We will see in the new year in Russelville, AR, half way along our mountain route. I guess "See it in" is an exageration since we will see it in with our eyes closed in our beds. But the new year WILL come, and this travel adventure will continue in 2016.