Roadtrip 2024: Week 6 "Heading East"

Honestly, it's been a more difficult week. There's been too much driving and not many exciting highlights. Clearly, I've been spoiled. I don't want to make northern Texas look too bad, but the drive from Amarillo to Wichita Falls was not very eventful, although driving 75 on a road that in NC would be 55 at most was helpful. Yes, there were a few State Parks.... and I finally saw a rattlesnake and scorpion (in the campground sink) and best of all I got to closely inspect an oil well. It took hundreds of miles in Minnesota and North Dakota for the forest to turn into prairie. It seemed this was almost instantaneous driving from Texas into Oklahoma. Very strange. Driving on US-40 in Oklahoma, Arkansas or Tennessee looks just like North Carolina. Also, the humidity and crickets at night are back. I tried to do some sightseeing. Went to the First Americans Museum in Oklahoma City, saw the presidential library in Little Rock (disappointing), the Little Rock Nine museum and high school - coincidentally I happened to be at the same "time" in the Ken Follet trilogy I'm reading, so this was very cool! Wanted to see Graceland, but not for $90 and went to the Tennessee State Museum in Nashville. There were also a couple of breweries on the way.... I also ran a couple of times just 3 to 4 miles, so far so good. Big highlight of the week was yesterday seeing two caves in Kentucky. I first went to the privately owned Diamond Caverns. We were a group of only three and the tour took about 45 min. Then I went into Mammoth Caves NP to set up the campsite, eat lunch and see the pre-booked "Domes and Dripstones" tour. This was awesome! We walked for 90 min deep underground from one entrance through Mammoth Caves out another. Great park ranger too! The rain from the hurricane started in the evening and now it's time to drive to Frankfort to buy some bourbon and get a distillery tour at Buffalo Trace. I've driven 7,300 miles now and I am getting somewhat exhausted. Next Wednesday I'll visit my son in Charlotte and Thursday I will be back home.

Palo Duro Canyon SP. Also known as the Grand Canyon of Texas.

Mountain biking in Palo Duro Canyon SP

Finally, a rattlesnake. Almost rode over it. It didn't want to rattle.

Getting ready to bike 4 miles to a tunnel filled with bats on this rails to trails ride close to Caprock Canyons SP in Texas. It was over 100F and nobody else was around. Good thing I have my satellite emergency device.