Our Drive to Texas

We just got back from a 10 day trip to Texas to see our niece Chelsea graduate from WTAMU in Amarillo. While in that area, we took a few days to spend with my mom and grandma in Haskell, about 3 hours to the south.

As you may know, the recent storms and excessive rains have caused all the rivers and waterways leading to the Mississippi River to swell to near biblical proportions. Part of I-40 was totally closed down from Brinkley, AR to Little Rock. There was a detour that took us onto various lesser highways that remained above the waterline. Along the way, we had a first hand view of the flooded areas we'd been seeing on the news each evening for the last week or so. Keeping in mind, these areas where travel is permitted were the "better" areas, I could only imagine what the really flooded areas were like. We really feel bad for the people whose homes, farms, crops and businesses were under water.


Not the best view of Nashville, but it's what you get when speeding along in a valley of trucks on I-40.


At a pretty rest area between Nashville and Memphis.


Molly is a great little traveller...she slept most of the time and still slept well in the hotel that night.


While in very slow traffic in Memphis, I saw this billboard I thought was very cool. Yes, I will take photos of almost anything.


Approaching the Mississippi River bridge into Arkansas. About to see some serious flooding all across Arkansas.


The river was very high.


Some tree tops along the interstate in Arkansas.


More nearly drowning tree tops.


The end of the line on I-40. We were diverted onto Highway 49 North to 64 West to Bald Knob and 67 South to Little Rock.


An unfortunate sight along Highway 49.


It seemed like all of Arkansas was under water.





A pretty rest area in Arkansas.


We gave Molly every chance possible to get out and run around...she was always overjoyed to be set free of her carseat.


Could it be a photo that I didn't take? :) I love it when Molly runs up to me....one of the greatest joys in my life.



We drove from Knoxville to Little Rock the first day and then on into Haskell the next morning. The amount of flooding decreased as we went westward...to the extreme contrast of the dry, dusty, hot winds of the Texas Panhandle. Unfortunately, our car's air conditioner chose Texarkana as the point at which to stop working. It was a long hot drive from there to Haskell. I ended up letting my water bottle drip on to my pants to cool off a little bit. We wilted as the day wore on, but once we got to Mom and Grandma's house, we felt so much better to be done driving for a few days!