Hey it's good to be back home again, yes it is or so the song says.  It is good to be back home in North Carolina after 7 full days of traveling across the country.  Here are some pictures that I took while riding through the mountains in Asheville.  This is another first for me because although I was born and raised in North Carolina  I've never been to the NC mountains to witness the leaves changing color during the fall season.  The colors are vivid and views spectacular.  My next blog will include pictures not shown before and some stories/tidbits learned along the way.  Now we have a lot of unpacking and laundry to do.  Chris is flying to New York on Monday and will start his new job on Tuesday.  It was a good ride but all good things must come to an end so I will leave you with this:

COST OF GASOLINE...........$245

HOTEL COST........................$533

RIDING CROSS COUNTRY WITH MY SON..........PRICELESS

From Little Rock, AR to Arab, AL

After leaving Little Rock, Arkansas we drove 344 miles to our next destination Arab, Alabama.  Named for Arad Thompson and located in northeast Alabama, at 1,125 feet above sea level, on top of Brindlee Mountain,  Arab is one of the highest incorporated towns in Alabama.  The name of the town was an unintentional misspelling by the U. S. Postal Service in 1882, of the cities intended name, Arad Thompson, son of the town founder and 1st postmaster Stephen Tuttle Thompson.  Arab was incorporated in 1892 and has a population of 7,640.  Located approximately 10 miles from Arab is Lake Guntersville which boasts 69,000 acres of water for recreational activities such as fishing, boating, primitive camping and cabin rentals.  My brother and sister-in-law (David and Lorene) moved to Arab in 2009.  We spent the night at their house and took a driving tour of Arab and Lake Guntersville.  Most of the pictures I took were of Lake Guntersville.  In the 3rd picture above is the stationary house boats you can rent on the lake.  A lot of you may have seen the scary movie The Hills Have Eyes.  Most of my cross country trip was driving through mountains or foothills and Julie and I would text back and forth about those hills having eyes.  That's why I couldn't resist taking this picture of an eye with the caption The Hills Have Eyes advertising Guntersville's haunted zip-line tour.  Last but not least I want to thank David and Lorene for their hospitality during our short visit to Arab.  I promise I will come back to visit and stay longer the next time so we can really check out the area.  Chris and I passed some interesting signs on the road to Arab such as the American Music Hall of Fame Museum and Coon Dog Cemetery that I want to check out on my next visit. This is not the end of my blog as we spent the night in Asheville and I have pictures to show that I took while driving through the NC mountains.  After that blog, I plan on blogging and sharing additional pictures that I took that I haven't shown along with some stories that I want to share with you as well.  So until then good night and whatever you do don't dream about that Coon Dog Cemetery! 

William (Bill) J. Clinton Presidential Library

We left Shawnee, Oklahoma heading for our next stop along the way the state of Arkansas a distance of 291 miles.  Arkansas was one of the few states that I actually took a picture of the Welcome To sign because I was usually texting or talking on my cell phone when we passed most of the other state line signs.  When we reached Little Rock we went to see the Clinton Presidential Library which is only about 10 miles off I-40 in downtown Little Rock on President Clinton Avenue.  You pass through River Market which has attractions, shopping, dining and lodging on the water front all within walking distance of the presidential library. Inside the presidential library you will find exhibits: Life in the White House, The Early Years, exact replica of the Oval Office when Clinton was President and and exhibit describing the ongoing work of President Clinton and the William J. Clinton Foundation and a full-scale replica of the White House Cabinet Room. Key events and highlights of the Clinton administration are present on a timeline. The President's daily schedules are located in binders below the timeline.  There is also an orientation theatre that focuses on Clinton's life and political career and highlights of his 1992 and 1996 campaigns.  Other exhibits include the presidential limousine and work of the United States Secret Service. No flash photography is allowed inside the library which is why there are no pictures of the inside exhibits.  However, I did manage to sneak a picture of me and Chris sitting behind the desk used when President's give special speeches on TV.  Next to the library housed in an historic brick building is the Clinton School of Public Service.  When leaving Little Rock I saw a church so I took a picture of the church.  A lot of times when I am traveling I take pictures of churches for their unusual architecture, shape or uniqueness.  What caught my eye with this church was the uniqueness of it's steeple which to me looked different from most other steeples. Finally it was time to leave Arkansas and enter Tennessee.  Of course to go from Arkansas to Tennessee you have to cross the Mississippi River  so my final two pictures on the blog tonight show us crossing the great Mississippi  River.  My next blog will be about Arab, Alabama.  Yes followers there is an Arab in Alabama so stay tuned for that chapter in my trek across the country.  Good night all and this blog is specifically dedicated to my follower that expressed their disappointment in not being able to read a blog from me everyday.

Petrified Forest Natl Park and Painted Desert

Leaving the Grand Canyon on Sunday we traveled 150 miles east on I-40 to the Petrified Forest National Park. Elevations in the park range from 5300 ft to 6,235 ft.  Many of the brilliantly colored trees in the 93,533 acre park are prone, and many are in fragments.  Early dinosaurs and other reptiles once roamed the area, and numerous fossil bones and fossil plants have been discovered in the park.  About 225 million years ago trees clinging to eroding riverbanks fell into streams and were carried to this wet, swampy lowland.  The trees were submerged in water and buried under volcanic ash sediments rich in silica, a replacement process began to take place.  Silica replaced the wood until the logs were virtually turned to stone.  Iron oxide and other minerals stained the silica to produce rainbow colors.  The 28 mile drive through the park offers breathtaking views and overlooks where you can explore the park on your own.  Within the park it is unlawful to gather plants, sand, rocks or specimens of petrified wood of any size whatsoever: archaeological material is likewise protected.  Violations are punishable by heavy fines and imprisonment. Stores outside the park are allowed to sell polished specimens from privately owned land outside of the park.  I bought some petrified wood from the store at the entrance to the park.  They have to wrap the wood in newspaper individually and you have to keep your receipt with you at all times as proof that you did not take the petrified wood from the park itself.  The rangers ask you going in if you have any petrified wood in your car and on the way out they ask if you took anything that you shouldn't have from the park.  By law they can search your car or person if they suspect that you have taken petrified wood from the park.  According to the film we watched at the visitors center the Petrified Forest is disappearing little by little as one ton of the rock is taken each month illegally.  We spent about 4 hours at the park walking the trails, stopping at overlooks and taking pictures.  One historic landmark inside the park is the Painted Desert Inn at Kachina Point.  The Inn was first built in the early 1900's as a tourist stop for those going west . Eventually it was turned into an Inn for those traveling to California on the famous Route 66 highway.  It was owned by private individuals until the National Park Service purchased the Inn in the mid 1900's and preserved it as an historic landmark.  The last private owner of the Inn hired a Navajo artist to paint murals on the walls which are still there today.  Cost to enter the park is $10 per car and is well worth the cost.  If you're ever traveling along I-40 in Arizona I strongly suggest you take advantage of seeing this National Park.  It is incredible and the views are breathtaking.  My next blog I will show some of the pictures I took while riding along the road and maybe share some stories of happenings along the way.  Until then good night and pleasant painted desert dreams.

Here are some of the pictures we took while at the Grand Canyon National Park.  These pictures do not present the canyon at it's grandeur because the day we was there it was very cloudy and cold.  When I stated earlier that the canyon literally took my breath away it was because at 7000+ feet the oxygen in the air is not as saturated as in lower elevations so I was having a hard time breathing.  When we reached the visiter center I mentioned this to the ranger and she said it was not uncommon for visitors to the park to complain of breathing problems.  The ranger said to just take it easy at first, drink plenty of water and let your body get acclamated to the lack of oxygen in the air.  My breathing did improve and we spent a full day exploring the Grand Canyon.  They have shuttle buses with different drop off points for visitor's to explore the park at their leisure.  There are three different shuttle buses: green, blue and red routes.  We did the blue (village route)and red (hermit's rest route) shuttles because those two routes had the most drop off and pick up points.  The shuttles run every 15-20 minutes throughout the day.  The Grand Canyon is 277 river miles long and averages 10 miles in width from rim to rim and is over 1 mile deep at it's deepest point. While in the park we did see deer and elk.  On the way out as we were leaving the park I spotted a 1950's - 1960's icon: Smokey the Bear and I couldn't wait to get my picture taken with Smokey. The story behind Smokey (for those of you too young to know about Smokey) is that there was a big wild fire in a national park and after the fire was extinguished a ranger found a bear cub clinging to a tree unharmed by the fire.  The ranger named the bear cub Smokey and the bear cub became a mascot of sorts informing people of the hazards of fires and how to prevent them from happening. The slogan in the commercials and advertisements was "only you can prevent forest fires." Well that's the blog for tonight. Tomorrow I will share photos about the Petrified Forest and The Painted Desert.  So until then good night all and remember only you can prevent forest fires.