Our route today led east out of Texas, driving through Oklahoma and half of Arkansas. On this trip so far we've driven 6,000 miles. Today we covered 460 miles of that. We departed at 8am in chilly 28-degree temps from eastern Texas.
Because math first thing in the morning is so fun, Rob wanted to answer Michele's question from yesterday as to how much fuel efficiency he's gaining by driving 70 mph during the portions of the route when the speed limit is 75.
He calculated that in the Mazda we see a 15% reduction in fuel efficiency at 75 mph instead of 70 mph. That comes to a savings of about 1 gallon a day and an "expense" of about 40 minutes of extra driving. It's not a big difference but makes for a quieter ride and less finagling of the cruise control due to catching up to slower truck traffic. Rob is the driver and the boss-man so he gets to decide our mph, but Michele decided that the cost/benefit analysis showed that the benefit of $3 a day was not worth spending an extra 40 minutes a day driving in the car. We drove faster today!
At 8:45am Michele said the grass is greener in Oklahoma as compared to Texas. Rob replied that we hadn't crossed into it yet. Michele quickly reminded Rob that we had left Texas 35 minutes ago! Oh. We now know that Rob's ability to multi-task is limited to driving, performing differential efficiency analyses on fuel mileage at various velocities and running cost/benefit analyses OR driving and remembering which state he is in.
Fun fact, the panhandle of Texas is about 176 miles across on I-40, most of which we drove yesterday.
We stopped after 9am for fuel and a rest break. At 10:30am we passed through Oklahoma City and traffic was surprisingly light. This is Skydance Bridge. The sculpture soars over I-40 at 200 feet high and is atop a 380-foot-long pedestrian bridge. It is designed after Oklahoma's state bird, the scissor-tailed flycatcher.
Can you see the resemblance?
They have a unique method for dispensing BBQ sauce.
Just like milking a cow (or a cat like in the movie "Meet the Parents"). We shared the brisket, salad and cheddar mac and cheese. The banana pudding was tempting, but we didn't want to overeat.
Michele agreed with this sentiment about horses.
Down the interstate in Checotah, OK there were a few fishermen enjoying the Eufaula Lake. From our view on the highway Rob said it looked like the boat was sitting a bit low in the rear (they may need a bigger boat).
At 1:30pm we crossed into Arkansas, completing the 330 miles of I-40 through Oklahoma. Michele made sure to remind him that he was now in Arkansas. We didn't stop for a break after lunch, but traffic was light and the drive was relaxing. From lunch to today's destination in Conway, AR was three hours.
Arkansas is termed “The natural state” to promote its natural resources and tourism. Hot Springs National Park is an hour south and we considered adding it to our itinerary when we planned this trip last year, but it would have made our trip too long. It's on the list for another time.
We arrived at our hotel in Conway at 3:15pm. Conway is termed "The city of colleges" as there are three here: University of Central Arkansas, Hendrix College, and Central Baptist College. Unfortunately, Michele's former piano teacher Martin and his wife Liza had to cancel dinner tonight due to Liza not feeling well and not improving today. We understand these things happen, and we hope she feels better soon!
Instead, we found Blaze Pizza nearby and got pizza, salad, a cookie and a brownie to eat back in our hotel room.
Since today was a lighter picture day, here's a Renault Caravelle (possibly a 1962 model or later) that we saw in Tuscon that was in very fine condition.
Tonight, we watched movies and Michele practiced piano. Tomorrow, we continue to Nashville, TN. Below is today's route from Texas to Arkansas.
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