Day 6 - Oklahoma - Texas - New Mexico

The only vertical things in Oklahoma and Northern Texas are Billboards and Semi Trucks.

And that is amazing.

Driving through the midwest makes you feel so incredibly small.  The sky seems endless and all consuming, and you feel as though you can see for miles and miles.  I had to ward off all desires to pull over and just watch the sky slowly pass over me.

And then... there's Texas.  I must say, northern Texas surprised me.  After driving through endless flats I went about 30 minutes out of Amarillo and found myself at the Palo Duro Canyon.  The land just drops off and you are left with a basin of bright red and white clay gradient.

I drove down into the canyon and hiked around for a bit.  I found an incredible cave along one of the walls, which had a clear streak of white clay through the center of it.  That was one of my favorite aspects to the canyon was seeing the changes in color throughout the walls - I will definitely be referring to this color scheme in some of my works.

I managed to hobble up to the cave and get a new view of the area.  I was wishing my leg was in better shape because the hiking and mountain biking there looks top notch.  I guess I'll have to come back to Texas (Honestly never thought I'd say that).

Even made some new friends in Texas.

I pulled off on our way to Santa Fe in Santa Rosa to check out the Blue Hole.  The blue hole is an incredible natural hole in the ground that is 60 ft wide and 81 ft deep.  They offer scuba diving as well as just swimming.  Thanks Rikki T for suggesting the pull off - this was incredible!

Onward to Santa Fe!  Managed to drive right into the center of a nice rain storm, but it also offered a picture perfect sunset over the mountains.  A deep azure blue sky with a glow from the mountains turning pink to gold to tone on tone.  No wonder Santa Fe is known as such an artistic city - the scenery is spectacular.  Can't wait to check out the town more tomorrow in the sunshine.

For the record - thanks to Tennessee I have had Blue Suede Shoes stuck in my head for going on 48 hours.  While I'm a fan of The King, this is getting to be a bit much.  Don't worry, I made sure the King lived on through some of the Postcards that I sent out to individuals involved.  Although, according to many inhabitants of Tennessee, Elvis lives, he may be working at McDonalds or mowing lawns in Florida.

Thank you, Thank you very much.

Day 5 - Memphis, Arkansas, Oklahoma

I'm starting to think all Southern Cities don't wake up until the afternoon.

But that's okay, because it means that when I get up early to ride my bike around the city I don't have to worry about traffic.  And that is just how I did Memphis.  What a treat.

The other bonus to that is morning light is one of my favorites to shoot photographs in - long shadows and a warm glow.  The city is full of amazing old buildings and factories along the railroad tracks.  Many of them closed and/or abandoned, but some have been renovated into lofts or other businesses.  It was tempting to weasel my way inside to get a look at the gutted interiors, but, for the sake of my parents' sanity, I stayed on the outside.

 Let me start by saying, I love Southern hospitality.  After trolling around the old factories, I started to make my way back to the hotel.  I found a closed road that led to train tracks which would lead me back to Memphis.  A train was coming about 50 yards away, so I figured I would wait for it to pass and check the train out.  The train approached slower...and slower... and then stopped.  The conductor then got out of the front of the train and yelled over to me "Are you going to cross or what?  I stopped the train for you."

!

I'm still laughing about it.

 

Since we were staying about a mile from Sun Studios we decided to walk over and check it out.  What a cool building - of course decked out with some outrageous sign (in this case a Gibson Les Paul) in what seems like pure Memphis fashion.  Unfortunately, this is the start of Elvis Week in Memphis, so the place was packed like a sardine cane inside.  Needless to say, we quickly toured and got the heck out of there.

Off we went - away from the storms to come and towards Arkansas / Oklahoma.  We lucked out and narrowly missed some quarter sized hail and flash floods in the area... phew!  We decided to stop in Ozark, Arkansas to stretch our legs and see the city "Where it All Begins".  The town was more or less shut down for miles of yard sales and tag sales, so we aren't quite sure if the motto is valid.

We left Ozark just as a Flash Flood Advisory warning went up and put the pedal to the floor towards Oklahoma City, OK.  With a stroke of luck we drove next to about 30 miles of black sky and lightning, but made it out safe and dry.  So beautiful seeing a dark wall of weather duking it out with sunshine.

Sunshine won in the end.

While Oklahoma City seemed like a neat place to spend the night, we decided to push another hour or West towards Santa Fe.  Clinton was our final resting stop, and boy did we rest.

Off to Texas and New Mexico!

Day 4 - Nashville to Memphis

Skillets, Jams, and Country Hams

Had a blast in Nashville, but with some big storms moving in it made the most sense to hit the road early.  Turns out Nashville ended up flooding later that afternoon, so it turns out that was the best choice.  After driving through a bit of rain, Ayla and I arrived on Elvis' doorstep - Memphis.  He was even waiting there to greet me!

After Elvis and I caught up on life Ayla and I walked into town in some of the hottest weather I had ever felt... yet.  The main street is oddly dead, with empty store fronts mixed in with commerce.  The hotel attendant would later tell us that they used to be Mom & Pop sort of shops, and unfortunately if there weren't any children or new people to buy the businesses they would just close up shop.  This sort of empty storefront juxtaposed with busy windows and commerce seemed to be a trend throughout Memphis.  Even on Beale Street.

Beale Street felt a little like being at the Fair.  There are places where you can get your beers to go, some street performers doing flips in the middle of the street, and plenty of opportunities to spend your money on little nick-nacks (mostly something to do with Elvis).  Another trend I've been noticing in the South is that no one goes out, or maybe even gets out of bed, before the early to mid afternoon.  For instance, many of the coffee shops in Memphis don't open until about 10 am... I can't imagine that being the case in the North East.  Then again, everyone I've talked to thus far emphasizes that having a good time, and potentially staying up late, is first and foremost.  Quality of life reigns supreme.

One example of that happened that day when Ayla and I took the Trolley around the city.  We hopped on the Main Street Trolley thinking it was the one that would take us around the city, Pyramid, and down by the river.  Well... it wasn't.  We arrived at the end of Main Street, and the Trolley Operator came back to tell us we had to get off.  I can't imagine how he realized we weren't from the area, but he started telling us all the places we could go, and which Trolley we could take.  He then proceeded to escort us off his Trolley (which he left in the middle of the street) over to the correct Trolley.  He then proceeded to continue the conversation with us and now the second Trolley driver, while everyone already aboard had to wait.  No hurry, no care about his abandoned Trolley in the middle of an intersection or the people waiting to see the rest of the city - he intended to have a good conversation, and the rest could wait.  I could get used to that.

Again, we liked the town so much we decided to stay - not to mention there were some pretty large storms moving through the areas nearby.  We stayed in a nice Inn a few blocks from Beale Street so we could see the city all lit up, and check it out again in the morning.  Fate would have it - the Hotel Attendant's name was... Jessa!  That is the first time I've ever met someone with the same name, and the same for her.  It's peculiar how things align sometimes.

Day 3 - Knoxville and Nashville

Ten - nes - see

Agriculture and Commerce is the motto for the state of Tennessee... That description seems to fall a bit short.  Spent the morning in Knoxville where I learned what the expression "sheets of rain" meant. 

 That's okay though, because it gave me time to make some post cards and relax before heading out for the days drive.  Plus, I love the way rain and clouds enhance colors.  You can still sign up to receive postcards and artwork from the journey! http://betweenthepointsproject.blogspot.com//p/how-to-be-involved.html

Took a small detour to get gas and to try to check out the "Worlds Largest Weekly Flea Market"... too bad it's only open on weekends.  Must have been meant to be because I happened to run into a woman who attended UVM!  She saw my Vermont plates, and asked where I was from, and that she went to the University of Vermont.  When I told her about my project, Between the Points, and that I'm moving to British Columbia she asked if I was lost.  At that very moment, I was somewhat lost - but in the best way!

After a few more downpours, I made it to Nashville Tennessee - the capital of Tennessee and home of many music legends.  After pedaling around for an hour or so, I decided to stay the night, and leave Memphis for tomorrow.  Turns out a good friend of mine from High School is moving from Red Hook, NY to Seattle, WA... and she just so happened to be driving through Nashville at the same time!

Nashville was amazing - the only problem I had was deciding what establishment I wanted to hang out in.  Literally EVERY open door had incredible music pouring out of it.  It was a great problem to have. Once Ayla arrived we headed to Robert's Western World for some incredible music, with a stand up bassist and fiddle player to make you want to get up and dance.  We then headed over to Legends Bar on the top of the corner.  We ended up meeting someone from Red Hook... you can't make that  up.  I'm still baffled by it!

Nashville was all time - thanks for the great time, great people, and current headache.