Colorado Road Trip: Alabama to Arkansas

Overview of this entire trip covered in a few entries

Fairhope Alabama to MS Delta (Minter City)

MS Delta to Hot Springs NP

Hot Springs to Shamrock, TX

Shamrock, TX to Tucumcari, NM via Route 66

Tucumcari, NM to Taos, NM with a stops in Santa Fe and Puye Cliff Dwellings

Taos, NM to Great Sands National Park, CO

Great Sands NP to Black Canyon of the Gunnison NP

Tender Foot horse trip for most and San Juan HWY and mining towns for Kat and I

Gunnison, CO to Poncha Springs, CO

Poncha Springs, CO to Lake Mackenzie, TX

Lake Mackenzie, TX to some state park somewhere

Some state park somewhere to home

Note that all entries were written on the road with limited service thus limited attention to editing. Thanks for reading and please share your travel experiences in these areas.

My brother David, 16 year old daughter Koestler, and myself are headed out to Colorado via Route 66. Koestler has a goal to hit all the National Parks by the time she graduates from college. We are nearly half-way there and wanted to check a few off this summer. David signed up to escort us for which we are feeling more and more grateful for every hour. Not sure he is. He asked if we were having a yard sale when he stopped to get us and saw all of our stuff in the yard.

Mom and Dad let us borrow their 2002 Road Trek camper van as we didn’t know what would be open and just learning this thing is making up for a large part of our first two days. Before we even got out of Alabama, I’d referenced the manual 5 times and asked to join 3 Facebook groups for which I had to pass some tests proving my Road trek investment then wait hours to see if I get accepted.

At Koestler’s suggestion, we stopped at Weidman’s in Meridian for a nice lunch and then headed to our family farm in the Mississippi Delta.

We listened to Dispatches from Pluto on the way there. It’s a book I’ve read a few times and happened to have downloaded in my phone. I think I may have another blog onhere about fun reads if you plan on diving onto the history of the MS Delta. I took a one week NEH course there last summer yet still fill there is so much to learn about this part of the country.

Anyone that has travelled these back roads know what it means to find something already downloaded in your phone. Only Koes, chillin’ in the way back, thought to download all her stuff ahead of time. So, I love the book about the Delta, and it was nice to share with David. Around 8 we knew we were coming into the Delta when the mosquitos started hitting our windshield like rain drops and the ground leveled as we came out of the hills. You know when you hit the Delta. We pulled into the farm around 9, tired and ready for bed. So, we gave a brief stomp around to let the critters know we were there, picked our beds, fired up the AC and slept well.

I woke around 5 to make coffee and get ready for the sunrise. That’s not true. I just wanted to make a good story. I’ll start over. I woke at 4:30 because the AC sounded like a helicopter was trying to land on me all night. So, I decided to go ahead and make coffee and go see the fields as the sun happened to be rising. I last saw it in May when the corn had just been planted but sensed from the shadows last night that it was gonna be a pretty show.

We packed and left early. Driving the 49 out of the Delta into Arkansas, corn and soy seem to be what most farmers chose to plant this year. Can’t be sure because there is lots of Delta west of us which could have rice, cotton, or milo but we see only corn and beans. Will be interesting to see what sells in this weird economy. Certainly nothing the commodities markets could have taken into account.

We drive and drive and drive through these small Mississippi and Arkansas towns and look at all the tractor models, wildflowers, nasty motels (many still open??), and abandoned buildings.

We get bored and stop to finish off a Sponge Bob billboard - seems everyone has found a reason to just quit everything these days.

David let us stop in at a really swank out-door mall in Little Rock where we got a few more things for the trip. We were surprised at all the people wearing masked and after having our temp checked and masks thrown at us for the third time we were done.

We got back in the Road Trek only to answer the 6th call from Dad checking on us and making sure we had done all sorts of things. Dad has a broken foot and will be really bored in bed our entire trip; this hasn’t worked out well for us. Our new friends in our Road Trek Facebook group are teaching us all sorts of stuff and I’ve even been emailed a manual. Not sure if that was meant to help me or just a sensitive way to make me stop asking questions.

Around 4 we finally make it to Hot Springs. The place is dead. We've never been here so we don't know how it should be. It's Tuesday but it feels like Sunday here. Some locals wander around with their dogs but the stores are mostly closed. The bathhouses are closed except for a few erratic schedules. We try to valet at the hotel but no one meets us. We wonder if the hotel is really open. It feels like we are about to enter the Tower of Terror. You can see it was once grand. Al Capone and several others stayed here - we think some probably are still here.

We spent some time walking around and reading the interpretive signs and checking out the town.

After passing many closed restaurants, we finally found a great place to eat dinner.

Having read about all the ghosts that supposedly haunt our hotel. We ding the bell at the front desk and wait and wait - is this a trap? Someone finally comes. "Tell us about the ghosts" we ask. To which they reply "Which one". After hearing a few stories, David and I try every locked door that might lead up to the turrets and other haunted spaces. There is also supposed be a bar here and that keeps us motivated. No luck just lots of gross stuff in the rooms that did open. I love these period hotels but it does require one to overlook some comforts.

https://www.hauntedjourneys.com/haunted-inns/1571-haunted-arkansas-arlington-resort-hotel

Waking up, we are excited to know we can grab Starbucks downstairs and David volunteers. I'm not surprised when I get a text saying its closed and the whole town seems closed but he's making coffee in the van.

Then, we spend a little more time exploring the huge hotel and find some rooms have been opened but no employees are anywhere. Huge chandeliers sag from the ceiling which, on closer inspection, show black lines leading towards the molding which itself is discolored and warped. The yellowed stucco walls are chipped and several light bulbs are flickering. This seems to make us like it even more. These guys are all in on the creepy.

This makes it convenient when we finally locate the haunted ballroom where the bar and wine wall were hidden.

We find Koes looking through the pamphlets of all the fun things to do nearby. We tell her not to bother - all closed.

Time to hit Route 66 and cross OK.