North Carolina to Arkansas
and a Tornado Warning?!
Day 4
5.25.25
All intentions of getting an early start to accommodate the miles we hoped to cover this day failed miserably. Turns out it feels good to rest and sleep in a bit, so the waffles became more of a brunch meal. We enjoyed them with various toppings, Yilin taking a particular liking to the crispy waffle.
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| A tribute to Union College's "Waffle Tuesday" events |
Benny's mom had specific instructions that anyone that visits the house write in the journal (the latest of a whole stack dating back to 1999), so we made our contribution on, sharing thoughts and musings of our visit, and a few tiny illustrations as well, for good measure.
After filling up our big water tank and trying our best not to forget anything, we were on the road just before 2pm, with hopes of getting to Arkansas by the end of the day. This would mean not meandering around nearly as much compared to the first few days. The plan was to get on US-64 toward Chattanooga, follow I-26 for bit, and then follow US-72 through the northern tips of Alabama and Mississippi, which would add new states for me. Past Memphis, we'd be on I-40 as I'd found some dispersed camping sites within the Watensaw Wildlife Management Area not far from the highway.
Now I've had an idea that I wanted to have some fun with on this trip, which was supposed to be a set of bingo sheets for various categories of things we see along the way, but due to my last minute preparation nature, it still sits as a list of items to be checked off on my phone's notes app. The category that I'd like to feature today is "Unusual Modes of Transport", on which I've listed a split windshield truck (shout out to my dad who loves these!) I've actually seen a few of them on the trip, despite their relative rarity, but we spotted a great one on our way out of Franklin this day, that seemed to have been taken over by plants in the bed as well as in the cab.
Out of town, now on US-64, we wound our way through the mountains heading for the Tennessee border again. The weather was comfortably cloudy—no baking in the car for now—and at a scenic pullout, we switched drivers for a bit so Yilin can get her practice in to prepare for her upcoming license test, and also so I can look around and take pictures.
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| US-64, western NC |
While passing through Chattanooga, I-26 briefly dips into Georgia, but interestingly, if you like highway trivia, this is the only place in the US where an interstate highway crosses a state line but does not restart the mileage markers. The detour into Georgia is so short that they must have made an exception for this special case. Either way, I'm adding Georgia to our states list!
Another bingo category to mention is "Interesting weather/space phenomena", where by this point of the trail several items have been checked off. We saw crepuscular rays on Skyline Drive in VA, a double rainbow just before finding our campground for the first night, and now on our way to Alabama, we received a tornado warning alert our phones. For us, I think that's good enough and there's no need to witness a real tornado, as we're no professional storm chasers.
I was monitoring the weather radar and our map to see what we might expect along our planned route, or if any modification was necessary. US-72 was headed southwest out of the heaviest patches of rain, so we thought it would be safe enough to continue on. The sky however darkened and the wind became so strong from the north we saw huge flocks of leaves flying off the trees horizontally. Within minutes the rain came down in torrents, and even the fastest wiper speed couldn't keep the windshield clear, so I pulled into a gas station with many others doing the same, planning to wait out the storm until the worst part passed.
The sun came out shortly after the front passed overhead, and we were on our way again. We passed Huntsville and Decatur before we started to see another massive dark cloud coming our way, so our thinking was to pull over before this one and prepare a quick dinner roadside from our coolers before getting dumped on for the second time. We made it to Cherokee, AL for our pit stop, and from there the sky became extremely dark and ominous, and before long impossible to see due to the rain. Here's some dashcam footage showing our approach into the storm. When you see everyone's hazard lights on, it's because a huge tree fell into the road and blocked one lane.
The weather thankfully cleared on approach to Memphis, though by this point it was around 10pm, and there was still 90 miles left to go, so after a quick gas stop, we pushed onward through a sea of semi-trucks. After passing the White River in Arkansas, we took our exit to the WMA where we'd be camping. In my research, there were plentiful pulloffs on the gravel road we were headed down, all marked with blue paint on tree trunks, but in a dark, soaking wet forest, unless it's right on the roadside, they're invisible, so I ended up missing a bunch of them, but eventually found one a few miles in at midnight. No competition for a spot here on a soggy night, but there was a dry spot slightly raised enough for our tent. We rushed to set up the tent in case a bit of rain decided to sneak up on us, but thankfully it was just a few drips from nearby trees. Sleep came easy as we had had such a long day on the road.
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| Our Arkansas campsite from the next morning when you can actually see it |
Our plan for the following day was to make it 360 miles to Dallas to meet with our friend Emilia and eat some Texas BBQ, and then we'd be staying in Dallas for a couple nights to explore the area.
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| Day 4 Route map: 562 miles Total mileage: 1329 |
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