Tonight I find myself at the Memphis KOA, located in Middle of Nowhere, AR. (It also goes by the name of Marion, AR, but middle of nowhere fits so much better). This is definitely one of the more interesting campgrounds I've found. I arrived a bit late due to a small...ummm....scenic detour. I went into the main office and asked if they had a tent site available. The woman looked at me strangely, thought for a minute, and then said very slowly "Well yes...but it might be wet. It's been raaaaaaaiiinnning." She really drew it out, apparently either thinking me slow for wanting to pitch a tent in Arkansas (something that I don't think happens too often) or trying to overcome her shock and amazement at that same fact. I assured her I was ok with wet ground (it's barely wet and hasn't been raining since much earlier today), and she asked how many adults were in my party. "Just me," I said. Her jaw dropped. She looked terrified. "Oh I could never travel alone," she said. "It'd be much to scary." I chuckled and said "Well I'm hoping there's nothing too scary here." She replied, "Not here, but..." she started like she was going to say more, but then went back to quoting me the price. It's never reassuring when the person checking me in to somewhere seems afraid for me! :)
My theory that tent camping doesn't happen in Arkansas was further confirmed when I saw my site. This entire campground is literally right next to the interstate so nothing is that secluded, but the three (and only three) small tent sites are right up front. It's as though they're made to be a buffer between the RV's and the noisy cars. Really, it's more like they had a bit of empty grass before the road and someone said, "I know! Let's draw some little tents on the map just for fun!" So tonight I will fall asleep to the lullaby of semis speeding by maybe 100 yards from me, with the neon Citgo gas sign as my nightlight. Just to add to the beautiful nature noises, I've since discovered that a train seems to pass by every 30 minutes or so, whistling loudly. Luckily for me, I'm pretty tired so I'm not too worried. And besides, I'm fairly sure no wild animals will be showing up to eat me. Except perhaps a hungry local. Sorry, that probably wasn't PC. Good news is, I'd be able to see 'em coming....this area is the flattest, emptiest place I've ever seen!
Now then, allow me to explain how I got here. As you may remember, the plan for this morning had been to sleep in for a bit and then go to Oxford to meet up with Mariel. Ah, that planning thing again. I'd forgotten just how good I am at sleeping in. Luckily I had left an alarm set, or I may have slept all day! I fell asleep the night before watching Grey's Anatomy on the computer. I barely made it through the opening credits. I woke up this morning with all the lights and my computer still on, and just barely enough time to grab some hotel breakfast, pack up, and get on the road.
Lunch with Mariel was awesome. It was so cool to see her in her "natural habitat." We had so much to talk about and catch up on that we easily filled the two hours before she had to get to class. Plus we got a very good lunch at this little sandwich shop. Mariel and I met in Americorps....her from MS and me of course from MT. During our service term we each ended up doing projects in each other's home state. A lot of teams went to MS, but her's was one of only two to make it to MT. They did some reconstruction and painting work in Virginia City, a tiny little historic ghost town that I went to once when I was maybe 8 or 9. Anyway, we talked a lot about Americorps, her town, politics, and life in general. I learned that Obama actually won in MS amongst 18-24 year olds. How cool is that?! There's hope for the future of politics in the south. Yay!
After lunch I continued my quest northward. I drove through Memphis, debating if I wanted to stop anywhere. I did, once, by accident when I took the wrong exit. The highway was a bit confusing and kept making me exit in order to continue on the same road in the same direction. So I still haven't set foot in TN, but at least I've been off the interstate there. I did drive by St. Jude Children's Research Hospital (www.stjude.org if you don't know about it). That's about all I know about Memphis (well that and all the Elvis stuff I'm not too interested in). That place is HUGE! It's like it's own small town. I'd seen pictures of it, but wow. It hurts my heart to know that there's a need for a town-sized hospital for kids with cancer, but it's so wonderful that a place like that exists. It made me want to run in and just hug everyone and tell them how great they are. (I didn't. The place was all gated off with security guards anyway. I've never understood that....why do big hospitals have such intense security outside? The hospital I made a donation to in Boston was the same way. They only let me in because I knew people who worked there. Weird.)
From Memphis I followed the highway on in to Arkansas, and that's where the scenic detour occured. I had initially planned to head north to Missouri, but then after driving for a bit decided it would be more fun to head west through Arkansas. Arkansas seems as though it'll be great fun for people watching. Even the grocery store was fun. And on the small bit of driving I've done, I think I've seen more "Jesus" billboards than in the rest of my life combined. My personal favorite was just a giant one that said "JESUS" in huge capital letters. I would've liked to have added a second one next to it saying "f-ing CHRIST!" Again I'm sure that's very not PC of me. There was another touting Jesus as the best option for life insurance. My all too literal brain had issues with that one. Yeah, the drive through Arkansas should be fun.
Actually, I've been told that there are very nice, very beautiful areas of Arkansas. And that was from a friend who grew up in CO, so I trust her judgement. I think. We'll see.
The scenic detour only got long when I discovered that along this highway heading north there was absolutely nothing, and nowhere to turn around. Not a single exit for many miles. Just me, the open road, a bit of traffic, and giant messages about Jesus. By the time I got myself turned around and headed back south I was all too happy to find my beautiful little KOA.
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I've actually been to a couple KOA campgrounds! Are you impressed? But, it sounds like that woman needs some lessons in customer relations; first order of the day is to NOT SCARE AWAY THE CUSTOMERS!!!
ReplyDeleteNone of the campgrounds I've been to as an adult (that would be, um, 3, I think, plus the local park! LOL!) were that close to the road, but there was one once that was like suburbia outside. Everyone had their tvs and appliances and such on. it was very weird. Come to think of it, I can't remember if it was separated into tent and RV sites, or if it was everything together. It WAS a while ago, though.
So glad you had a good time at lunch. I remember looking up at the clock just about then (okay, it's also when "Leave It To Beaver" reruns come on. Yeah, I know I'm pathetic these da ys ;) ) and thinking that you'd just be going to lunch. On the other hand, I did forget about the time change difference... Very cool that you guys worked in each other's states. And cooler still about the votes for Obama. I am getting worried about the apparent change in the political climate lately, though.
The hospital was gated off? Really? That does seem awfully strange. Do you think maybe it's because it's a "high profile" hospital? Still, that doesn't seem very comforting. I think I'd probably have felt the same way you did at the thought of all those kids. It is so very sad. :(
And really, you didn't stop at some Elvis place, just to say you did it? I"m not particularly interested in him, either, but it seems one of those things one would "have" to do, just because. Then again, maybe not....