Let the Grand Drive Begin

On New Year’s Day, sitting around my mom’s table, the predictable question went around: “What’s everyone’s plans for 2023?” Thom quickly piped up and proclaimed that he was taking his woman to see the Grand Canyon. This was news to me, but thus the journey began.

I originally had a big “Out West” road trip planned for summer 2020. The kids and I were going to camp across the West for nearly a month, and Thom was going to meet us for part of it. As with many things in 2020, that trip fell apart. Since that time, the Galloway kids have scattered and it’s quite tricky to get us all in one place for a weekend, much less a month. So, I had mentally given up on this trip ever happening. Thom is full of surprises though and often seems to know my inner thoughts that even I don’t know. He decided to make it happen and stated it in front of others, knowing that would keep me from justifying any postponement of the trip (due to money, time, or not being able to do the trip with the kids).

Over the course of the last few months, we’ve gone from idea to loose planning to booking plans. Thom even got me a giant atlas for the planning (as he knows I love a good map). We added Pike’s Peak to the top goal along with the Grand Canyon. We knew we had a max 10 days available and just filled in the schedule with other cool spots to visit and scenic roads to drive.

Today took us from Kennesaw to Ozark, Arkansas (five states in one day!). The first stretch of road was filled with me doing my nails since I ran out of time before the trip but wanted to look my best on this long date. (Shout out to Stephanie Ann Jones and her Color Street Nails. There’s no way I could do my nails in the car otherwise.)

We had some scenic roads in North Georgia, raced a train in Alabama, and crossed the Tennessee River on the way to a new-to-me Buc-ee’s in Athens, AL. Buc-ee’s to Memphis was the Bee Line Highway, aptly named as it was a straight line between the two. There wasn’t much but corn fields and then this weird place in Mississippi called an Attendance Center (that looked like an old prison with a playground out front). Apparently that’s a school??

Our Memphis stop was at a place called Central BBQ. The decor was a fun picnic vibe but with lots of music art. They had Memphis soul music keeping things lively as well. We sampled each others meals and I can say the classic Memphis rubs were awesome; it was some of the most flavorful BBQ I’ve ever had.

We left lunch, passing the Memphis Pyramid and crossing the wide waters of the Mississippi River. (Side note-I failed to blog about my quick trip through the midwest in 2021. We went to the Memphis Pyramid and it was super fun.) We settled in for a few hours along I-40 with an episode of History of Rock Music in 500 Songs. While technically the episode was about the Byrds, there was a lot of discussion of jazz, bebop, and soul–seemed extra fitting for our Memphis visit.

Once we got out of Memphis, we finally escaped the haze coming from the Canadian fires, but quickly entered gloomy clouds and occasional rain. Despite the dreary weather, we pulled off I-40 just east of Clarksville (which randomly happens to be a nuclear evacuation route…good to know?). We also passed Ozone Burgers, which Thom aptly named the Stabbing Shack–it was a run-down building surrounded by these weird creepy trees that were black and had leafless branches reaching straight upward, so like something out of a horror movie (and we never saw trees like this again on the drive). Anyway… we took the Ozark Highlands Scenic Byway up into the Ozark Mountains and then cut west to take the Pig Tail Scenic Highway back south to I-40. We had no GPS signal and were warned with multiple signs that the road was “Very Crooked & Steep”, but that’s the kind of road we love. However, it was raining lightly most of the drive. While wet roads aren’t as much fun, we drove in and out of the clouds in the mountains and through lush forest regions…and we had the road to ourselves. It was a different experience that we expected, but it was still breathtakingly beautiful.

We ended the day in Ozark with dinner at the Hillbilly Hideout (weird location but great food) and a sufficient hotel. The sign says “Luxury Accommodation” but I think that was put up in the 60s. All in all, it was a long, good day. We moved about 700 miles in 14 hours (including all the stops). Time to hit the hay and start a new journey tomorrow!