Great day today!!! We went from very straight roads yesterday to not straight at all today. It is amazing how that can happen but it did when we went from Missouri to Arkansas. Arkansas is much more hilly and all the hills are full of green trees. In the Klamath Falls area the trees are just starting to leaf out but here they are in full leaf. As we were driving along it struck us that Arkansas looks a lot like it did in Maine. There really is no "bear land" at all--it is solid green. There were places on the road where the trees on either side met over the top of the road and it was like driving in a tunnel.
We got to where the GPS said Highway 123 Waterfall was supposed to be--this was about 12:30. To get there we traveled on "county" road 4540--think of Stout Grove over by Crescent City (gravel, hilly and lots of curves--couldn't go over 24mph). But again, God had his hand on the situation. We don't see a sign for the waterfall so travel up the road a couple miles, turn around and come back to where GPS says it is supposed to be. There is a pull out so we pull out. 2 jeeps come in almost immediately after us. Chuck thinks "Deliverance" (the movie) but another 8 or so jeeps pull in and ordinary people start getting out. Lo and behold! They were there to see the water fall and said we could tag along. We are thankful because we would never have found it. There is not trail, just a nearly-dry river bed. It was pretty but not very big. We asked one of the group if they had good fall colors and he said they are as good as Maine--that's what we had just talked about not an hour before. Go figure.
We went into Russellville, Arkansas, ate lunch and decided to go on to Benton, AR--about 114 miles further. There is a Calvary Chapel just outside Benton (Bauxite, AR) which we will attend tomorrow.
Took a little rest and Chuck felt something crawling on his leg. Guess what??? A tick!! We searched each other, found none so hope that is the only one.
Thanks for reading. We are getting ready to compile the mileage data so, if you haven't "entered", text Karen your estimate.
Chuck's Addendum (navigation apps):
During this trip as Karen drives I've been trying out two different navigation apps: Google Maps and Waze.
Google Maps seems quite integrated into the Android environment, and is the default navigation app. It is easy to search, research, and map out directions. There are options to avoid toll roads, ferries, highways, and to prefer fuel-efficient routes.
Waze gives these options as well, plus being able to avoid dirt roads and difficult intersections. Toll and HOV passes can be added to the app as well.
Initially I was beginning to like Waze until we reached County Road 4540 -- 8-1/2 miles of gravel. We expected the app to avoid gravel roads... but in this case it did not. I must assume that either the road wasn't coded as gravel, or the app doesn't quite perform as desired. Also, voice directions seem inconsistent -- not always announcing the need for a turn -- the app is mute. Then there were times when the mapped route would try to take us around a block rather than straight.
Both show posted speeds (for the most part), as well as actual speed. Waze is a bit more visual in its display.
The Waze search function seems far less intuitive and less integrated. I suspect it would be good for day-to-day commutes where exploration was not needed, and the ability to mark road hazards would be a plus for other commuters.
So for now we'll stick with Google Maps and check Waze periodically for beneficial updates