Right now, we're somewhere in Kentucky driving on an unpaved dirt road. Jill says it's the right way to go, and Brian concurs as he recalls some dirt roads during his extensive planning.
Today has been the lead visually appealing backroads trip. Minneapolis and Iowa were much prettier and obviously more prosperous. While Iowa has field after field of growing crops, Western Kentucky seems to have more fields of grass and weeds versus actual fertile ground contributing corn to our nation's Frosted Flakes supply.
At the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers was a town called Cairo, a description of which I found characterizing the town as follows: "Unless you have a fondness for wrack and ruin, the Great River Road's passage through town is best enjoyed with your eyes firmly stuck to the road." The main drag was all abandoned. It was amazing to see that, and the first town we encountered with literally nothing. It's one thing to have nothing in the middle of nowhere.
I'm shocked to have an Internet connection, albeit a weak one. Photos coming later.
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Day 6 - St. Louis to Memphis via A Whole Lot of Nothing
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2 comments:
wait until you hit Arkansas....if you delve into it a bit. i did a project in central arkansas once....the bugs were the size of airplanes...there were signs for towns advertising 10 people. they must have been all related. AND, it was probably the poorest state I have ever visited. bar none. the two hour drive i did back to the airport in memphis was done in all haste. though, i am sure there are many people who are thrilled to visit the duck hunting capital of the world.
Hey there, Sean here, Brian's bro. Just wanted to pass along an interesting tidbit:
Reaching Cairo is the goal of Huck and his slave friend Jim in the famous book Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, because, as Cairo was a major river port, the two could take a steamboat from there north to freedom.
You can't get away from that Mark Twain guy, eh?
Dickens also had some harsh words for the town:
Cairo is mentioned unflatteringly in Charles Dickens' American Notes. Dickens writes, "...a hotbed of disease, an ugly sepulchre, a grave uncheered by any gleam of promise: a place without one single quality, in earth or air or water, to commend it: such is this dismal Cairo."
Great blog - now if Brian and I can only teach our folks how to look at it.
- sean
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