Uncharted Territory

You leave Houston, TX behind you in the dark of the morning.You can't see downtown. When you get further out of town, out of the concrete jungle, you take a back road. Sometimes it is nice to get off the freeway, away from everything. You have to have some time away from everything in order to appreciate it. The back road leads you north through Eastern Texas. This side of the state is not thought of as much by people not from Texas. Most of the time people think of the desert and cactus. But in contrast this side of Texas is beautiful. The dawn breaks more and more as you go north. It reveals fields of prairies, trees, and creeks. You can see a few cactuses every now and then, but they are small. You stare out the window and you spot some deer. They are spotted with big racks. They aren't babies. They are actually Sika deer native to Asia. They are beautiful deer. You don't see any babies in the herds you see. All of the herds except one ignore the traffic. The one herd leaps and bounds off into the brush. The tan and white of their butts are the last things to disappear.

You go through some small towns. Some of the towns are only a block long. Other towns are 5 miles long. Either way, when you go through them the busiest thing in town is the highway you are on. most of the streets don't have a vehicle one traveling down them. The day flys by with more small towns until you reach Texarkana, Arkansas. When you look at a map of Arkansas you notice something a little funny. They have Hope, New Hope, Delight, and Friendship.

The land is green and plentiful. It is rolling hills as far as you can see. You reach the largest city in the state, Little Rock. Little Rock is a little big city. You can't look at the city because a concrete wall is blocking your view. The wall has leaf designs on the top and is about 10 feet tall. The distraction barrier stops when you get to an exit past downtown. By now trees bloom up blocking every chance to see the city. 

Outside of town you see some land that is still damaged from flooding and winds. In one river you see a giant pile of debris. The debris includes limbs ripped off of trees and trees that have been torn out of the ground. There are also some tires and some trash caught up in the debris too. The river is still a murky brown. The trees next to the river are damaged and have watermarks from the flooding. Some watermarks are 4 feet up the tree. Along the road north you see more places where the flooding hit. You see buildings that have water marks up to there windows. Across the road there are a couple buildings being torn down. Flooding can be very devastating.

When you cross into Missouri you stop seeing the flood damage. The land is beautiful. Tall, green grass and beautiful, broad limbed trees surround you. The sun cuts through the limbs and leaves. It slowly sinks shooting its rays through the leaves at different angles. It is almost like Mother Nature's disco ball.

You stop in Cape Giraurdeau for the night. The sky is cloudy making it impossible to see the moon. A slight breeze is blowing but the night is still otherwise. A single cricket can be heard somewhere in a nearby field. The quiet warm evening helps you realize how tired you are. Your eyes are very heavy and feel like cinder blocks are tied to them. You climb into bed and don't even pull your blanket up.