Friday, May 20, 2022

Vonore, TN to Russellville, AR - Travelogue Part I

We left Vonore the first time Tuesday at about 6:50 AM and had to return. We left the second time at 12:50 PM on Wednesday.


We took HWY 72 over to I-75 North to I-40 West. I-40 was our route for the rest of the day except for taking the south loop around Nashville. Leaving afternoon put us in Nashville at afternoon rush hour and it was a mess as expected. The I-440 loop was much better traffic wise.

The plan was to spend the night at the Flying J in Fairview, Tennessee, but we could not get into the RV spots out front. There was a Rest Area a few miles further that we knew we could get in, so we drove on.

This is where we rested a few minutes at Flying J.


The Rest Area was called Johnny Cash Rest Area near Dickson, Tennessee. It was marked no overnight parking, but it was obvious that truckers were settling in for the night. I figured my friend, Johnny Cash would not mind, so we stayed with no problem.

It was 6:00 AM when we pulled out Wednesday morning expecting to be in West Memphis by 8:40. That was prevented by a wreck on the interstate with a 40 minute detour around. The detour only added a few miles, but it was slow going through small towns.


We pulled into the Flying J in West Memphis, Arkansas about 9:15. I walked, messed with a few things on the bus, took my morning shower and laid across the bed for a few minutes. 


After filling up with diesel, it was 11:20 when we pulled out and hit the road.


The drive on I-40 across Arkansas was completely clear like we love it. All the rivers were very high and the trees were amazingly green. It was a nice drive.

We pulled into Flying J in Russellville, Arkansas 8 hours and 20 minutes after we left the Johnny Cash Rest Area. Only six hours of that was driving and the total for the day was 379 miles.

The RV parking spots were inaccessible for us here and the next rest area's parking was questionable so we parked with the trucks in a pull through spot on the end by the exit. Pulling out early Thursday should not be a problem.

We have driven 612 miles so far and Google Maps says we have 1272 miles to go. More travelogues to come!

Thank you for reading today.

Davy