August 14: Fort Worth to Memphis

By now, a 510 mile day seemed pretty light. We circled around Dallas and headed east, leaving the grasslands behind and saying hello to the piney woods of east Texas. By the time we entered Arkansas, it was all forests. We chose a pleasant rest stop for our Cajun picnic, and then sped toward the Mississippi. We gave up the chance to get another stamp in our National Parks Passport when we bypassed Hot Springs National Park, where I had camped on my 1988 trip. Missed also the charming resort town of Hot Springs, where Bill Clinton spent his childhood. Lingering there in 1988 had caused me to miss Graceland. We crossed the big river before sunset, and soon were in the charming home of Joan and Jerry Johnston in the Memphis suburb of Germantown.