After fiddling with the leveling system, again without success, our “on-the-road” time was 0930 hrs.  I was surprised to learn that Arkansas is a major source of rice!  As our travels continued, I also learned that cotton is an Arkansas crop as well.  For a while, I thought that someone lost a huge load of cotton balls along I-40 – until I saw a cotton field with the evidence still on the plants.  Further on down the road, I was unpleasantly surprised to learn that Arkansas also has a vicious population of fire ants.  I try to be very situationally aware in Alabama, Georgia, and Florida….I will definitely add Arkansas to the list.  My right ankle is intimately acquainted with the little buggers!

Travel was pleasant down I-22 – however – we feel compelled to add a travel warning to fellow road warriors.  Make sure that you make a bathroom and fuel stop prior to entering Alabama on I-22.  From the Alabama-Mississippi border to Birmingham, there are no rest stops – and very few fuel stops!  Once again, towing your home has extra blessings.  It was a lovely drive – very scenic and sparsely populated.

There are also no campgrounds along that route – or none that don’t require extensive travel to reach from I-22.  This being said – we ended up “camping” at a Red Roof Inn in Birmingham South.  Why there?  Because we had already traveled 434.7 miles and been on the road for 7.5 hours, and we have to find a place that has parking for our rig.  It was getting dark, and we were perilously close to developing pressure ulcers on our posteriors.  Wouldn’t particularly recommend this “camping spot”, but we’ve seen worse.

Miles traveled – 434.7 – on the road 0930, off the road 1800.