Day 10: Dallas TX to Texarkana AR

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

So I woke up this morning in Dallas, Texas. On one hand, it’s rather weird to be here because up until a few days ago, this was a place I read about in books, not looked out the window to see. It was fun when I pulled in last night because they family I’m staying with here had a Western on the TV, and it looked just like west Texas that I had spent the morning driving across. From here, the trip is a lot more open. I have four days to get to Montreal, and just about any way I cut it, it will probably take most of that time to get there. I little bit of playing with Google Maps and I came up with this (potential) itinerary:

• Day 1: St Louis MO — 1068km — 10h01
• Day 2: Lansing MI — 801 km — 7h43
• Day 3: Palmyra NY — 674 km — 6h53
• Day 4: Montreal — 502km — 5h17

I rather enjoyed a lazy morning and the company at hand, and so it was into the afternoon before I got away. The one stop I wanted to make was Minchin, Texas (punch it in Mapquest…). I turned down Roselawn Lane, which is where the map shows it should be, but could find no reference at all to “Minchin” at all. I ended up heading into town and tried the Chamber of Commerce and the Library (they have a genealogy section), but found nothing there. When I get a chance, I’ll have to write the local museum and see if they can tell me anything.

Finally leaving the Dallas area, it was almost supper time, but I drove for about half an hour and found this place (actually a chain restaurant) called the “Texas Roadhouse” and figured it would be quite appropriate to eat steak in Texas. Steak was great, but by then it was dark when I finished. I decided to head east on US-82, for the main reason it would take me through Paris! I finished off the night just on the Arkansas-Texas border, got a room in Texarkana, and decided to call it a night.

Leave Little Elm TX — 3:45pm (CDT) — 224,723km
Oil change (yes, I put that many kilometres on on this roadtrip that I have to change the oil) ($37.46)
Visit “Minchin”
Leave Denton — 5:50pm — 224,770km
(gas $25) — 6pm — 224,778km
Sherman (supper $17, Skittles $3.23) — 7:10 to 8:40pm — 224,882km
Paris TX (right next to Reno!) (gas $13.50) — 10pm — 224,982km
drove through Detroit too…
get back on I-30 — 11:35pm — 225,094km
arrive Texarkana AR (hotel $38) — 12:00am — 225,135km

Today — US$134.19 — 4h40 — 412km
Total — CAD$933.93 — 52h40 — 5610km