(July 10 – 15, 2019) After Leaving the National Parks in Colorado, I drove about 7 to 8 hours daily going east. Each night, I found a KOA campground for a shower and slept in my own tent.
In Amarillo (Texas) KOA campground, I met a history teacher from Philadelphia travelling with his motorcycle. I have learned that talking to history major people is fun. He just started camping going west, eventually visiting his friend’s house in Long Beach California. We went to the famous “The Big Texan Steak House” but didn’t try the free “72 ounces (=2 pounds, almost 1 kg) steak. I know I cannot finish a whole 72 ounces of steak. Some people tried and ended up paying $72 for the steak when they could not finish eating it all.
Next day, I visited “Cadillac Ranch”. “Cadillac Ranch is a public art installation and sculpture. It was created in 1974 by Chip Lord, Hudson Marquez, and Doug Michels, who were a part of the art group Ant Farm. The installation half-buried ten Cadillacs (1949-1963) nose-first in the ground. Installed in 1974, the cars were either older running, used or junk cars…” Since then, people that visit this place and add their own art by spraying more paint on these Cadillacs. I read that the thickness of the paint is about one inch now.
Staying in Oklahoma City, I visited the Oklahoma City Bombing Memorial site, “a memorial in the United States that honors the victims, survivors, rescuers, and all who were affected by the Oklahoma City bombing on April 19, 1995.” “On April 19, 1995, Timothy McVeigh parked a Ryder rental truck filled with explosives in front of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal building. The resulting explosion killed 168 people and destroyed the entire north face of the building.”
Back in June, I met an Asian Family in Grand Teton National Park. They invited me to stay in their home in Arkansas. It was nice to meet Chung’s family again. They offered me a real healthy home-made dinner and breakfast. Before going to bed, I noticed that she always reads a book to their three boys (even when camping in Grand Teton). They sing together. Lots of love flows in this family. They enjoy living in the deep forest not in a big city where they used to live.
Next stop was Hot Springs National Park, “The American Spa” in Arkansas. This is a different kind of national park. “Hot Springs National Park is not in a volcanic region. The water is heated by a different process…. As the water percolates downward, increasingly warmer rock heats it at a rate of about 4 degree Fahrenheit every 300 feet… In the process the water dissolves minerals out of the rock. Eventually the water meets faults and joints leading up to the lower west slope of Hot springs Mountain, where it surfaces.”
Little Rock is the capital city of the State of Arkansas. I visited the State Capitol and President Clinton Library. Politics is not my thing but I wondered which US President in the history was the most respected and why? I should’ve asked it the history teacher camper.