Author: Larry Kooper

Clayton, NM to Pueblo, CO In the morning in Clayton (alt. 5,056), 51 degrees and breezy! Loving it! A beautiful day. Back to Oklahoma and visited Kenton, the westernmost town in that state. Tidy little town with one store (the Kenton Merc) that was closed, and three B&Bs. I drove to Black Mesa Nature Preserve,…

Liberal, KS to Clayton, NM Loving the freedom of this trip. The freedom to go wherever I want. Back in Oklahoma, stopped at a coffee shop, Urban Bru, in the tiny Panhandle town of Goodwell. When I got there, there were a few young men customers, one wearing a cowboy hat. The barista was really…

Enid, OK to Liberal, KS Finally a beautiful day. It is 75° with humidity 40%. I am out of the punishing heat of the South. CVS has made this trip a lot easier by being everywhere and having everything. Still in Enid, I went to the Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center. The Cherokee Strip, officially…

Tulsa, OK to Enid, OK Today is the midpoint of my trip – 19 days since I started, 19 days till I’m done. The midpoint of a trip usually represents the farthest away you get from home, and when you start returning home. In this case, that isn’t true because I am flying home. But…

Fort Smith, AR to Tulsa, OK I found a hipster coffee shop, Fort Smith Coffee Co. It’s in a former gas station, in a lovely reuse. Left Fort Smith. Entered Oklahoma and stopped at the state welcome center. It had concrete tepees with picnic tables in them and a roof over them. I stopped to…

Little Rock, AR to Fort Smith, AR While walking to the Clinton Center, saw some flooded-out areas along the river. Went to the Clinton Presidential Library. There was a great exhibit called Washed Ashore – art made out of petroleum-based waste found on the beach. Some of the art was playful and some was beautiful.…

Memphis, TN to Little Rock, AR I walked down to the Mississippi riverfront, symbolic halfway point of my cross-country journey. Went over to the Memphis Rock ‘n’ Soul Museum. Their exhibition was created by the Smithsonian and it’s excellent. It takes the history of Memphis’s music from the 1920s through the 1970s. They have enough…

Clarksdale, MS to Memphis, TN Had breakfast at Yazoo Pass. Another great recommendation from Chuck, my host at the Travelers Hotel. Had a delicious omelet and cappuccino. And an OMG cinnamon roll. Couldn’t leave Clarksdale without visiting the crossroads, where according to legend Robert Johnson sold his soul to the devil in exchange for prowess…

Oxford, MS to Clarksdale, MS The Graduate Hotel in Oxford — the only hotel I know of that plays The Smiths over its sound system. And has a pink-floored elevator. I went to Big Bad Breakfast. Diner but a bit precious, in a good way. The South has soul and style. It’s deeply American. Mississippi…

Birmingham, AL to Oxford, MS Weather nicer today, cloudy and cooler. Driving west, and it’s getting more hilly. I entered Mississippi, the 13th state I’ve visited on this trip. Oxford, home of the U. of Mississippi (“Ole Miss”) is leafy and beautiful. I got to the Graduate Hotel. Love the lobby with its pink floors.…