HWY 40 Arkansas to California

And a snake bite kit good luck

 

I-40 between Winslow and Williams, AZ is nice with a lot of pine trees. West of Winslow north of the highway is a group of cinder cone volcanoes, and the San Francisco Peaks outside of Flagstaff are pretty scenic. One of the nicer, more interesting areas of the country to drive through. Beats the Texas Panhandle.

 

Russell's TravelCenter, just inside NM in San Jon. There is a small car museum and they rotate the cars out so everytime you stop there are usually 3 or 4 that weren't there the last time.

 

Just another highway driver.

 

Grissom Texas will feature the largest cross in the entire western hemisphere. Rated for 155 mph tornado winds. World record holder in terms of concrete yards poured in one work day from 5 concrete ready mix plants up to 120 miles or more away.

Sky city exit 105 in New Mexico is Tribal Lands. Casino, truck stop etc. Not a bad place.

If you are a white man in the walmart super center at Gallup you will be the only white man inside that place and feel the discrimination.

Mountains lie in your path. I wish I can remember them all. There is a little tiny rest area just about a few hundred yards south of I40 right at the Flagstaff for Phoenix south. If you sleep there overnight in good weather with windows open and engine off you are going to be living inside a pine sol bottle according to your nose in the morning. I slept there for 8 hours over night once and as far as sleep quality etc was concerned it was the top 5 overnights in terms of quality I ever had in life.

Mountain passes in Flagstaff etc generally reach 8000 feet or a touch higher. There is however roads to the north and south, the little state roads. You do not. I repeat do not. Take a big truck off 40 and try to run these little roads. One of the reasons would be a railroad hazmat wreck as happened to me one night while I was approaching flagstaff and took refuge in a rest area near what I recall as williams, I could be mistaken. ANYhow they closed 40 for the night to all traffic, totally and completely destroying my company's promised and required reciever delivery appointment and further destroying my hope of a nice reload to Arkansas.

In winter you will get snow first in the higher elevation. And what snow!!!

Arizona Scale houses like to inspect your trailer for ants and certain other pests. If the Officer does detect these things on your trailer doors or ICC Bumper etc. You are going to be embargoed, banned from proceeding any further into arizona and require to turn around and take your load back to the shipper no ifs buts or maybes.

Mohave Desert is. no. joke. Have a case of bottled water and non perishable foods that can withstand heat. Military MREs two or three cases will serve you well here.

IF you get outside of the truck have some stones in your pocket and a good 6 foot stick. Make sure you can hear the #### Diamondback or Rattler if one of them is around. They can strike 10 feet to bite you before you have a chance to think oh ####. Then you will experience destruction of your blood first and then nerves, flesh at the bite site which follows your blood vessals towards your heart and other organs. To be bit by one is a life threatening emergency There is no kit on earth capable of helping you.

You will need to get yourself to a higher level of medical care before the pains really set in and the swelling to two or three times normal size. Trust me when I say this.. it does not matter how tough, big strong son of a ##### you are.. the pain will make you curl up on the ground wailing once it sets in as the toxins destroy your body area by area. Hospitals do have anti venom for the snake that bit you meaning there is a medicine they have that will destroy the toxins inside of you hopefully before it destroys too much of you. It's around 30,000 dollars for one treatment just for the vial of anti venom.

Rest areas along the 40 in snake country have raked stones. Take a look on the rake marks and make sure that is all you see. Rake marks. If you see a slithering mark across the even rake marks, then there is a snake not far from you. IF you do a pretrip be careful the snakes like warm places. Guess what? You and your rig is nice and toasty for them.

Kingman Arizona has a nice TA. If you headed north two hours from there, you will hit the Hoover Dam not far from Vegas. However, you will be using a high bridge that was built at a cost of 4 lives at approximately 1600 feet, well above the dam's 880 foot or so.

Along 40 are a number of towns that are on paper only. Fuel does not exist in some of those places. When you leave out of Armarillo towards New Mexico do it with full tanks. And fill again at Gallup, Kingman etc.

Alberqurque is under the influence of a sort of a greater Mexico, a La Raza movement that is intent on reclaiming and taking from these United States territory of Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, California and return it back to Mexico. Therefore the People here in Al'que are not friendly to you. You can park at the flying J which is outside of the city to the west of the interstate and just south of.

It's not all bad. Sandia Mountains offer a cable car ride with a view to enjoy.

Shamrock Texas is not much of a stop. A little bit of fuel for the big trucks and a McDonalds. If you find yourself in storms it's possible to have safe haven in Shamrock.

Oklahoma has indians and bingo in large quanities until you get past Oklahoma City.

Once in December we had 90 degree weather at 4 AM on the Oklahoma City eastern city limits on 40 rolling westbound. We remember that morning due to it's most awesome hot, hot and really hot weather with rolling thunderstorms blasting the area like artillery in world war one.

Halfway across the city on 40, the CB radio opened up with drivers sliding off the road in 28 degree temperatures and complete and total icing over everything as the thundersnow rolled and so forth. In the space of 25 minutes we went from 90 degrees to 28 degrees on ice too slippery to walk or drive on. We took refuge until sunrise, reciever appointment be ######.

Arkansas is a touch of dangerous driving until you get past little rock and conway. I don't know how you are coming across. There is a US 64 that goes from US 67 towards Conway where you meet up with I40 again, a nice 32 mile bypass of all little rock and it's rush hour issues. You would get off at Lonoke exit 175 for 31 north then work your way through a small town or two until you hit 64 west and once clear of the towns you have a easy sailing to Conway and back onto 40.

Little Rock has a Petro, Pilot, Blue beacon truckwash, hotels, Freightliner dealer and shop etc etc etc etc etc at a place called Galloway off I40. You cannot miss it. Another good truckstop is in Earle AR which I think is around 225 mile marker going west from Memphis.

Memphis on 40 or off 40 is absolutely the worst. Hookers everywhere. Predators, Parasites, Beggars who will stick you with a blade or shoot you if you don't give up a dollar. The Hookers are particular infectious and dirty. Do not stop in Memphis. Consider it a extreme threat area to your life and your property and load in that trailer.

Also.. Memphis on 40 features the National headquarters for Autozone built to resist the great madrid earthquake on rubber foundations and other finest technology and engineering. It's going to be vacant after the next big one among the rubble of a dead and city being consumed by a fire storm while the mississippi rolls backwards.

If the I40 bridge at Memphis fails during the next quake All trucks will have to cross on I20 or above St Louis which will also burn. Everyone east of the mississippi will experience rationing and shortage of gas, fuel, meat, food and needed things because the trucks will be stacking up trying to cross that which cannot be.

You will need to mind the 65 mph speed limit in Arkansas on 40. Do not test the police. They are strict. There are scales in Memphis. CAT your load and be legal before you even see the place.

California. The mohave desert (Spelling?) is no joke. We are coming into the summer. Make ready for 115, 140 degree weather. Always, without fail fill your reefer fuel at half tanks. Keep the #### thing full before you get to the Mohave. I don't care if your dispatcher bleat and protest your excessive reefer fuel purchasing. Your load depends on it in the high desert heat.

You will have some final mountains to cross on 40, it's going to be fun. But nothing extreme. Just let her drift on the downgrade and ride your jacobs braking.

I can go on and on and on. But I leave it here.

 

Just remember that once you leave Arkansas, you are no longer legally married to your sister.

 

Oh yea./ You made me laugh out loud here.

I forget sometimes that Arkansas gets teased many a time. That's ok. Hell it's home now. Im no longer known as that #### yankee.

 

LMFAO!!!! That's great!!!! (P.S. Real men jog through at around 3 pm...) 8-P

 

I'm surprised nobody mentioned Little America in Flagstaff. Elevation about 7000', so it's cooler than the rest of the journey and GREAT showers. Small TV room with real leather couches and chairs.

Then there's the Alien Jerky in Baker, CA. Gotta stock up on jerky there.

Russells Travel Plaza just 10 miles west of Albuquerque has the Hard Rock Casino next door. Very good poker games on weekends, weekdays it's nothing but rocks and low rent retirees.

 

Rt 66 Casino and truck stop in NM on 40. Wicked buffet!!!!!