thoughts on the news of the day: roads

hmmm…..

            My internet home page lists a story today about the worst roads in the USA.  Not surprisingly, Arkansas was ranked in the top five.  Anyone who has driven in our beautiful state knows about steep, curvy, mountain roads with no shoulders.  Driving at night in the mountains is especially dangerous because the deer population has gotten so far out of hand. 

            Recently I rode with a friend to Clarksville, AR from Yellville, AR.  We took a narrow, crooked road numbered Hwy. 5.  Just when the roads couldn’t get any steeper or curved, we ran into a bad patch of soupy fog.  It was impossible to see more than a few feet ahead.  We held our breath as we followed a big truck up and down the mountain path, finally arriving safely at the bottom of the mountain.

             The road was beautiful, if terrifying.  But one of the most stunning and scenic passes I have ever been through run between Ft. Smith and Fayetteville.   Interstate 540 wanders through some breathtaking terrain in the Ozark Mountains and because it is an interstate highway, it cuts the driving time almost in half.  Needless to say, I much prefer that road.

            Roads remind us that we have places to go and things to do.  Sometimes those places and things are easy, but sometimes they are not.  Like the bad roads in Arkansas, our travels can lead us through winding, sometimes harrowing adventures.  But the amazing thing is that the toughest, highest mountain roads seem to have the most gorgeous views.  And when we finally get to the top, we find that they were worth it.

            hmmm…..