The room we stayed in was quiet and we slept very well last night. We woke to very high wind and immediately switched on the tube to see what was up. There were tornado warnings for a long, wide line that runs north from Tyler Texas up in an arc through Kansas City and it was heading right for Little Rock. We were 30 to 40 miles north and east of there. We talked to the guy at the motel for advice on what to do. We watched the tube in the lobby for a while and the tornado seemed to have dissipated, so our only worry was high winds and rain. He said to just be careful and keep an eye on the sky. We left and picked up highway 70 towards Little Rock. The interstate was full of semis and the spray would be awful if it rained. I also considered that a truck hit by a strong wind would smash us severely flat if it tipped over while we were next to it. Not worth the risk; I prefer the roads less traveled anyway. There was no traffic on 70 and we only had to slow for the little towns along the way. It was very pleasant. The road was lined with trees and they protected us from the wind. For a while we were traveling along the top of a dike with water on both sides lapping the sides of the road. The area was obviously flooded and it gave us the creeps. A few houses were up to the windows with water and a camp site had a few trailers that didn’t get out in time. Another long section of road went past a cypress forest. At first it looked like a swamp, but it turned out to be the area next to a river. It looked like that was its normal state. The trees swelled near the bottom like what you see in the shallow swamps further south. It would take a shallow draft boat to travel through there. It was kind of cool. The plants and trees were very healthy except that most of Arkansas is infested with kudzu which was brought back from Viet Nam and has taken over everywhere. It is a viney thing that climbs the telephone poles and many of the trees all the way to the top. They say that it will cover a house in less than two years. It is everywhere there is a hint of water and there is a lot of water in south west Arkansas. As we approached Little Rock the sky was very dark. It kept getting blacker and the drops started tapping the wind shield. That turned quickly into larger and larger drops until the sky opened up and even with the wipers at top speed, I could barely see to drive. We found ourselves in North Little Rock and decided that a pit stop was a good idea. It was 71 degrees outside and absolutely pouring! We got wet running to the shelter of the building, but it wasn’t cold, so that helped. As we left town towards Texarkana the rain lessened and finally stopped all together. We figured we were at the bottom edge of the storms that were heading north and east. We stopped at Wal-Mart for some stuff and the pavement was almost dry already. We had decided to go to Shreveport Louisiana and enter Texas further south. The road that runs along Inter-state 30 has left many “Radiator Springs” along the way. Each town is quite run-down and there are many abandoned buildings. You could see that they used to be bustling little burgs that have seen much better days. There are a few hold-outs trying to keep it together, but most of the former residence are long gone. It’s kind of sad to see. The road was in remarkably good condition the last 30 miles in Arkansas. It wound up and down through the country side and was very smooth and in good repair. Most of the roads up until late today were in terrible, rough condition. It did start raining again, but it was short lived and it’s not raining down here…right now anyway. We found hiway 20, an east west hiway with several motels along the way. Turns out the area is swarming with military personnel showing up for drills at the base nearby. Almost every room was booked everywhere! The girl at the Comfort Inn did some juggling of rooms and got us set up for the night. Thank you, front-desk-girl. I really did not want to drive any further. Driving in the rain was tiring and we’re ready to stop for the day. We only got one photo today; maybe more tomorrow as we cross into Texas. I think we’ll try for Denton or Decatur tomorrow. I do want to stop by the Chevy dealer in Fort Worth to see if that guy came back and bought the white Corvette. We want to attend church in Chico, a little town west of I-35. It’s the church of the nice little lady we met on the way through a week or so ago. More to come; stay tuned.