Westward bound

The gentle green hills of Pennsylvania, Virginia, Tennessee and Arkansas gradually gave way to the rolling plains of Oklahoma and Texas, followed by the more mountainous terrain of New Mexico and Arizona as the travelers headed west.
The throngs of trucks, usually an annoyance on the highways, were a welcome sign of a possible waning of the recession. It was cold and windy when we stopped for dinner at a Mexican restaurant in Elk, OK on a Sunday just after 5 p.m. The hostess said the eatery had just closed. But then, she looked at us, and seeing our bedraggled appearance, asked if we were traveling. When we said we were en route from Philadelphia to Arizona, she checked to see if the kitchen would stay open to make us dinner. It did and the hot enchiladas were most welcome.
We hit construction on many sections of I-40, possibly due to government stimulus funds, but Arkansas evidently didn’t get the memo as worn pavement and bumps prevailed in that state.
Arizona seems to offer one beautiful sight after another. Heading south from Flagstaff toward Prescott through the mountains, vistas opened out as ponderosa pines and rugged boulders vied for attention with the twisty curves, putting the Mini Cooper through its paces.
People in Prescott are friendly and welcoming, much to the Newshound’s delight, although a traveling companion found the gregarious nature of some of the folks tiresome, preferring the brusqueness of the northeast, where, in the fast pace of life, few strangers dare to venture a small talk and smiles are less readily returned.