North Carolina: where the trip began · Tennessee and Arkansas: stories · Oklahoma and Texas: drove through, with a whole-trip reflection · New Mexico: stories · Arizona: 6 stories · California: 4 stories — Joshua Tree
My first night on the road was at a Cracker Barrel in Knoxville, Tennessee, just off I-40. Other people were sleeping in their cars nearby. I was comfortable in the camper until about 3:30 in the morning, when the highway noise woke me up. Since I was awake, I packed up and headed west.
While driving, I’ve been using ChatGPT to learn about the places I’m passing. Crossing the Tennessee River and Kentucky Lake gave me something to ask about instead of simply driving past.
I’m also getting a better idea of how the truck and camper perform. The truck is averaging about 11.7 miles per gallon while towing, and the camper batteries were back to full by the end of the day. That surprised me.
By around 2:00, I was in Memphis. I continued west on I-40 into Arkansas and later tried to find somewhere to stay near Greens Lake, outside Conway.
ChatGPT sent me to the wrong access point. The parking area was tiny, maneuvering the truck and camper was difficult, and I got partly stuck. About 20 minutes later, I found the right place. It looked like exactly the kind of spot I wanted to find with this camper.
Getting set up took longer than expected. The first spot was too sloped, and I spent about 45 minutes trying to level the trailer before deciding to move. Then the jack got stuck.
My brother-in-law had given me a shovel, and this was its first use. I dug around the jack, removed the blocks underneath it, and got it back up. Once I could move again, I found a spot under a tree, set up, and had dinner by the fire. I went to bed around 9:00 and slept well.
The next morning, I woke around 6:00 and watched the Formula 1 Qatar Airways Azerbaijan Grand Prix 2026. I made a couple of coffees and started getting ready to leave when a Game and Fish officer arrived.
He asked what I was doing there. I explained that I had stayed one night and expected to leave in about 20 minutes. He told me the spot wasn’t actually designated for camping, although the camping areas were hard to distinguish from where I had parked.
He said there was no problem. He had thought I might be a bow hunter because it was deer season. I explained that I was on my way to California, and he wished me a good trip. I finished packing and headed west.
— The Guy Behind the Desk
