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Day 36: Tue Aug 26, 1997

 We left the Travelodge in Elk City, Oklahoma about 10 am CDT and headed east on I-40. We accidentally took an Oklahoma City bypass, that was good because we avoided construction in town. Somewhere in eastern Oklahoma it was noticed that the scenery had changed from long open views to wooded, maybe this can be seen on the satellite views, I'll check when I get a chance.

 At 15:39 CDT we crossed into Arkansas and got gas at Fort Smith. I-40 across Arkansas is notable for its bumpiness, not from wear and tear, the concrete sections are uneven. We ate at Western Sizzlin, another buffet. You feel obligated to eat more than you need at buffets.

 We continued east and crossed the Mississippi River into Tennessee about 10 PM CDT. There is a big pyramid in Memphis, we saw it as a dark silhouette as we crossed the river on the I-40 bridge, I forget what it is, a sports complex or something like that. We found Rt 51 (Danny Thomas Boulevard) and took it north, searching for a motel in the area. We went quite a distance before stopping to check a few, but they were full. No vacancy signs would have saved us time and trouble, why weren't they used? (lack of such signs makes it much easier to discriminate if so desired). One motel had a police car outside the office and Sharleen said she didn't like the looks and didn't want to even check if they had a room. The motel across the road was full but said the other motel was a "party motel" and had lots of robberies and disturbances. I had picked enough low life motels in the past to know not to argue with Sharleen when she doesn't like one we look at. It was getting late, the night was dark and had patches of light fog, but no rooms were found as we continued into Kentucky. We finally stopped at a Quality Inn in South Fulton, Kentucky. The front door was locked, we started to leave, but then somebody came and opened it and we got a room. It was about 1:30 AM.

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