Let's go get lost anywhere in the USA

1477.8 miles, 24 hours, 42 minutes and 13 seconds plus roughly $150 for gas and another $120 to replace a broken headlight cover.  This last Thursday, I took off around 10 a.m. in the morning to go make some memories in Arkansas because why not? My previous list of Arkansas memories consisted of changing seats on a Southwest flight that had a layover in Little Rock and I didn't even get out of the plane.  As I said, I left around 10, getting into Harrison at around 6.  Just before then, while on the freeway in the complete dark of 5:30, I was startled when some white object either fell off the car in front of me or was thrown by its driver and collided with what I originally thought was my hood.  Later, I was relived to see that I didn't have a huge dent in my hood only to even later realize that the object had missed my hood and taken out half of my headlight cover instead.  Friday morning, after a fitful night's rest, I took off at around 6 and drove intermittently through fog and clouds first to Hawksbill Crag for one of the iconic Arkansas hikes, if Arkansas is allowed to have iconic hikes, then through more fog for two hours up to Signal Hill, the highpoint of Arkansas (a 0.4 mile hike to a high point with no view) and then for another hour and a half up to Petit Jean State Park and the Seven Hollows Trail, which was a fantastic hike that I had to rush through because it was mid-December and I didn't want to be out past four because it would be getting dark.  I knocked out the best known trail in Arkansas, its high point, and a trail that Backpacker named to its 100 best dayhikes and over the course of the entire day, I ran into one other person out on the trails all day and I think she was just running the Seven Hollows Trail.  Technically, since I encountered her in the parking lot, I didn't see another person on the trails all day, but heck, if I can get two great hikes in and have a full day of glorious nature and solitude, that's a darn good day.  At the end of the day, I still had another hour and a half drive down to Hot Springs.  Saturday morning, I checked another National Park off my list as I explored Hot Springs National Park, one of the oldest and definitely the smallest national park.  Sunday morning, I drove.  Sunday afternoon, I drove.  Finally, at 6, after 10 hours of being in the car, I made it back home to Anderson.  My longest walk that day out of the car was from the gas station parking lot in to use the bathroom.  It was a long, boring day, but it meant I got to spend another weekend out doing what I love.  I don't know when I became a road trip aficionado (possibly the same time I gave up using paragraphs in blog entries), but I've had four different trips of over 1000 miles since the start of May.  There was the 1400 miles exploring Utah in May, 1200 miles out to Kansas City and St. Louis for a long weekend in June, 1100 miles down to bourbon country and Red River Gorge in Kentucky in July and these 1400 miles.  Add in the 500+ mile trips to Michigan and Chicago and Chicago/Wisconsin and Mammoth Cave and I've spent entirely too much time in my car, if not for the fact that its allowing me to start exploring this beautiful creation.  I've already got three potential road trips planned for next year.  I want to go explore some of the California national parks with Luke, northern Michigan with Lindsey (only 800 miles) and potentially a massive Northeast hiking/camping trip with Lindsey that I should think about scaling back.  This is great fun and this is why I'm so glad I chose to pursue the career I have - namely, so I can pursue these other interests of mine that make me so incredibly happy.