Joy: I encourage you to detour north to Arkansas if only for two attractions. One is the state park in Murfreseboro called Crater Of Diamonds state park. It's the only self serve diamond mine in the Western Hemisphere and for like $4, you can dig and keep anything you find. Park employees there are fairly knowledgeable as to whether you have real diamonds or just broken glass. Not the prettiest park in the state, but can be very rewarding!!. The other place to stop is over by the Oklahoma border at Cossatot State Park. You don't do whitewater kayaking, but a hike into the Cossatot Falls area of the Cossatot River will be worth the hike and bring the camera. Certainly one of the most magnificent rock formations in the middle part of the US. I forget the Hwy. number, but If you find Hwy. 71 and follow it south from Mena to the little town of Wickes(north of Dequeen). Follow it east for about 10 miles or less and you'll find the state park office. If the head park ranger is there, tell him I said hi. Should have maps there to guide your hiking trip. Camping nearby. There's also the Clinton Presidential Library in Little Rock and a ton of other stops, but the two I mentioned wouldn't be too far out of your way from Shreveport/Bossier City/ Texarkana area. Hot Springs is kinda touristy these days, but has both Lake Ouchita and Lake Hamilton for flatwater paddling. The Ouachita has spots in it that are over 300 ft. deep. If you'd like to tour the Ozark Mountains, go up Hwy 7 from Russellville and take in that drive to Harrison. A little north of Russellville is another great hike through the creekbed of Richland Creek, but if the creek is"up", the trail will be under water in places. Probably need to get a Forest Service map to get back in that far. Deer season should be over with, so stray bullets should be done for the season.

Somewhere in northern Alabama there is Muscle Shoals, famous for it's musical heritage. And if you like ribs, DO NOT MISS the Rendezvous in Memphis. Find the front door of the famous Peabody Hotel in downtown and they'll direct you to the rib mecca of the world.

Have fun even if you don't make it to "The Natural State".

DM&FS

aAt 12:35 PM 1/6/2010, Joy Hecht wrote: >Deep south, for me = Alabama & Mississippi. Maybe Georgia? > >Texas is visiting friends in Austin and Ft. Worth, and a cousin in Dallas. >I've been to San Antonio - alas, over a very cold Christmas, when it snowed >on the Mexican border. Not much fun! > >Oklahoma, of course, is visiting Larry & Maggie in Ponca City! > >Colorado is visiting friends in Denver & Boulder. > >The deep south is the great unknown for me.... > > > >Joy > >On Wed, Jan 6, 2010 at 1:24 PM, <mcneely4@cox.net> wrote: > > > Are you including Texas as part of the "Deep South"? It's not of course > > (it's Texas, which is its own special place), but some folks from the East > > and the North consider it so out of ignorance. If you want pointers in > > Texas and Oklahoma (also not part of the South of course), give me an idea > > of your route and whether you are looking for nature or other kinds of > > spots. I can suggest places better with that information. Lots of really > > neat places of course. > > > > David McNeely > > > > > > > > On Wed, Jan 6, 2010 at 11:30 AM, Joy Hecht wrote: > > > > Hi all, > >> > >> I'm planning to head across Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi & Louisiana to > >> Texas late January-early February, en route to visit friends in Texas, > >> Oklahoma, and Colorado. > >> > >> I'm interested in interesting suggestions on places to stop in the deep > >> south. I've been saying ever since I first traveled in my van that I > >> wanted > >> to spend some time in the south in the winter, and I've never actually > >> done > >> it. I don't know how much time I'll actually end up with, but hopefully > >> at > >> least a couple of weeks for the Georgia-through-Mississippi stretch. (I > >> have done a bit of exploring in Louisiana already.) > >> > >> Suggestions? > >> > >> > >> > >> Joy > >> and Matilda > >> and the kayak, who would love to get out onto the water on the way as > >> well... > >> > >