(You can read the previous part here.)

Traveling by car is such a luxury! You can bring anything you want, you can stop any time, you can change your plans and go to new places. Car travel can be fun!

And of course, things are not always thrilling. I spent a lot of this trip whizzing along interstates – which are not great for really seeing the country. You tend to see a lot of the same fast food places, the same gas stations, the same hotel chains.

But even on interstates, there are some special, individual things you can see, and can try, and can eat. One very surprising thing I saw on this leg of the trip was armadillos. Yes: armadillos. I think I saw little guys on the side of the road in every one of these states – and it was a little weird for me – but very cool!

Keep your eyes open, and there are all sorts of interesting things to find, even in the most potentially dull environment of an interstate.

Kansas

I was only in Kansas very briefly, but I’ve been across the state on previous trips so have a good sense of the state. (Spoiler: it’s flat.)

The Persian Pickle Club, by Sandra Dallas

“It is the 1930s, and hard times have hit Harveyville, Kansas, where the crops are burning up, and there’s not a job to be found. For Queenie Bean, a young farm wife, a highlight of each week is the gathering of the Persian Pickle Club, a group of local ladies dedicated to improving their minds, exchanging gossip, and putting their quilting skills to good use. When a new member of the club stirs up a dark secret, the women must band together to support and protect one another. In her magical, memorable novel, Sandra Dallas explores the ties that unite women through good times and bad.”

Arkansas

When I was a kid, we went to Arkansas a couple of times for vacation, and it was beautiful! I drove down the highway, admiring everything as I went. I haven’t read this one yet, but I’ve read some of her other books and enjoyed them. Another one for the TBR!

Shakespeare’s Landlord: A Lily Bard Mystery, by Charlaine Harris

“Welcome to Shakespeare, Arkansas. Lily Bard came to the small town of Shakespeare to escape her dark and violent past. Other than the day-to-day workings of her cleaning and errand-running service, she pays little attention to the town around her. So when she spots a dead body being dumped in the town green, she’s inclined to stay well away. But she was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and despite her best efforts, she’s dragged into the murder case.

Lily doesn’t care who did it, but when the police and local community start pointing fingers in her direction, she realizes that proving her innocence will depend on finding the real killer in quiet, secretive Shakespeare.”

Oklahoma

This is another really flat state, where you can see for miles in every direction. (And there are armadillos!) I read this book when I came out a couple of years ago, and was horrified. I had not heard any of this, but of course in a state with a strong tribal presence as Minnesota, we know about bad stories that have happened to indigenous people in other times and settings. It’s not a happy story, but really interesting.

Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI, by David Grann

”   In the 1920s, the richest people per capita in the world were members of the Osage Nation in Oklahoma. After oil was discovered beneath their land, the Osage rode in chauffeured automobiles, built mansions, and sent their children to study in Europe.
            Then, one by one, the Osage began to be killed off. The family of an Osage woman, Mollie Burkhart, became a prime target. One of her relatives was shot. Another was poisoned. And it was just the beginning, as more and more Osage were dying under mysterious circumstances, and many of those who dared to investigate the killings were themselves murdered.
            As the death toll rose, the newly created FBI took up the case, and the young director, J. Edgar Hoover, turned to a former Texas Ranger named Tom White to try to unravel the mystery. White put together an undercover team, including a Native American agent who infiltrated the region, and together with the Osage began to expose one of the most chilling conspiracies in American history. “

Texas

Texas is big. Really big. It’s pretty impressive just how massive this state is. I’ve been there for conferences a couple of other times, and just whizzed through a small piece of the state this time – and still have no feeling at all that I’ve “seen” Texas.

The Liars’ Club by Mary Karr

” A powerfully funny, razor’s-edge tale of a fractured childhood, Mary Karr’s biography looks back through a child’s eyes to sort through dark household secrets. She witnesses an inheritance squandered, endless bottles emptied, and guns leveled at both the deserving and the undeserving. In a voice stripped of self-pity and charged with brilliant energy, she introduces us to a family ravaged by lies and alcoholism, yet redeemed by the revelation of truth. Karr, a prize-winning poet, uses her linguistic skills and sharp personal insights to make The Liar’s Club an utterly mesmerizing memoir. “

Try some travel yourself this week! Reading books about places you would like to go is a great way to do some armchair traveling. And look for some interesting, unique things that are all around you now!