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Roadtrip sight/food recommendations DFW>Littlerock>Nashville>NC

WTF?

WTF?

degenerate at large
Joined
May 19, 2020
Member Number
185
Messages
251
Loc
Eastern, NC
my brother has arranged to buy a car in the burbs of Fort Worth and asked me to fly out in a couple weeks edit: this weekend and road trip it home- as planned it's nice relaxed 4-500 mile/day pace so what's there to see/do/ eat on the way?
{ East of Dallas and west of Knoxville is virgin territory for me; i think everything west of Nashville is uncharted territory for my brother. }

tentative plan is Sat early AM flight into DFW> N. Richland hills to inspect/purchase, then cruise through Fort Worth stockyards > Texarkana> Little rock > Memphis (any good eats or just skip it) Nashville> Knoxville> Bristol and then the NC leg is our backyard.

I'd also like to collect contacts along the route- its a 35 yr old car with under 80k miles that's been driven ~1k/yr for the last 7 yrs or so , so no guarantees on anything. We're totally prepared to call aaa and find a u haul transport within 100 miles if need be, but anything manageable might be handy to have contacts when outside of uber territory.

let me know if there are any sunroofs to shit in or people who need some pirate salutes along the way:flipoff2:
 
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Where? Lots of sketchy dealers here.

Unless the stockyards are on a bucket list, really no reason to go. 😂

The Zoo here in fort worth is pretty good though.
 
Kyle said:
Where? Lots of sketchy dealers here.

Unless the stockyards are on a bucket list, really no reason to go. 😂
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Private party seller from a fb enthusiast group.

No high hopes for the Stockyards - it’s more of a checkpoint/checkout spot since it’s only a few mi from pickup point. Probably won’t park the car.

2big bronco said:
You can car camp at my lot in little rock on the way as long as you put up a fir sale sign. No idea if you will get shot or not, or how sketchy the neighborhood is.
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Little Rock is an likely overnight stop- I can probably drive by and slap a sign up if you want
 
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WTF? said:
Private party seller from a fb enthusiast group.

No high hopes for he Stockyards - it’s more of a checkpoint/checkout spot since it’s only a few mi from pickup point. Probably won’t park the car.



Little Rock is an likely overnight stop- I can probably drive by and slap a sign up if you want
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It’s possible to see but truly not worth it. Google street view is better 😂

I’ve seen more horses on my street than in the stockyard and I’ve driven down Main Street hundreds of times. 😂
 
My shop/work is in Fletcher NC near the Asheville Airport. Y'all swing by and I'll treat ya to lunch in a non-romantic manner.
12 Bones BBQ or Rocky's Hot Chicken. Your choice.
You won't be required to put out or anything.
 
Swing south from Nashville a bit and you can go kick DRM's ass. Follow that up with a tour of the Jack Daniel's Distillery, then head east to Fall Creek Falls State park for the afternoon. Definitely pass through Gatlinburg on the way to NC with 40 being shut down.
 
Observations from my trip last week to/from NC to Bentonville: LR to Memphis...dead land. Very little there. Kinda the same between Memphis and Nashville. WNC mountains are bit unusual with I-40 and I-26 both down. Let WAZE/Google tell you the way (or go I-81 to I-77 to I-74). Research that part for your best options.

I would also like to make a suggestion....do not stop overnight in West Memphis. A little dicey for us on our trip.

8 miles north of Hickory in NC if you need anything in this area.

EDIT: It's looking like I-26 from Johnson City, TN area (I-81 north from Knoxville) into Asheville will be opening 1 lane each direction at the Erwin, TN (state line area) bridge washout soon. Keep an eye out if that helps your routing at all.
 
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Memphis has some awesome eats. I usually point people to Elwood’s Shack on Summer ave. It’s not far off of your route and everything on the menu

There are also some highly regarded barbecue and chicken places, and some stuff downtown that is more atmosphere driven and still good.
 
DirtRoads said:
Memphis has some awesome eats. I usually point people to Elwood’s Shack on Summer ave. It’s not far off of your route and everything on the menu

There are also some highly regarded barbecue and chicken places, and some stuff downtown that is more atmosphere driven and still good.
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Yeah....true. Some great eats. I REALLY wish I'd decided to stop in Memphis overnight on the way to AR, instead of West Memphis. We'd done trips to Memphis many years ago, but I thought I'd get through Memphis and then stop. Not a real good choice (lack of knowing).
 
RedX said:
Yeah....true. Some great eats. I REALLY wish I'd decided to stop in Memphis overnight on the way to AR, instead of West Memphis. We'd done trips to Memphis many years ago, but I thought I'd get through Memphis and then stop. Not a real good choice (lack of knowing).
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All you had to do was ask :flipoff2:
 
DirtRoads said:
All you had to do was ask :flipoff2:
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Yep....definitely should have. Next time. May need to make time to spend a bit more time in the area (on the eastern side of the river), instead of the stop for the night at a dicey Radisson, eat at some craptacular Mexican place with rap karaoke going on next door to the casino off I-40, and wake and head out first thing in the am.
 
RedX said:
Yep....definitely should have. Next time. May need to make time to spend a bit more time in the area (on the eastern side of the river), instead of the stop for the night at a dicey Radisson, eat at some craptacular Mexican place with rap karaoke going on next door to the casino off I-40, and wake and head out first thing in the am.
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Believe it or not, we actually have a few trails to ride that aren’t half bad. They’d break up a drive at the very least
 
What kind of car?

We hit a place called Big Jake's BBQ in Texarkana on our way through once, was pretty decent.

Hard 8 BBQ if you're close to a location around D/FW. Pricey, but worth it just to check out what giant BBQ in Texas is like.

Can't help you going out east, we stopped at dive in Memphis that made us never stop in Memphis again.
 
When you get to Nasvhille check out Smithfield's. Local fried chicken chain, great fried chicken, clean restaurants, great service. I stop at the one in Nashville fairly often coming back from Raleigh.
 
2big bronco said:
You can car camp at my lot in little rock on the way as long as you put up a fir sale sign. No idea if you will get shot or not, or how sketchy the neighborhood is.
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It's sketchy.



WTF? I'm in central AR, Little Rock and North is my general stomping grounds. Take the 440 bypass from 30 to 40. The 30 bridge through LR is still under construction, they've been doing lane closures even on the weekends.

I can recommend some places to eat if you want. Clinton Museum, might have something worth seeing. I think we've got the only Purse museum in the country, if you're into purses. Art Museum has some okay stuff in it, it's not Chicago or NY by any stretch, but the restaurant is pretty good.

Several decent bars in LR/NLR.

If you haven't picked a hotel yet, make sure it's either north of 630 or west of 430. They redlined the hell out of LR during Jim Crow, then segregated the city with the 630 expressway. Near 630 isn't terrible, but the further south of 630 you go the more sideshowy and murdery it gets.
 
Pmedic920 said:
Check out Lost 40 Brewing in Little Rock if you have time for lunch/Dinner.

It’s one of my regular stops when we got to Hot Springs.
www.lost40brewing.com

Lost Forty Brewing

www.lost40brewing.com www.lost40brewing.com

Good food, good beer, nice atmosphere
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I agree with all but the atmosphere. I wish they'd ditch the giant benches and communal seating. I don't want to share a table with strangers, I don't want to meet new people, I just want to eat, drink, and converse with the people that are already with me.
 
Lee said:
I agree with all but the atmosphere. I wish they'd ditch the giant benches and communal seating. I don't want to share a table with strangers, I don't want to meet new people, I just want to eat, drink, and converse with the people that are already with me.
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Haven’t been in a couple years.

They had private tables/seating last time I was there’s.
 
Pmedic920 said:
Haven’t been in a couple years.

They had private tables/seating last time I was there’s.
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They're long tables, not benches, but you just set with randos.


Clinton Museum's current exhibit is "Commanding the Screen: The American Presidency in Film and Television," sounds like a snoozer to me.
 
Lee said:
How big is the lot?

Asher Ave and Roosevelt Rd has been on the news my entire life for various crimes, usually violent and gang related. Your lot is like 2 blocks north of Asher.
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Off the top of my head, just a normal neighborhood residential sized lot. Road full of houses and missing one right in the middle.


irate4x4.com

AR - Property for sale little rock

Residential lot for trade in Arkansas 2217 South Martin st little rock Arkansas Priced at $1,000,000 or trade for?
irate4x4.com irate4x4.com
 
Motorcharge said:
When you get to Nasvhille check out Smithfield's. Local fried chicken chain, great fried chicken, clean restaurants, great service. I stop at the one in Nashville fairly often coming back from Raleigh.
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yeah Smithfield's originated in my backyard- they've built 3 new locations within 5 miles of my house in the last 18 months.

Way back in the day the BBQ sandwich 'value pack' {combo} was $6.49, so now-a-days , it's priced over $10 and just doesn't quite hit the same anymore.
 
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Lee said:
WTF? I'm in central AR, Little Rock and North is my general stomping grounds. Take the 440 bypass from 30 to 40. The 30 bridge through LR is still under construction, they've been doing lane closures even on the weekends.

I can recommend some places to eat if you want. Clinton Museum, might have something worth seeing. I think we've got the only Purse museum in the country, if you're into purses. Art Museum has some okay stuff in it, it's not Chicago or NY by any stretch, but the restaurant is pretty good.

Several decent bars in LR/NLR.

If you haven't picked a hotel yet, make sure it's either north of 630 or west of 430. They redlined the hell out of LR during Jim Crow, then segregated the city with the 630 expressway. Near 630 isn't terrible, but the further south of 630 you go the more sideshowy and murdery it gets.
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Haven't booked a room yet so that's very helpful. LR is a penciled-in overnight destination so Please pass along the recommendations for grub spots both breakfast & dinner.
 
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