Advice for scenic driving up into Eastern LA, ARK and TN? (Houston: live, maps)

[JilliO]

Hi, I posted this in the Houston forum too (where I live and the trip starts), but thought day or weekend-trippers from Dallas might have some suggestions too.

Wondering if anyone has advice, suggestions for driving up from Houston to TN. We want to take the slow route to Nashville. Navigation routing has the quickest drive up 59 Texarkana, Little Rock, Memphis, etc. I tried to find a route planner that maps "scenic" drives rather than fastest (Michelin mapping offers this for Europe, but its North American version doesn't look well-developed).

We've never driven through East Texas (e.g., Angelina or Sabine Forests), Eastern LA, Ark, or Western TN, and since we're not in a hurry, thought this might be an opportunity to see some things along the way.

What are some recommendations for interesting drives (interesting could mean scenic, could mean that there are interesting detours or must-sees along the way, etc). If you know this area, or parts of this area, well--what would you recommend? (We plan to stop along the way--not power through in a couple days).


Thanks.

[ChristieP]

Don't speed through small towns in Arkansas unless you want to make a contribution to their police departments.

Arkansas east of Little Rock is all rice fields. Boooooring drive, even off I40. There are vey few little towns, and almost nothing to see.

[adamrobinson]

Don't make the high speed in major towns of Dallas..According to me!!