Should we stop in Greenville or Evergreen?

Driving from Morgan County to Mobile twice in one weekend will cause a man to wonder about strange things.

For example, what’s the difference between Greenville and Evergreen?

All my life I’ve been traveling that remote stretch of Interstate 65, which leads to the Gulf Coast.

During that time Greenville and Evergreen have been like congressional candidates Parker Griffith and Wayne Parker. It’s easy to confuse the names.

Years ago, the two green cities were significant because they offered the only bathroom and fast-food breaks south of Montgomery.

Now it seems every exit has an upscale truck stop or other feature. My favorite in that area is the Priester’s Pecans store, which offers free samples. Try the honey glazed.

If you haven’t been south in a while you might be surprised by the sacred Indian casino rising from the piney plains. It’s sure to transform Atmore’s reputation from a prison town.

All we know of most towns is what we see from the interstate exit, which can be misleading.

You might be surprised to learn that Greenville, population 7,728, is the Best Small Town in America, as ranked by ePodunk Inc.

“It has well-attended churches, lively places to meet, handsome historic buildings and lots of locally owned businesses. Residents are devoted to the ‘power of place,’ ” ePodunk says.

It also is a stop on the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail, it boasts a YMCA and it has an impressive-looking new high school.

And all this time you thought it only had a McDonald’s and a Shell station. Or is that Evergreen?

Speaking of Evergreen, population 3,630, it is perhaps best known as the site where the first female pilot in the U.S. military crashed and died.

It also has a McDonald’s and a Shell station.

Or is that Greenville?

Town officials should examine what travelers see at their interstate exits.

When I stopped at a Shell station last weekend, it had gone out of business. Across the street at the independent gas station, both the men’s and the women’s restrooms were out of order. The restrooms were open down the street at the BP station, but they were last cleaned in 1974.

It was on the south end of Evergreen. Then again, it might have been Greenville.