Well, we tried to stay another day, but the hotel was booked for Friday night and we didn't feel like loading up just to move to a different hotel, so we came on home. It was three days of fantastic riding. The weather was perfect. The trees were not great. Some were changing colors, but a lot were just brown or dropping their leaves. It might be better in the next few weeks. It was great getting to see and ride with Keith for a bit. The last time I was up there was over five years ago and I'd kind of forgotten how much fun the roads were there, paved and unpaved. I was really envious of Roger's 690 when we got in the really rough stuff, but I was able to get it done on the GS. We didn't see many other bikes while out riding. We met one GSA rider from Florida that was stopped on AR 7 just South of Deer. It was his first time in the area. I totally forgot to get his name and a pic
He was having fun!
The cafe in Mt. Judea was closed, but I am not sure if it was just for the day or permanently. The Deer Cafe on AR 16 in Deer looked to be permanently closed. The Daisy Queen in Marshall was good as always. The Horseshoe Grill in Eureka Springs on US 62 East was very good and the prices were amazingly low! The Rouge Manor in the historic part of town was good but a bit over priced and they no longer have a grilled trout dinner, which was always my favorite. They do still serve fresh baked bread in coffee mugs. We were seated in the glass atrium area and they also seated a very large party in there as well, so it got crazy loud and was practically impossible to talk. Also, the chairs at the tables are more like lounge chairs for a smoking room than dining chairs, so trying to sit up at the table to eat was a challenge! They were nice though when we were done and reclined to wait for the check
The Cross Cafe on MO 76 between Exeter and Cassville was very good and also very reasonably priced! The Ozark Cafe in Jasper was good as always and also very reasonably priced.
According to my GPS tracks, we did 338, 348, and then 250 miles for three days of riding. The Dunlop Trailmax Mission tires on my GS had about 8400 miles on them at the start of this trip. They did remarkably well, but it was mostly dry when we got off the pavement with one notable exception, and they did fairly well even in the mud we encountered along the Little Piney Creek on FS-1405 between AR 123 and AR 21. I did about 140 miles Saturday which included some off road track riding that involved some sand and then did another 190 miles on them today while riding with Sarah on local county and forest service roads. The tires are starting to get near the end of their life, but not quite yet. If you are looking for a good distance touring adventure tires, I'd have to say these are definitely worth using. They were not crazy expensive, perform relatively well, and last longer than any tires I have ever used on any of my various adventure bikes over the last 20 years.