My DRZ goes turns over the 19,000 mile mark in Arkansas

[humanrace]

Three of my riding buddies and I found a way to get away for four days and Arkansas is a good choice for a four day weekend. We decided to leave Thursday night and drive (trailer) all night, getting us to Harrison around 8:00 Friday morning. This gives us 3 days of riding the good roads of Arkansas and one day to return. The state is beautiful in many ways, but I am not a photographer. I can take a picture of the majesty of Colorado or Utah and have it come out OK, but I can’t take a picture of a flowing river and expect it to be a framer. Arkansas has that flowing river and many more subjects for someone good with a camera. For this report, I’m going to tell you some of our experiences and show you a few pictures.

Our tradition of taking a picture with our waitress the first morning of any trip continues. In the past, my wife has said, “You must have drawn the short straw.” I lucked out with this waitress. She’s beautiful in many ways and our welcome to Arkansas was sweet.

Our cabin interior. Oak cabinets, oak chairs, oak table. The ceiling is pine. The lady running the cabins said her late husband built the 3 cabins just before he died. If you have ever been a carpenter, you will readily see the mistakes he made as soon as you walk in the door. We however were looking for a clean, roomy, cheap space to store gear and sleep and this was perfect. The lady even drove to town and got coffee when she found out we ran out. Little Cedar Cabins just west of Harrison on Hwy 62. Secluded, clean, hospitable, dishes and cooking utensils provided. All for $75 per night.

I'm still a little tired so I think I will post this little bit and add more tomorrow.
Oh, I posted this in "Story Telling" and unless my riding friends jump in, then any embellishments that I might add will become absolute truths by the end of April.

 

[humanrace]

Two of our steeds outside cabin 3. We took motards in expectation of riding 30 to 50% dirt roads, but that didn’t happen. Last year we went to the Dallas motorcycle show and picked up brochures from the Arkansas tourist booth. They have added 4 dual sport rides to their extensive number of rides. However, none of the road numbers from Google maps or the brochures match actual signs on the roads. In most cases, Google maps and the brochures didn’t match even when I knew they were the same road. Butler maps are great, but the one for Arkansas doesn’t do dirt. More research and better maps are in order for our next trip.

 

[Vinny]

 

[humanrace]

Our plan for the first ride was south on Hwy. 7 from Harrison to 16, west on 16 to 21, north on 21 to 43 and 43 back to Harrison. It was supposed to be around 90 miles, but we did a few side trips that upped it to around 130, some of that on the dirt.

Not much to see, but great roads.

Sometimes the feds get it right and preserve something for posterity. The wild and scenic Buffalo river is one of those times.

The roads weren’t bad. Actually, it’s hard to find a road in NW Arkansas that is not a good road, some better than others and some great.

The possibility of inbreeding is everywhere in Arkansas.

No wait, those guys rode over with me. No wonder everyone stared at us when we went into the visitor center.

 

[humanrace]

Arkansas had a hunting problem after WWII. All the elk and all the deer except a small herd were killed off. According to a local we met, the entire state was repopulated with deer from that small herd. I’m not sure how they kept the Texas and Missouri deer out. Anyway, they now have many deer and a semi wild herd of elk.

This old homestead was also preserved, although not to original specs. I’m sure the original was built out of white oak, a closed cell wood that rots slowly. The restoration was done with treated pine which rots even slower.

Ray wondering if we would get a ticket for starting a fire inside. When we left the cabin the temperature was in the high 40s. By this time of day, it was in the low 40s.

What appears to be an original fireplace.

My long time riding partner, Mark, framed by not an original window frame.

My even longer time riding partner, Phil, framed by the same window. Phil and I have been riding together since 1984. By this time all four of us are contemplating lighting a fire.

 

[humanrace]

I tried to talk my three riding partners into going on a short hike, 3 miles round trip. I’m not kidding when I say it was like pulling their teeth with no anesthesia. Well, Ray wasn’t quite so difficult. Anyway, WE decided to hike to a place the locals call Hawk Bill Point, but the true name according to maps is Whittaker Point. What finally convinced them? 19 young college coeds and their guide showed up and started the hike. My riding partners were into the woods in a heart beat. It’s a short walk with quite a bit of elevation change. Phil and mark lagged behind about 200 yards. Just before we got to the site, Ray noticed this rock below. He says, “Hey, why don’t I climb on top of this rock and you be taking my picture when they catch up. You can tell them that this is Hawk Bill.” The rock did have a little point on one end and they had no idea what the true Hawk Bill looked like, so we decided to do it. I wish I could have captured the incredulous look on their faces when they found out they had walked a mile and a half to see this rock.

This is one of the 19 young ladies that lured them into the woods. She also became our photographer for the pictures of the true Hawk Bill.

Whittaker Point with 4 overweight men standing/sitting on the end.

Mark, Phil and Ray wondering, “How far should we go out.”

We’re photobombed by a luring coed.
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[humanrace]

Day 2 of 4. The two girlymen, and I say this with no disrespect toward women because all of my female riding friends would have been riding with me, opted to drive the tow vehicle to Branson to ride the horsies on the merry-go-round. I’m not going to name the two girlymen, but Ray and I went riding. Our plan was to ride north on 7, southeast on 14 to Yellville, east on 14, the loop on 178 through Bull shoals and back down to Mountain Home, south on 5 and then on 341 (Arkansas' version of North Carolina’s famous MC road), 14 back to Yellville and 412 back to Harrison. Let me say right now that you need to skip the loop through Bull shoals. There was lots of houses, lots of traffic and little to see.
All was not lost. We did stop to eat pie at Connie’s Café in Bull Shoals. Other than the roads, food stops were the highlights of the day. At Bull shoals, we met a local fishing guide and 2 of his buddies. When we told the guide, a lifelong resident, that we were going to ride 341, he raised an eyebrow and said we should stay on the road and if we heard any violin music we should speed up. The guide is on the right.

I asked for any kind of pie at Connie’s and the waitress said she would bring me the closest thing they had to pie. Not pie, but very good homemade cinnamon raisin bread, sliced and then pan fried in butter. Yummy!!!!

I didn’t take any more pictures on the second day. The high temperature was mid 40s and I probably didn’t want to take my gloves off. By the end of the day, I was wishing I had been one of the girlymen.
We did stop for a late lunch at some place call Wild Bill’s Buffalo Place. I probably have the name a little wrong, but it was Wild Bill’s and there was a Buffalo in the name. Anyway, there was a sign on the door:
1 Pulled pork sandwich
2 hot dog/polish sausage
Plus some others. Ray ordered pulled pork and I ordered a hot dog/polish sausage. I believe it was Wild Bill himself that gave me the evil eye and said, “Which one.” When our order came, it was two pulled pork sandwiches. Since a couple ordered just after us, we thought that maybe we got their order by mistake. Ray went to the counter and asked. Wild Bill disappeared into the depths of the building and when he reemerged said, “She messed up.” I promptly said that it was OK and I didn’t mind eating a pulled pork sandwich. As we were leaving, I asked if we were paid up and Wild Bill said, “You owe me $1.75 plus tax.” OK!! Like I said earlier, food stops were highlights of the day.

 

[humanrace]

Highway 341 is a gold road on my Butler map and it was the second best road of the trip. I'll get to the best one later. Highway 14, both portions, was also great.

 

[humanrace]

Day 3
Route: 412/62 west from Harrison, 221 loop down until it turns north, dirt road to 23 (pig trail), north on 23 Eureka Springs for lunch, south on 23 to 16, east on 16 to 21, north on 21 to 74, 74 east to 7, gas up and back to 21 on 74, north on 21, 103 412 to Harrison.

The girly men decide to ride. High today is close to 70. 62 west is a freeway in Arkansas. In east Texas it would be a fun road. When we dipped down on 221 we came to this carved bear advertising a bed and breakfast.

We were at the junction of north bound 221 and a dirt road. A rancher drove by and stopped, thinking we were having problems. We were just trying to decide which road to take. He said the dirt road was probably too rough for our motorcycles so that’s the one we took. When it forked, I typed in Eureka Springs on my GPS. I chose the first option on the address since I didn’t know any addresses in Eureka. At every intersection, it seemed like we were directed to the least traveled road. Finally, the GPS said we were at our destination. The first address I had chosen was in the middle of the woods, in the middle of nowhere. After picking another address in Eureka, we finally made it to our lunch spot.

They did have some interesting décor and one of the best hamburgers ever. That’s saying a lot since I am a hamburger guru.

This is one of the uglier rivers that we saw. We stopped here because one of our riders needed to take some meds. We all get old.

This was on the gas pump at our second gas stop. I found it funny.

I don’t know what kind of flowers these are, but they grow wild as well as being planted in peoples yards. Along with the white flowering trees that look like dogwoods without the nail hole in the flowers, these could really brighten up a field or lawn.

About 240 miles today, 40 of it on dirt. At least 10 of that dirt was by mistake.

 

[humanrace]

We rode highway 74 there and back. It was the best MC road we saw. It was also a gold road on my Butler map.

 

[achesley]

Love me some Arkansas! Seems ., no matter how many trips your do there, you always fine new roads to explore. Ya'll did some really good ones.

 

[_RG_]

 

[The Bruce]

Yep, Arkansas and southern Missouri have some great riding.

 

[humanrace]

Day 4-coming home
The plan: Two drive the tow vehicle and two ride the most scenic roads out of Arkansas without going too far off the route back to Bryan and Ft Worth. Mark is riding a CB1000 Honda or something like that. I am on a DRZ400SM. Mark is going to ride 520 miles to Fort Worth in a single day and I planned on riding 360 miles to Paris, Texas, spend the night with my cousin and ride the last 250 miles on the 5th day. Cousin sick. I don’t want to get sick, don’t want to spend the money on a motel. Ride home. 610 miles in a day is too much on a DRZ400!!!
We saw nine of these small forest fires around Mena and along the Talimena Drive.

This is what they looked like from a little closer. This one was along the Talimena Drive.

According to the sign on the Oklahoma end of the trail, there isn’t a high probability of fire. Maybe they are all controlled burns.

These trees look like dogwoods, but the leaves don’t have the nail holes like the dogwood has. These are at a lower elevation and the leaves have started to come out, changing the color from a brilliant white to a greenish white.

I believe this is the first scenic lookout along the Talimena.

The drive along Talimena is like driving through a sea of leafless, seemingly dead, trees.

We split up on the north side of Paris and Mark got a speeding ticket less than a minute later. Since my cousin was sick, I decided to photograph some of the houses I lived in as a child. I lived here from 8 to 11 years old. There are 10 children in my family.

This empty lot was my home and my family’s convenience store. Torn down for a church parking lot.

On the ride home, we rode Hwy 7 south, 28 east and the Talimena Drive, as well as several other nice roads. If you haven't been to Arkansas/Missouri you need to get on your bike and go. It's relatively close, has great roads and the friendly people want you there.

 

[JMZ]