TARA DFW North June 2022 Happenings

[tperk314]

Sorry guys for taking so long, but I am finally getting the June thread up and running! Since I was out of town last week...we will have 1st Tuesday this week on June 14...7PM at Boomer Jack's in Grapevine (like always). Also (like always) your family and friends are welcome! Good food, cold drinks, and cool bikers...what more could you ask for a summer night out?

{I may just invite the 3rd Tuesday riders to join us also, but not the 4th Tuesday bunch...they are trouble-makers}

I haven't done a thorough check of all the calendars for June, so I don't really know of any rides, or events coming up. If you do...post it up here. I did get a note from Michael I telling me about the Adventure Palooza coming up in September...23-25. Be sure to check it out: www.ADVENTUREPALOOZA.com

I hope to see everybody Tuesday night!

(BTW...there are no 3rd or 4th Tuesday riders!)

 

[tperk314]

If anyone is planning a Colorado trip & looking for a good hotel. Check out the Snowshoe Lodge in Creede. It is a family owned & operated motel. Shane & Jennifer moved to Colorado from Vernon, TX a few years ago & took over the motel. They are really nice folks, We have stayed there the past three years. Last year they picked up another lodging property across the street. Shane rents ATVs & UTVs…and knows all the local trails. Jennifer fixes a great daily breakfast that is included with the room. It may be too late in the season to book rooms for a large group, but it doesn’t hurt to check. There are usually one or two rooms available…for a couple riders.

Since they actually run the entire business themselves…if you call in the morning…they are probably out cleaning the rooms & getting them ready for the new guests. Just leave a message, and they will return you call…later in the afternoon. Tell them you know Travis…and they will probably charge you an “annoyance fee” for all the problems we’ve caused them!

 

[tperk314]

Early head’s up. Since 1st Tuesday falls on July 5th…I thought some of you might still be out of town for the holiday, we will have our get-together on July 12th (the 2nd Tues).

 

[tperk314]

Arkansas TAT…Part DEUX!

You may recall that last month I tried to ride the Arkansas segment of the TAT, but came up a little short.

(ride report: https://www.twtex.com/forums/threads/tara-dfw-north-may-2022-happenings.130387/ )

I decided to give it another shot this past week, with my buddy Dave. Since he came all the way from CA…I figured he needed to have lunch at the store in Oark. I mapped out an ADV route from Fort Smith to Oark. After lunch we were going to ride the remainder of the AR TAT to the OK line. We were getting a hotel in Siloam Springs…then on day 3…I mapped a route that would connect the TAT to the GOAT (Green Country Oklahoma Adv Trail). That would take us back to Fort Smith.

Dave rode my WR250 & I rode my AT again. Since the WR isn’t the best long distance machine…we trailered up to Fort Smith on day 1.

Day 2 started out fine. The mapped route to Oark turned out to be a pretty decent ride, probably 30% unpaved, There was only one small section that we didn’t ride. I had mapped a road around a small lake, but we had trouble finding it. The reason was because it was basically just an over grown 2-track. It started out ok, but quickly narrowed down and one of the ruts was washed out. It would be no problem for small bikes, but it was getting too narrow to turn the twin around…if I had to, so we abandoned this short section. We made it into Oark with no more problems, and had a tasty burger.

After lunch we hit the TAT for the 20 miles or so paved road to the next segment of gravel. This was the road that was closed last month. It was still closed. We went on to the alternate road I had used last time…got to the same Y in the road (where I went the wrong way) and this time went the correct way. After about another 5 miles…we came to another gravel road, that I hoped would take us back to the TAT, but it was closed also!

Checking the map…we found a 3rd road that looked promising, but after a couple miles it just turned into a pretty gnarly rock garden. Back out to the pavement and then backtrack all the way to the paved road out of Oark. After lunch we had seen another paved road that went north. We took that road…hoping to circle up north, then west toward Fayetteville, then south on a gravel road that looked like it would intercept the trail. All was going well…we were within a 1/4 mile of intersecting the trail…when we came to a downhill with a clay bog that had been rutted up really bad by a truck, or jeep. It was now getting late, so we abandoned that road…and decided to take pavement to the hotel.

(to be continued)

 

[tperk314]

We got into Siloam Springs about 8pm…and after a gourmet McD dinner…hit the sack. I was really bummed that we got so close to the TAT, but couldn’t connect. I pulled it up on my mapping app in the room. Even if we had made it thru the bog…we wouldn’t have connected. The road ended about 100 yards from the trail, and there was a stream between it and the trail. So I felt a little better about our decision to give it up.

Day 3 started out fine. Siloam Springs is about 15 miles north of the TAT, and is the closest town with hotels. Since Dave had come all the way from CA, and hadn’t been able to ride any of the TAT so far (except for the paved section out of Oark), I had to get him on it. We went back south to where it crossed our road, and we rode the TAT (gravel) about 10 miles east before turning around and heading back toward OK.

Crossing the state line…we connected with the GOAT…and headed south to Fort Smith. This is a pretty good trail. It was at least 50% gravel. One caution…it appears this route intentionally bypasses towns. If you are on a small bike…don’t skip any gas stations. We lucked out and found one in the middle of nowhere…and it had a diner in it. Another great burger for lunch!

We rolled into Fort Smith about 6pm. 410 miles over two days, but I still have not completed the entire AR TAT!
Best guess is about 30 miles unridden. I guess I will have to go to the west side…and ride it east to the road closure. We did not ride all the way to the actual closures. The signs were up 5 miles prior. I’m assuming that either a bridge, or the actual road is washed out. If you were on a small bike…it might be worth your time to go take a look. If it hasn’t rained recently…you might be able to get across.

The GOAT follows a lot of streams. We had 2 or 3 crossings, but the water was low. I’m not sure you could do this section in the spring, after heavy rains. There were many wash-outs across the road. We had to do some minor road repairs to get across a couple (not a problem on small bikes). There were also lots of culverts that had been washed out, and repaired by county crews. This might be a late summer/fall ride…if you are planning it.

Day 4…trailered back to DFW.

 

[tperk314]

Our routes. The entire circle was supposed to be about 330 miles. With all the backtracking, and running up to Siloam Springs…it came out to 410 miles.

The 1st pic is the entire route. The 2nd is from Oark to the OK line. The 3rd is the GOAT south to Fort Smith.

 

[tperk314]

July thread up and running! www.twtex.com/forums/threads/tara-dfw-north-july-2022-happenings.130960/