Arkansas

[ajayhawkfan]

I could not take it any more so I left the office early to ride. I headed south and ended up in Arkansas. I'm staying the night in a fancy place on the universty od ark campus. The room was cheap because it is the size od a walk in closet. As far as m concerned it is fine.

I think I'll contune south towards Hot Springs tomorrow. After that.....?

[safiri]

Rubber side down and enjoy the scenery.

Spur of the moment trips are often the best. As are journeys with no destination. Life is a journey, not a destination.

[troy]

Have a great time, Eddie! Make sure you hit Hwy 23 between 16 and at least 215. The "Pig Tail Trail". Then take 215 E to the Oark Store & Cafe. It's a dump, but it's CLASSIC motorcycle experience stuff. Hwy 21 is great fun too -- between 16 and Clarksville is the "town" Ozone. The Ozone Burger Barn is a red shed along the hwy--good greasy burger & fries.

Horsehead Lake off 164 is a little NW of Clarksville--beautiful with nice camping spots.

Every road is good down there. Gravel, pavement. All of it.

[ajayhawkfan]

I did gravel from fayetville to Oark where I had lunch. From Oark I went se on gravel until I picked up scenic 7, 60 miles north of Hot Springs. I'm now in hot springs. I have neve been here before. It is pretty cool. It is a Harley Mecca.

Tomorrow I'm exploring the town then heading ne.

[phil denk]

Man, I have got to get one of these GS Beemers. Apparently, just owning one causes you to drive off to the ends of the earth... Best of luck Eddie, we'll be looking forward to some photos on this one ! (Hope you ordered the catfish at Oark, it was awesome!!)

[katbeanz]

I'd wondered what you were up to this weekend, Eddie. I was in Arkansas last weekend for the SLAP rally, rode friday with Njoytheride from Ozark AR to brunch at Oark and on to points east. Saturday, I led a group of six across fly gap to lunch at Oark. I had coconut pie at lunch and buttermilk pie at the Oark catered dinner that night.
Our group was from KC, Shawnee, Wichita, Nevada, Springfield, Dallas and a guy from Missisippi who'd been riding the TAT we abducted at Turner Bend.

[safiri]

So driving through Tipton, MO (at least I think that was the place) about 3pm today, I spot Eddie's GS parked in front of a burger joint ("5 on 50"??). Quick left turn by the driver, Troy, and we walk up to greet him as he finished his cold drink. Eddie was a bit surprised.

The HD couple that pulled up later didn't know whether to stare at Eddie gearing up (they were in t-shirts, Eddie was in full BMW gear) or at a trailer full of orange KTM dirt bikes behind Troy's truck.

Eddie outlined his week of travels, and it sounded like a great trip.

BTW, Eddie, I enjoyed watching your "track stands" at those stop lights in Sedalia. Pretty darn balanced!

[ajayhawkfan]

So driving through Tipton, MO (at least I think that was the place) about 3pm today, I spot Eddie's GS parked in front of a burger joint ("5 on 50"??). Quick left turn by the driver, Troy, and we walk up to greet him as he finished his cold drink. Eddie was a bit surprised.

The HD couple that pulled up later didn't know whether to stare at Eddie gearing up (they were in t-shirts, Eddie was in full BMW gear) or at a trailer full of orange KTM dirt bikes behind Troy's truck.

Eddie outlined his week of travels, and it sounded like a great trip.

BTW, Eddie, I enjoyed watching your "track stands" at those stop lights in Sedalia. Pretty darn balanced!

Running across the four of you was quite a surprise. I'm glad you stopped.

It sounds like you had a great trip yourself. I hope you will share some of your pictures.

I did a loop of about 1300 + miles. I rode the spectrum from single track to 4 lane highways. I like the lower side much more than the higher.

Turner's Mill, along the 11 Point River was my favorite place to visit. Here is all that is left of the mill:


I'll add more later. I had a ball!

[ajayhawkfan]

According to my GPSr:
1377 miles
33 hours 25 minutes of moving time
36.2 average MPH

Thursday morning decided I was going to go riding so I loaded up my GPS with the largest springs and many old mills in Southern MO and Northern Arkansas. I had no exact route but I did want to visit Hot Springs Arkansas because I had never been there before.

I left KC a little after noon on Thursday and headed South. Took the slab all the way to Fayetteville, Arkansas for the night. My had lush accommodations the first night. Only $10 more than the place I was planning on staying. I had a tiny room but the location was great.



The next day I rode from Fayetteville to Hot Springs:







I even took some single track on my pig:



Overlooking Hot Springs:



From Hot Spring I went NE towards Mammoth Springs ended up in West Plains, MO:



First old mill I came across in Mountain View, Arkansas:



I went south from West Planes towards Mammoths Springs stopping at Grand Gulf State Park, locally called the "Little Grand Canyon". This park is worth visiting!





Grand Gulf is a collapsed cave The water seeps into underground rivers and exits at Mammoth Springs, 7 miles away:



Mammoth Springs starts the Spring River. This water is all from the sping:



From here I turned NE.

What is left of Boze Mill:



Turners Mill:



Some great roads that I had all to myself:



Big Springs, MO, the largest in MO and one of the largest in the US:



In a small town.



Round Spring, 17th largest in MO



I stayed the night in Salem, MO.

One of the great forest services roads ended up at a gate. I'm glad it was not locked and went through.



I had to open up another gate at the landowners house and ride down his driveway to get back on a public road. I did not see anyone but did not wait around.

Dillard Mill:



RR to Fort Lenard Wood. This spur is how the Fort is supplied.



From Fort Wood I slabbed it home.

If anyone is interested in more pictures or were they were taken here you can check here. http://picasaweb.google.com/ajayhawkfan ... eekend2010#