Pronounced (Nack-a-tish) this little southern jewel, is a fantastic place for a quick motorcycle adventure with friends.
This was a spur-of-the-moment trip for me. I heard that a bunch of the Dallas gang was making a quick trip to Natchitoches, LA, and I knew I had to snake my way in if possible. I started reaching out and Tom was generous enough to allow and Bob to crash their little Louisiana party.
Natchitoches is one of my favorite little getaway destinations. The little town has a great feel to it with a downtown that is made for exploring. The food, the scenery, and the history all are a reason to visit. Here is a quick ride report and video from the weekend. This trip took place in Mid November of 2022. We visited this area for the first time back in 2009.
I woke up on Thursday morning, loaded up the Kawasaki, and hit the road. The sky was clear and the temperature was a comfortable 60 degrees. The perfect weather for a road trip. Today I would be taking the long way to Hot Springs village where I would be spending the night, before heading to Louisiana the following day with Bob. It is always nice staying at Bob’s lakehouse. I took off from Bella Vista and made my way down to Hot Springs via the amazing backroads here in Arkansas. I still can’t believe that I live in this motorcycle wonderland.
The weather was amazing and the riding was not too bad as well. Great roads, little traffic, and more twists and turns than any one rider would ever want. It was a fantastic start to the trip. I rolled into Hot Springs around 3pm. I jumped in the shower and then enjoyed dinner with Bob and Tom. We had a few adult beverages and enjoyed our time together.
We woke up Friday morning to rain. This would be the weekend theme, along with much cooler temps. We had breakfast and hit the road. The rain stopped as we left the fringe of Little Rock and we got to ride for most of the day in dry conditions. We hit AR7 and made our way south. We did stop in Junction City, LA for some of the best BBQs I have eaten in a while. McGraw BBQ was out of this world! Take a minute and stop by when riding through Junction City, LA.
With our bellies full, we headed out for the short 2-hour ride into town. Unfortunately, the weather Gods were not with us. We finished the last hour in a downpour. The Dallas group had to battle the rain all afternoon. Don’t miss the video as you can see how wet some of them got.
We took a shower and warmed up while waiting for the pizza to arrive. The weather was awful and no one wanted to get back on the bikes for dinner. We really appreciated the delivery driver at Pizza Hut. She was fun and kept the pizza hot. We ended the night looking at the forecast. Tomorrow we ride, but we will ride in the cold!
We woke up Saturday to clear skies and frigid cold temps. It was 38 as we were loading our bikes up for the day. We had a little issue as James’s BMW did not want to start. It took a few minutes (45 or so) but we eventually got on the road.
Tom had a great route planned and the riding was as good as one could expect in LA. It stayed cold and never really warmed up much. At the halfway point, Bob and I decided to jump out and head back into town. Bob had never been to Natchitoches and I wanted to show him around some. Also, there was a large bowl of hot gumbo waiting for us. After a quick lunch, which was fantastic by the way, we made our way through the history of town, before going back to the hotel, to warm up and watch some football.
The gang rolled into the hotel a few hours later. Now the big issue for the night, was where we were going to eat and how were we going to get there. We all wanted to go downtown, but none of us wanted to get back in gear and freeze our butts off riding to dinner. We decided to call an Uber and found out quickly that the little town of Natchitoches did not have a large number of drivers. In fact, I don’t think they had any. Some of us decided that the IHOP in the parking lot of the hotel would work for dinner. The rest of the group found their way downtown with the help of some of Tom’s family that lives in the area. I am sure their dinner was better than ours, but it was all good. No one got cold and everyone got to eat. We finished the evening exchanging stories and eating some ice cream for dessert.
Sunday rolled around and the temps were still hovering around 36-38 degrees. I had a long 460 miles to get home and the forecast at home was much colder than it was to start the day. I was going to stay at the lakehouse on the way back but decided to change plans as snow was in the forecast for the following Monday. Not good for riding. The ride home was long and chilly but made it home safely with just over 1200 miles logged for the journey. It was a great trip and it was nice catching up with everyone. I can’t wait to go back. Hopefully, the wetaher will be just a tad warmer next time.
To see all of the pictures from this trip: Click Here
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