We woke up in Ozark to a very very chilly.. er check that, I mean COLD morning. the temp said 34 when we hit the road. We bundled up and headed towards home. We took a little different route home and it was a good one. We will have to do that again. We got home around 4:30PM. While we were eating in Idabel, Jamie found out that her grand father had passed. When we got home, she packed and got ready to fly out on Tuesday morning. A sad end to the trip. We had a great trip and we are a little sad that it will not be until the spring of next year before we head back to the great roads of Arkansas. I hope you like the pictures. You can see all of the pictures here: Jerry & Jamie Pics Richard & Jennifer Pics Jackie & Alta Pics Richard Swim’s Blog
We woke up to chilly temps, but the forecast was for a beautiful day. We headed over to Pancakes for a quick Breakfast before heading out to do a MO-AR ride.
Richard got to keep his bike on the front porch as the drive was pretty slanted for parking.
We were also excited as Paul was coming up from his home outside Fayettville to join us on some fun roads. We have missed Paul since he left the Dallas area. We love riding with him.
Paul and Jackie catching up on old times.
Paul’s beautiful beemer
We had a good sized group today. Jamie & I were on the Trophy, Jackie was on the BMW 1200RT, Paul was on his beautiful old school BMW RT, Richard & Jennifer were on the ZZR, Richard Swim had his K75s. We had two LT’s in the group. Larry & Lynda arrived late Friday night to join the adventure and David was along for the ride as well.
I loved the sun shining down on us. Jamie took this from behind while riding.
The pace was a little quick at times. hehehe
We headed out of Eureka Springs into MO, enjoying some of the fun, fast and roller coaster type roads. We were headed for Bull Shoals and a little trip across the lake on the ferry. It was going to be a great day. We stopped and took some pictures along the way.
Smiling faces on a chilly morning.
where in the hell is Jerry going??
Things were going pretty well, until we had a little mishap. The group was making a turn and the entire group almost missed it. Well the bad news was one bike did not make it. Larry & Lynda were cruising along, when the group turned, they got on the brakes, to make the turn, but the bad news was the gravel in the road. Their LT, hit the ground. This is never a good thing and today was not different. Lynda hurt here foot, so we needed to get emergency services involved. The final results was a broken bone on her foot and a trip to Harrison in the ambulance. They gave her some meds and put a boot on her foot and she was ready to go. Well not really, but she was a trooper. Larry took her back to the hotel. It could have been worse, but they were wearing all of the gear and that saved a bunch of skin and probably Larry’s ugly mug, (he can’t afford to get uglier… hehehe) as his helmet took a beating. ATGATT works!
The LT did pretty well. Just a few things broke during the fall.
Get better soon Lynda!
Not the kind of ride Lynda was looking forward to.
Richard loves the police!
Harrison hospital ER.. ( I had to pee really bad here, thought you all would love to know that. This is an inside joke.. sorry for all of those that were not there.
We all rode into Harrison to make sure that Larry & Lynda were taken care of. They said they were good and for us to make the best of the day. We decided to alter the route and head to Jasper. We were getting hungry and decided to do the Cliff House Inn for lunch.
The Cliff House Inn
Jamie hanging out at the Inn.
No one knows what Richard Swim was doing. hehehe
Richard & Jennifer were all smiles
I love my baby’s smile
Jennifer was trying her hand at taking pictures at people behind them. She found out that it is much harder than it looks. She took about 100 pictures (maybe a slight exaggeration) and I think 10 could be used. Here are a few of those.
Jamie and I actually getting into a picture instead of taking them.
Jamie taking picture of Jennifer taking pictures. whew.. say that ten times fast. Hey!! were down here in the lower left corner! Hey, really we are down there.
We finished eating lunch and decided we had better get back as it was going to get dark soon. We were all doing fine until we all made a turn, actually we all did not make the turn. I realized that Dave was not behind us, so we circled back. We waited a few minutes and no sign of Dave. Richard Swim joined us and we decided that we would head back up 74 to see if he had some issues. We made it back to Jasper, but still no sign of him. We checked our voice mail, he had called and said he missed the turn, but all things were good and he would see us back at the hotel. The good news was we actaully did AR 74 THREE times, but the bad news was we rolled into Eureka Springs after dark. Those roads are not the kind of roads you want to ride at night. Too many critters looking to get you. It was a strange day and I have to be honest not one of my favorites. I feel bad for Larry and Lynda as I know she was not feeling well and had to ride back to Dallas the next day. I was a tad stressed as I hate riding at night on roads that are that twisty. I was a mess by the time we headed over to Pizza hut for dinner. The topper for the day… NO beer at Pizza Hut!!! uuugh We ate, went back to the room and went to sleep. Tomorrow would be a better day!
We got some pictures here while waiting for David. Jamie got this blurry pic of an Elk as we rode by.
The alarm went off at 6:45AM. Jamie turned on the TV and we watched as the pretty girl on the weather channel, said that the current temperature was around 38 degrees this fine morning. We were excited about the day and this little bit of information was not going to dampen our spirits. We bundled up in our cold weather gear and was ready to head out on time. We actually were doing this stretch of the trip by ourselves as the rest of the guys were heading out from the east part of the metroplex.
Jamie and I took a quick picture and loaded up to start our journey. It was a little chilly, but nothing we could not deal with. We made it in pretty good time as we rolled into Nancy’s Cafe in Paris right around 9:45AM. Jackie & Alta, Richard & Jennifer and Paul Goode were already there. By the time we sat down and almost ready to order, Richard Swim and David Jackson rolled in too join the breakfast party. Breakfast was good and we all had a great time, warming up and eating. Not a bad way to start the day.
Jamie and I are all smiles ready to hit the road.
Alta looks like she tasted something funny.
Jackie & Richard are all smiles
Paul looking at Richard, looks a little baffled.
notice the bright spot on the pretty blue bike.. pretty hehehe.
The day warmed up, as we made our way towards Eureka Springs. We stopped in Broken Bow and fueled up. This is where we saw the “masked man”. He looked like he just walked out of some old school wrestling match. His bike / car was pretty cool. We decided to bypass the Talimena Parkway as we had a good 400 mile day and we kinda got a late start after our long winded breakfast. We stopped at Wendy’s in Mena for a quick snack. We made it up to Eureka Springs around 5:30PM. The day had warmed up nicely and everyone seemed to be smiling when we arrived. We stayed at the Edelweiss Inn. The strange part was we were given the same room that we stayed in when we had our little “get off” up there a couple of years ago. We joked that we hoped that this trip ended better for us. We all laughed, but it was a strange vibe moving our things into the room.
You gotta love the mask.
Jamie snapping away some pics at the guys behind us.
The colors ready to change on 259
We all took showers and headed off to dinner. After a nice meal, we walked across the road and finished the night off with some peach cobbler. Not a bad way to end the day. I want to take a moment and welcome our new addition to the group. Richard & Jennifer joined us on this trip and we were glad to have them along. It was Jennifer’s first real ride and she hung in there like a trooper. I will say that she was eyeing Jamie’s airhawk seat cushion like a lion looks at steak by the end of the day, but all and all she did fantastic! We hope that we did not scare them off for future trips. They were a great addition.
Our Arkansas trip was a great one. I did get a ticket but it was my fault and it could have been much worse. the roads were terrific! I have said it before and I will say it again, Arkansas has some of the best roads on the planet.
We did more sport than touring but it was all good. I want to go back !
This trip would not have been nearly as much fun if the guys had not been there. Thank you to Jackie, Rob and Herman for making it another successful and fun trip. We had some new friends along for ths ride and Larry & Lynda were a joy to have around. Hopefully they will be joining us on future rides. Our friends make these trips special memories and we love them for that.
It looks like we will be headed back up there in October, hopefullly to see the colors change and ofcourse to ride those awesome roads one more time before winter sets in.
I have included an index to the ride report, you can see that listed below.
Day 2 Eureka Springs – Bull Shoals and Missouri roads. (233M)
Last night my phone rang as I was just about to turn in. It was Larry. I have never met him, but I posted on the Two Wheeled Only board that we would be in Eureka Springs and if anyone else was up there and wanted to join us or stop by and have a beer, they were welcome. Larry e-mailed me earlier in the week and said they would be staying at our hotel and that he and his wife Lynda would like to join us. Larry rides a BMW 1200LT so he would fit right in with the rest of the beemers in our group. He was calling to say that he would be in later that evening, as they had been caught in the rain.
I woke up Saturday morning ready to go explore some of the Northern Arkansas and Missouri roads. I noticed that Larry’s BMW was in the parking lot, so they must have made it in late last night. I gave them a call and told them we were headed over to Pancakes for breakfast. It is a nice small place right across the street from the INN. The B-fast buffet is good and the coffee is great so it works out well. We walked over and were joined later by Linda & Larry. We introduced ourselves and it all seemed right. Larry and his wife were going to fit in nicely.
The bikes all ready for a great Saturday
The route took us thru the Northern Arkansas landscape, over to Bull Shoals where we would wait and take a ferry ride into Missouri. I had planned this ferry crossing a number of times I the past, but for many reasons had never pulled it off. Today we were going to do it and I was excited. If anyone wants to routes that we took, I will attach them to this ride report. We had a very nice ride in the morning. The Arkansas country side is beautiful and the temperature was very pleasant. It was made for riding. I am always amazed at how good the pavement is in Arkansas. The roads are like racetracks. It is very nice. We jump onto a couple of country roads, which were very narrow but beautiful. It is so cool riding out in the middle of nowhere. The rest of the world seems miles away. We reached the ferry and had to wait about 25 minutes for it to come and get us. I have to say it was very cool. Yes I know I am easily amused. Hehehe.
I was pretty excited about the Ferry Crossing
The gang all lined up waiting for the ferry
Jackie looks excited as well.
Larry and his big LT waiting to load up
Unloading the ferry on our side as we wait to load
The gang all loaded up
Lynda enjoying the trip, I got the best side of Larry as well.
Trophy Art ?
Jackie taking my picture as I take his.
The group on the other side waiting for us to unload.
After the ferry ride, we rode a little and decided that we needed to get some fuel and eat. It seems like on these trips, all we do is ride, eat, sleep and repeat! Not a bad gig if I do say so myself. We headed into Kirbyville and ate at a little place called Danna’s. The food was good the service great and it was a very nice place to stop. We were about 10 miles outside of Branson and that was as close as we wanted to get. The traffic around the area was really light and very nice.
Danna’s BBQ.
BBQ Diva, the staff was so friendly
Rob enjoying his lunch
Rob praying to the BBQ God! Jackie and Herman look happy.
Rob did not get enough of the leaning while riding so he is practicing.
We rode some wonderful roads after lunch, nice and twisty and a few had some nice elevation changes. I really missed having Jamie around on the ride. I miss the fun we have and the way that she gets some great pictures. It is hard to snap away when you are riding hard and having some fun. We stopped at some lake, I don’t remember the name. We took it easy heading back to the Springs. Just made a few stops and was back in the room around 4PM.
Rob’s GT looking good getting some shade at the lake
The group getting some rest by the lake
The Trophy hanging out and enjoying the day
We got back and took it easy, trying to cool off. We showered and headed over to the local Pizza Hut. I wanted to get back to the INN to catch the UNM Lobo football game later that evening. We enjoyed our dinner, had some more cobbler and headed back to the room. We chatted bikes and watched the game, well I watched as it was not very pretty. However the day was good and the riding was excellent and I also got to do the ferry crossing so life was good.
We stopped at the Dam outside the springs, they banished the Trophy as not to ruin the BMW area of the picture.
We awoke with the knowledge that our trip was coming to an end. We were going to head over to Mt Magazine and then head down towards Mena and then home. I know our bikes can make this little jaunt without our input. We do this route on a regular basis. It is a good way to end the trip.
We rolled into Plano and the garage around 7:00PM. I was hot and my BUTT was killing me! That corbin seat, creates a few hot spots and I was hurting by the end of this trip.2368 miles logged it was a great trip. I will write more of a summary sometime tomorrow. You all are probably ready for this report to end. Hehehe
We got up and started to move pretty early as we knew that this day would be our longest of the trip. We would be doing 550+ miles. This is a long day for me and Jamie. I have never been one of those guys who could do the Iron Butt thing. I love riding, but I remember what my father told me years ago. He said if you ride to the point of non enjoyment you have rode too long. I have to agree 300-400 miles is a good day for us.
We shot down 64 in TN, passing thru great places like Lynchburg the home of jack Daniels) Lawrenceburg the place that Davey Crockett called home. I love traveling the back roads and seeing small town America. It sure beats the interstate.
Well it was a long hot day and I got bored a few times, so I took some shots of the boys going down the road.
We headed into Memphis and had to jump on I-40 to get out of that area as soon as possible. We did take some time to stop and get some Memphis BBQ. After that we slabbed thru Memphis and headed off towards Arkansas.
We could have cooked up this thing that was lodged into the bike when we stopped for lunch.
The place that the Memphis Tigers play basketball, reminds me of the Luxor in Vegas.
We were going to take the side highways into Clarksville, but the day was going away faster than we had anticipated. So we decided to do the I-40 shuffle to Clarksville. We had called my brother Vern, while eating in Dallas and he went online and got us 3 rooms in the Super 8 in Clarksville so we were all set. It was hot and we wanted to get off the bikes. I-40 sucks! The truck traffic was awful. Non stop hustle and bustle and just crazy. Just another reason I avoid the super slab whenever possible.
We pulled into Plummerville about 60 miles from our destination and Rob realized that he had a flat tire…doh! We were in a gas station, so we moved the GT to the Air pump and began to look for the hole. We did not find a nail, but did find a good size hole. We pulled out the patch kit and then aired the GT up. We were back in on the road in 20 minutes. It was starting to get dark, so we headed out. We made it to Clarksville in record time. We walked over to the KFC and had dinner then took showers. Jamie and I wanted to check out the 24 hour XXX place next door to the hotel, but we were too tired. Maybe next time.
We woke up to the strange silence. It was not raining and the sun was actually trying to come out. Today would be a great day!
We broke camp and had breakfast. We were ready to hit the road, ready to attack a few good roads before heading back west across TN.
This bike was unloaded as we were packing up. Gotta get the Trophy painted in that scheme.
Ray was taking our picture as we loaded up to leave.
Jackie had to run out of the mud that morning. Got his RT some GS time
We stopped at Fontana Dam on the way. It was a nice place. The skies looked like it could rain but it only sputtered some. The riding was great.
The roads are wonderful and twisty! The tarmac is top notch. We did not take enough pictures as we were too busy riding. We did take Wayah Road and that was a visual treat. The pavement was not the best, but it was scenic. It started to rain while we were on it, so we just motored ahead. Thanks to Scott for pointing that road out to us. We did a good high speed pass of the Skyway. No one was on the roads, and there were a few times, that we were 30-40 over the recommended posted MPH. We did not see one LEO all day on those roads.
Jamie takes some great shots from the pillion seat.
Rob caught Jackie and I setting our timers
We got this wet damp picture out of it. The overlook was fogged in.
A guy on a triumph Sprint rode up behind us and followed us into Tellico Plains. We stopped at the same place to eat and he said he had a ball following us as we were having some fun. Jackie called it the speedway instead of the skyway hehehe. Good fun and great roads..
The diner in Tellico Plains served good food. We chatted with some guys and girls on bikes and enjoyed our lunch. The great riding was behind us now. We would head as far east as we could before it got dark. It was a sad moment, knowing the trip was starting to come to an end.
We stayed in the small town of Manchester TN that evening. Tomorrow we still had 300 Miles to Memphis and a couple hundred more to Clarksville AR, it would be a long day.
The next day we woke up to thick humid air. You could almost cut it with a knife. Jamie had a great idea, so we decided to break camp and spend a couple of days at the Deals Gap resort. That way we were closer to the roads that we wanted to ride. We broke camp and were thinking about where we were going to eat. Jackie and Rob walked over to the little store to grab some coffee. They came back with the news that the store was out of GAS. I thought they were joking. The problem was they were telling the truth. We would have to go 28 miles to get some fuel. I knew I was close to being out. The good news was TWO opened for breakfast so we did not have to go anywhere to get some grub. We were all pretty hungry since there was not a dinner the evening before. Jackie made me laugh out loud when I asked him if he was hungry. His reply was something like “I could eat the Ass out of a rat or something like that” It was funny, guess you had to be there. We ate breakfast and met some very nice people from Florida. We talked bikes and cities and then parted ways.
It came out of the fog. A large figure..sporting riding boots
We headed down the rode and we made it the 28 miles for gas. I put 6.2 gallons into the Trophy it holds 6.5 gallons. The roads were great and the excitement was building as we approached the GAP. The scenery in that part of the country is awesome!
We pulled onto US 129 and headed up to the Dragon. We stopped to take pictures at Fugitive Dam (this is the dam that Harrison Ford jumped from in the movie the Fugitive) this is the last stop before the roads get really fun. Whoo hoo..
Jackie Trying to hide
We made our way up this beautiful road to ride into motorcycle mecca. The place was full of bikes and a few LEO’s as well. We knew the LEO factor would be heavier since we were there last, but it was all good. They were only writing tickets for anything 15mph or over. Hell on those roads that is doing something. We set up camp and then walked over for lunch. We then jumped on the Dragon and rode the Gap a couple of times. We had no incidents and did not get passed so life was good.
This was one of the first bikes we saw after arriving. He got bitten by the Dragon.
It was a great day. We hung out by the fire and just enjoyed the evening. Life is good!
