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Arkansas Mid-October 2015

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New Braunfels
First Name
Philip
My wife and I take annual trips to Arkansas to get in some trout fishing and meet friends. This year, we decided to ride the trip from Portland, TX to Bull Shoals, AR. Here is the trip in some pictures.

Day 1: Tuesday, October 13th
We got a late start. Both of us had to work so we didn't leave until after 5pm. This leg of the trip was just from Portland to Anderson, TX. We only had an hour or so of daylight. From Port Lavaca to Anderson was in the dark so no pictures. We did stop in Bucees at Wharton. First time I have not had to wait on a pump there. We arrive in Anderson and get ready for the next day.

Day 2: Wednesday, October 14th
We leave Anderson around 8am. The plan for today is to arrive at the Clayon Country Inn outside of Clayton, OK. The route we did went up through Jewett, Palestine, and Paris. This day was supposed to be a relaxing ride through the countryside to save energy for the tougher roads in Arkansas. Mother Nature thought differently and decided to throw an epic heat wave our way. The heat was truly miserable. We stopped in Canton for lunch and everything after that was way too hot. When we arrived in Canton, I check the weather. The high for the day was 96, when the average high was supposed to be 76. 96 shattered the previous record high by 5 degrees. No pictures taken because the heat was miserable, the ride was uncomfortable. I was not in a good mood. Weather forecast predicts more record highs for Thursday.

The Clayton Country Inn is a nice motel with restaurant. If you ever need to stay in the area, I recommend it. The catfish plate was tasty.

Day 3: Thursday October 15th
This picture was taken at the Inn before we left. The plan is to get to Talahina, eat breakfast, then get on the scenic byway.

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We stop in Talihina for gas and breakfast. This will also give the sun some time to rise so that it isn't in our face the whole time going up the byway. I find some non-ethanol gas! This raised the MPGs on this tank from 40 to 43 despite going through the mountains. Breakfast at Pam's Hateful Hussy Diner .

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Time to ride up the Talimena scenic byway. Such a great road! I've been on it a few times, but this was the first for my wife. I think she liked it!

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We stop at the Queen Wilhelmina Lodge to take a break and get some water. Despite the elevation, it is still hot. We chat with a ranger who says the leaves are already starting to fall due to the drought they are going through. I haven't checked the drought conditions in Arkansas, so I assume she meant the entire state. This will turn out to be the opposite condition of what we find in the north.

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The rest of the day, we head north along Highway 7, to 123. One of the best roads in the state. On 123 we see two BMW K bikes going the other way, and have the entire road to ourselves otherwise. What a great road that makes me wish I wasn't on a full dresser.

Eventually we make it to Gaston's resort on the White River right below the dam on Bull Shoals lake. The river is at the highest I have ever seen. I ask if they are running the generators to get power for this heat wave and am told they aren't running them for power. They are running them to get the pool down and have for the past few weeks. My friends from Iowa arrived at the cabin a few minutes before we did. We have no desire to cook anything tonight, so it is off to the restaurant on site.

Lots of motors and bicycles hanging. The decor here is great. The food is great too. I had homemade fried chicken. I didn't take a picture of that, sadly. I was tired and it was much needed calories.

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Day 4: Friday October 16th
The next morning has a little chill to the air. Much needed after the past two days. Sunrise over the White River is always nice. This was taken from the back door of the cabin.

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As mentioned earlier, this was the highest I have ever seen the river. Normally there is about two more feet of wall and then a grassy bank to launch a boat below.

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One of my favorite things about this place is the air strip located by the cabins. I enjoy motorcycling a lot, but would trade it in a heartbeat to be able to fly my own plane. It is popular for a lot of people to fly in here for brunch, fish a bit, then fly back home. One day...

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My buddy brought down his Harley. We decide to go ahead and get some riding in now since the weather forecast is predicting a big cold front to come through tomorrow. We head up to Missouri for a bit and then make our way back to the cabins. We stop at the dam for some photos.

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Day 5, Saturday October 22

Enough of this motorcycling nonsense. That stuff is dangerous. Let's rent a boat and get on the water!

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It was very difficult to fish the bottom with the water moving so quickly. Despite that, on this day. a young man caught his first ever fish.

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We have poor luck overall due to the water. We did very well right below the dam but that is a catch and release area so no fish dinner tonight. We head back to the cabin that evening to watch the Aggies against Alabama.

Day 6: Sunday October 22

We decide to not get a boat today, but will try our luck at shore fishing. Thankfully today we caught some keepers. Obligatory outstretched fish picture.

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Those guys will be going on the pit with some lemon, butter, and salt. Rainbows grill easy and don't require scaling. We catch enough fish for dinner in just over an hour, so then it is time to get back to drinking, football, and board games. Day drinking eventually leads to exploring. We wander to some nature trails and a playground.

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Day 7: Monday October 20

Sad day. It is time to head back home. Today we are riding from Bull Shoals to visit my brother in Dickinson, TX. It is a long ride, but luckily was a decent temperature this time. One final sunrise and then we head out. This morning, the temperature was 39. The bike was covered in frost. Not as much stopping this time as we are going to put down some miles.

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We arrive in Dickinson with enough time to visit a bit before bed. In the morning we will finally head home.

Day 8: Tuesday October 21

We visit with my brother over breakfast and then decide to hit the road. It starts raining. My brother states that it hasn't rained there in five weeks. Oh well, it wouldn't be an adventure if everything went according to plan. The skies clear up outside of Angleton. We stop in Blessing for lunch and then make our way home.

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Great report and pics! We were there at the same time with a group of 26 mostly K bikes, and mostly between Jasper and Oark on 23.:rider:
 
Nice report Phil, looks like y'all enjoyed the journey. :thumb:

Packing the bike right now, gonna head out Tuesday and leave motorcycle tracks all over AR and MO... :rider:
 
I love Arkansas, hope to retire there.

The photos were great!
 
Looks like you had fun despite the weather!

How did the long days in the saddle work out for you guys? Is it something you'd do again?
 
Great trip! Thanks for sharing it :clap:
 
Great Report!

The wife and I were right behind you, we left the house Friday Morning Oct 16 had a late lunch at Pam's hateful hussy, then make our way over the Talimena to Mena for the night.

We took a side road, off 144 up to 271 going into Talihina, marked Indian Hwy, so we skipped Clayton, OK.
 
Thanks guys. We had a great time!

Simmons, You and me both. If you have some money, now may be the time to buy in the Ozarks. It seems to be turning into the retirement spot for a lot of people and the land values are going up. It feels like their version of our Hill Country getting filled with high end retirement homes. I don't think I can convince my wife to actually live in the mountains, so the area around Damascus near the edge could work for us. I personally like the area around Yellville and Flippen because it is not far from any of the great areas.

Looks like you had fun despite the weather!

How did the long days in the saddle work out for you guys? Is it something you'd do again?

Yeah definitely. The saddle was ok. Tracy was fine. Weirdly, I never got a sore butt, but I did get some aches in my inner thighs. Tracy made a comment about spreading legs. I will just leave it at that. :rofl::rider:

With the huge fairing it is definitely more hot due to less air coming in. My black full face helmet is not going to be used on that bike anymore. I am looking at getting a new helmet. Probably 3/4 and definitely not black. We just invested in two Sena SMH5s before this trip, so I am trying to get something that will work on.

We got this bike to turn motorcycling from a "me" hobby into a "we" hobby. I think we are looking at Big Bend in the next month or two. If we can fit it in that is. I love this time of year for the weather, but it tough because we Texans schedule EVERYTHING in October and November. Football season, hunting season, camping, motorcycling, Renaissance Festival, and the holidays. It is tough to find an open weekend, and that is without kids in school.
 
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