AllByteNoBark
Forum Supporter
Finally made it happen. Took off about 1:00 p.m. on the 29th and headed to Arkansas to meet a friend from Iowa to ride for a few days. We work with each other almost daily but it had been way to long since we had got together and rode. I rode up to Rusk and stayed in a cabin at the KOA that is on the Texas Tour for the night. There were some nice areas on the way to Rusk.
And some BIG trees.
And some not as interesting sections, but you have to pay that price to get there.
Home for the night.
Got up and left fairly early on Thursday morning and stopped at a few more tour stops that were close by. Then proceeded to our rental near Jasper, AR. Ended up with a total of 760 miles for the trip up.
Got to the house we rented about 15 minutes after my buddy which was very nice with a nice deck on the back with a view.
We decided to run into Jasper and hit the Low Gap Cafe's new location for dinner. It was good and the pie was great! Yes, I know, seafood in Arkansas? From past experience theirs was always good and it did not disappoint.
Friday we got up to rain, a lot of rain. It rained all day so we sat around on the deck watching the rain and catching up as it had been several years since we had been face-to-face even though we work together almost daily. It was good. Evening sunset brought signs of a better day tomorrow.
The following morning, Saturday the rain had pretty much left the area and once the fog lifted we had a gorgeous day to ride. We ran a loop that ended up being a bit over 350 miles. The roads were as good as I remembered. There was hardly any traffic which surprised me, I think the bikers had been scared of by the possibility of rain.
Foggy morning but cleared up pretty quick. Here the sun has mostly burnt through. Time to go. The BMW said we rode 375 miles today and the Harley reported 390 miles.
We going or what?
Had to stop here as it is a tradition for us.
Lots of tortoises out, we counted 15 on our ride. This one had been blown upside down. I figured he was dead but saw his feet moving on the way by so went back and tipped him right side up.
The first time we rode the area we ended up stopping near this super dinky town to look at a map. That was back before GPS was a thing. The rides from there on were known as the Snowball Run. So of course we need to visit Snowball every time we ride the area.
Stopped to stretch our legs and get a drink in this little park. Not even sure where it was, but the shade was nice.
My buddy had stopped at Carolyn’s RazorBack Ribs in Yellville on a previous trip when I was not along and thought we should eat there. Had the sampler platter which was excellent. I for sure did not leave hungry. Not sure what they call those fries but they we excellent. They had several fry choices and I told the girl waiting on us to just bring me the ones that were best.
On Sunday we got up and again waited for the fog to clear a bit before taking off. Rode up toward the Eureka Springs area and went across the Golden Gate Bridge. My bike showed we ended up with around 350 miles for the day on Sunday.
Did not take a lot of photos, just rode. Stopped here for a drink. Everything is very green in the area.
We hit another little scenic pullout later. As we were leaving there were 10 or 12 side-by-side pulling in which I did not get a photo of. The views were awesome.
We thought it was humorous when we saw this right were we had parked. We didn't write it on there but it does kind of fit.
Another nice little pullout later in the afternoon. I really liked the stone wall guard rail, not sure it would stop much but it was interesting. There was several miles of it.
Lot's of good corners and roads. Tried to capture this corner but not sure I did it justice. This particular road was rougher than most of them we rode. A lot had what appeared to be fresh blacktop.
Got back and stopped at Jasper Pizza for dinner. Really friendly people and good pizza.
Sadly all good thing must come to an end, had to head home on Monday morning. I think he is wondering "are ever going to get gone." Took me 12.5 hours to get home wit ha total of around 700 miles for the day.
Scenic shot on the way out.
Going to miss these signs when I get home.
My friend took the below bird shots around the house we rented. Lots of interesting birds there.
If you have never ridden in Arkansas, you need to go. I'm looking forward to the next trip there. I really love the low traffic and wide variety of options.
That's all.
And some BIG trees.
And some not as interesting sections, but you have to pay that price to get there.
Home for the night.
Got up and left fairly early on Thursday morning and stopped at a few more tour stops that were close by. Then proceeded to our rental near Jasper, AR. Ended up with a total of 760 miles for the trip up.
Got to the house we rented about 15 minutes after my buddy which was very nice with a nice deck on the back with a view.
We decided to run into Jasper and hit the Low Gap Cafe's new location for dinner. It was good and the pie was great! Yes, I know, seafood in Arkansas? From past experience theirs was always good and it did not disappoint.
Friday we got up to rain, a lot of rain. It rained all day so we sat around on the deck watching the rain and catching up as it had been several years since we had been face-to-face even though we work together almost daily. It was good. Evening sunset brought signs of a better day tomorrow.
The following morning, Saturday the rain had pretty much left the area and once the fog lifted we had a gorgeous day to ride. We ran a loop that ended up being a bit over 350 miles. The roads were as good as I remembered. There was hardly any traffic which surprised me, I think the bikers had been scared of by the possibility of rain.
Foggy morning but cleared up pretty quick. Here the sun has mostly burnt through. Time to go. The BMW said we rode 375 miles today and the Harley reported 390 miles.
We going or what?
Had to stop here as it is a tradition for us.
Lots of tortoises out, we counted 15 on our ride. This one had been blown upside down. I figured he was dead but saw his feet moving on the way by so went back and tipped him right side up.
The first time we rode the area we ended up stopping near this super dinky town to look at a map. That was back before GPS was a thing. The rides from there on were known as the Snowball Run. So of course we need to visit Snowball every time we ride the area.
Stopped to stretch our legs and get a drink in this little park. Not even sure where it was, but the shade was nice.
My buddy had stopped at Carolyn’s RazorBack Ribs in Yellville on a previous trip when I was not along and thought we should eat there. Had the sampler platter which was excellent. I for sure did not leave hungry. Not sure what they call those fries but they we excellent. They had several fry choices and I told the girl waiting on us to just bring me the ones that were best.
On Sunday we got up and again waited for the fog to clear a bit before taking off. Rode up toward the Eureka Springs area and went across the Golden Gate Bridge. My bike showed we ended up with around 350 miles for the day on Sunday.
Did not take a lot of photos, just rode. Stopped here for a drink. Everything is very green in the area.
We hit another little scenic pullout later. As we were leaving there were 10 or 12 side-by-side pulling in which I did not get a photo of. The views were awesome.
We thought it was humorous when we saw this right were we had parked. We didn't write it on there but it does kind of fit.
Another nice little pullout later in the afternoon. I really liked the stone wall guard rail, not sure it would stop much but it was interesting. There was several miles of it.
Lot's of good corners and roads. Tried to capture this corner but not sure I did it justice. This particular road was rougher than most of them we rode. A lot had what appeared to be fresh blacktop.
Got back and stopped at Jasper Pizza for dinner. Really friendly people and good pizza.
Sadly all good thing must come to an end, had to head home on Monday morning. I think he is wondering "are ever going to get gone." Took me 12.5 hours to get home wit ha total of around 700 miles for the day.
Scenic shot on the way out.
Going to miss these signs when I get home.
My friend took the below bird shots around the house we rented. Lots of interesting birds there.
If you have never ridden in Arkansas, you need to go. I'm looking forward to the next trip there. I really love the low traffic and wide variety of options.
That's all.