Eureka Springs in 2 days w/pics!!

[ekms377]

OK....first I have to say to take it easy on me as this is my very first ride report. A few friends of mine from work and myself decided to make a road trip in July. We knew it was going to be hot so we decided to go North. After hearing and researching about the roads near TX, we decided on a trip to the Ozarks. I remember reading a ride report on TWT by a female who said the road south of St. Paul was like Arkansas' Devils Backbone or something like that. So, after reading that over a year ago, I have always wanted to see that road. I coaxed them into going that direction and Eureka Springs became our final destination. Thanks to another TWT report, we stayed at the Travelers Inn for $44 a night. There are a bunch of motels up there so I don't think finding a room would have been a problem but it was a safe state of mind knowing there was a room waiting for us being we were going to arrive late.

OK....so we meet at the truck stop here by house at 170 by Cabela's, eat a bit a MickeyDs and top off the scoots.....we off by 7:06am.....cool.

Here is the first stop at Bonham......why so quick...well.....one of my friend has a VMax with like 130K miles on it.....and it can really only go a bit over 100 miles before the reserve kicks on......more on that dilemma later.

Who says the rear rack on the FJR can't hold anything??

The infamous VMax....he paints it something different every year just about. Pick a winner, Mark!!!

Here is one of my very first "moving" shots ever....on 82.

Next stop....Antlers,OK. I wanted to take some shots going through Antlers but we didn't make many stops besides gas. We were trying to make this 500miles a day trip work in all daylight hours. Also, the guy inside the gas station spooked us by telling us the week before a guy on a m/c hit a deer and laid it down and then the 18-wheeler ran him over....we didn't need to hear that.

Cool bridge on 271....crossing the Kiamichi River.

Our next stop brought us to Talihina,OK. Our leader on the VMax rides by every gas station in town hoping to hit the last one on the way out. Come to find out that this one is not a gas station.....it's a small casino for old folks.....the store is just a "front". We waited here as Brad (VMax) goes back for gas.

When was the last time you saw this???

Extended Network already???

Cool....

We made it......to Hwy 1 that is. The last time I was here was back in 1992 on my 1987 Interceptor 700. I don't remember the info center being there.

At the start of Hwy 1...

Going up......

The first lookout point....still on the way up....

Bikes....

OK....knowing that probably 50% of their traffic is on 2 wheels......Why in the world would you cut the grass by the edge and leave the clippings on the road???? There was a bunch of this to be found along the way.

Still going up...

A few riding shots.....ok.....don't give me crap about my glove being in some of the shots. It (my glove) is worn out and flaps around in the wind.....no...I didn't realize this until later.....

A lookout point near the center of the byway....

A cool shot of the FJR.....

Curves ahead...

Old train at the Queen Wilamena Lodge....

The lodge...

Our first lunch stop was in Mena,AR. We had to go South a bit on 71 to hit a recommended catfish place.....The Fish Net.

Yes....that is a gravel parking lot......uphill at that.

From our table...

88 is called Mena St at the main light......

Next stop...Waldron,AR at the Jif-E Mart.

Mark.........

Brad....

Next bridge......if you like bridges...

Our next stop wasn't planned. We were friggin' hot.....so we decided to pull over in the shade to take a break and gulp down some high quality H2O.......and also to phone home to let our loved ones know we were OK.

We did stop in stop in Huntsville for our last gas before Eureka Springs. No photo op there but let me tell you about the road I came to see. Hwy 23....between Cass and St Paul.....all I can say is WOW. This is one section you need to hit when in AR. Can you say "hairpins"? I was afraid to take pictures on that section of road. The road from Huntsville to ES was great. Flatter then what we were on previous and they had a good flow. The sun was setting which made it hard to see plus there were many driveways on this section......kinda scary at points. Brad and I went ahead of Jorge and Mark and ran our own pace.....it was cool......then bam.......Eureka!!!! It was starting to get dark here......trees everywhere.

First thing we thought was ......what a cool little town.......a big tourist attraction and vacation spot. We saw most of the town the next morning on our way out.......if I do this trip again....it will have more stops so I will have more time to ck out all the cool towns and such. We ck'd in.....got to our room....which was down back about 100+ yds. We unpacked and jumped in the pool......nothing ever felt soooo good. We did go have a few brewskies.......then to bed......we had allot of riding ahead of us.....

I didn't get to take as many cool as I wanted.....some of you have way cooler reports. PM me some pointers.......cheers!

Day 2 is at the bottom of this thread......scroll down!!!!....

 

[klb1122]

Good read so far. Looking forward to Day 2.

 

[Boxercup Dave]

Hey cool pics from the ride. Wife and I want to do an AR trip but waiting for cooler weather.

 

[Hotboot]

Keep going, you just got to the good roads. I've been tempted to sleep on the Talamina at a rest stop, nice and cool up there.

 

[ekms377]

Discovered a few things about the FJR on the ride....

1. I need a seat or a gel cover.
2. Puts off some serious heat at highways speeds in the afternoon.
3. May need some bar risers.

Other than that....the bike was incredible. Rear shock may be tending to soon but we'll see.

Day 2.....soon.

 

[jhansen]

Keep the pics coming. If this is your first RR, you are doing just fine, thank you very much.

 

[Cagiva 549]

The hardest part is passing all those cool dirt roads and realizing your on the wrong bike . SEYA

 

[10-95]

Keep it coming. I'm having to live vicariously through you and other travelers right now.

 

[Michelle]

 

[ekms377]

The hardest part is passing all those cool dirt roads and realizing your on the wrong bike . SEYA

No kidding....I really didn't see any dual sporters until Sat but I did see a ton of DS possibilities everywhere up there. You could literally ride off road for days in NW Ark and get lost but have fun doing it. I bet everyone and their brother own an ATV or dirtbike of some sort.

 

[Texason]

I see at least one road I need to hit next time I go that way again. Good jorb!

 

[Squidward]

Looks like fun, man. Making me jones for a rig better suited to touring.

 

[igo-wfo]

I bet everyone and their brother own an ATV or dirtbike of some sort.

They do... and they LOVE to come flying out of their driveway without looking to see if anybody is coming around the curve way out in the sticks.

We spent 3 days riding around ES and we had the locals in that part of the state do that several times a day.

What was weird was that they seemed to ride normal during the morning and only in the afternoon did the duuh-huuhh factor seem to increase.

The drivers did the samething, in the morning, they stay in their lane, in the afternoon, over the double yellows into our lane constantly..

 

[Squidward]

They do... and they LOVE to come flying out of their driveway without looking to see if anybody is coming around the curve way out in the sticks.

We spent 3 days riding around ES and we had the locals in that part of the state do that several times a day.

What was weird was that they seemed to ride normal during the morning and only in the afternoon did the duuh-huuhh factor seem to increase.

The drivers did the samething, in the morning, they stay in their lane, in the afternoon, over the double yellows into our lane constantly..

Lunch beers.

 

[ekms377]

Ok...looks like I'll try and finish this...should be short. Now let me say that we did cover too many miles in 2 days leaving us short of time to sight see and such. We never imagined Eureka Springs to be such a cool place. I will make it a point to spend at least one whole day next there next time riding around and such.

So, our plan was to leave at 7am but we all knew that wasn't going to happen...at least for 2 of us....LOL. However, 8am wasn't a bad time to leave being the shape we were in was less than kosher.

The Travelers Inn. Weddings performed?? Hmmm??

A view from our room/building looking back up to the office and the main drag through town. They had a fire pit set up with fresh wood and everything. Cool motel. Each building had their own coffee and the breakfast was at the main office.

Here is our bikes in front of the rooms. We actually saw a deer pop out of the woods beside our building but couldn't get a picture fast enough.

Finally, back on the road. I needed an aspirin for at least the first hour of riding but it wore off.

This was a cool shot of a barn house......literally.

More countryside....

Where were you at Mark??

Here is where we stopped for a bit. Actually Mark missed the 74 turn off but no biggie, 16 went to the same place.

A couple of shots at that intersection.....

We finally hit 7. What I forgot to mention is that Brad didn't fill up in Eureka....he had 38 on the odo when we left that morning. We never imagined there wouldn't be any stops between Eureka and Dover....well there was one but it was only a few miles from Dover. Brad set a new record on a tank that day......but he did coast down a few of the hills. I didn't fill up either and I set a record as well.....I didn't hit reserve until 243 miles.....pretty good I though for the FJR.

Here is a lookout on 7....going right to left....

We did stop in Russellville for a break and to refill on refreshments......no photo ops......more like a main town as it was crowded.....a bunch of bikers!!!!

Next stop......Hot Springs.....another cool place that I need to revisit.

Here is a few of the bath houses and the Arlington hotel.....

It was already 2pm and had a ways to go on our original route. We decided to stay on 7 to I-30 and slab it home. I wish I would have taken a few shots on the way home being that we stopped for water and to cool off more than gas. We were very exhausted.

Here are a few shots of Hot Springs looking down the street/sidewalk....

Well....that's about it......I may get to post up a few pics from the other guys but they didn't take hardly any at all.

All in all.....we were gone for 38 hours....with 26 of those hours being on the road. A total of 1040 miles!!

Thanks for reading.......Cya!!!

 

[Hotboot]

Good job man, thanks for sharing with those who are stuck in the flat lands. FJR's rule.

 

[Black Eye]

Nice write up Eric and excellent photos. I'll have to tag along on your next trip. My last trip was ridden also over two days - 1044miles. Gotta love Arkansas!

That gas stop there in Antlers must be popular among cyclist. We stopped at that same station. Its the perfect distance for your first need to fill the tank. Did you see this dog while at the gas station or any logging trucks on the roads?

 

[ekms377]

Dude....there were logging trucks everywhere near Antlers!!