Disclaimer: Please feel free to zip past the pictures if it gets too boring!!
I never thought this vacation would happen. We actually had it planned for a month ago but due to an illness in the family, we cancelled. Family is way more important than a vacation.
Then on Wednesday night as I was washing some fruit, so we would have healthy snacks to take with us, the sink clogged up. Here we were with the snake under the sink plunging away, it was midnight by the time we got it unclogged. We got up bright and early at 8 a.m., and got on the road at 10 a.m. We stopped just north of Duncan to put on our rain jackets, for the sky was looking a little dark.
We weren't worried, for the rain gods had been smiling on
us lately. We have had dark skies but no rain.
Well no more...the rain gods or maybe the vacay gods were not happy today.
We waited about 45 minutes under an overpass on the Hefner Parkway for the storm to pass. When the storm was gone, we got on our way to Edmond Since we were so close we decided to stop and see our favorite son. After we left his house we had some really interesting clouds in the sky, these looked like mountains but they were actually low clouds.
Poor Bella, Keith had given her a bath last night by hand with a soft cloth. Just look at her now!
Once we ran out of the rain we had a wonderful ride. The temperature was great, we wore our jackets and were not too hot. It was great. We stopped in Springdale and ate at an Italian restaurant. Then it was up the curvy road to Eureka Springs. We had chosen the 1905 Basin Park Hotel. It is a hotel that was built in, that's right, 1905. And supposed to be haunted!
We walked in and saw the valet parking open sign. Yeah Right!!! They don't valet park bikes (like Keith would let them touch the bike).
The parking, since it is such an old hotel, is 2 blocks down the street. Doesn't Bella look sad :( She will be all alone tonight.
The first things we noticed were the REAL keys (not the credit card keys)
The really small elevator.
And the narrow hallways.
As old as the hotel was, the room was great. The king size bed was very comfortable.
The sink was not in the bathroom, but on top of the dresser. That made for interesting getting ready.
The door was even neat!
Our view was of Main Street.
And Basin Springs Park.
There was a really neat walk bridge across Spring Street.
Our room is in the corner on the next to the top floor.
Here are some things we saw.
Flatiron Building
Notice how steep the street is.
When was the last time you saw a sign for Kodak Film?
We saw a monkey
A figure head for our pirate friend
Our bench (can you see the KLS?)
See the Cave?
You can have coffee and eat in a cave. They used to keep trout in a stream in here so you could have very fresh fish for dinner.
the old safe where they kept the illegal money
A time capsule? at least that is what the sign said. The parts are all from the Tyson factory.
some of the interesting buildings and streets
On Friday morning we went to "The Local Flavor" for breakfast. I had the stuffed Poblano pepper with black beans and salsa. Keith had the country breakfast.
Remember that we ride a Harley? So Friday there were two things we had to do:
Find the Harley shop in Eureka Springs to buy a T-Shirt. The shop in Eureka Springs is just a store front. No bikes for sell, so it is real small. We drove by, about 4 miles later we realized we had passed it and turned around.
Take Bella in to get something fixed. Keith had noticed the voltage would drop when we stopped and he was worried. So we headed to Rogers to the shop with the service department. They checked her out, could find nothing wrong, sooooo....
Now it is time to RIDE!!!
Welcome to Missouri!!
Roaring River State Park
trout hatchery
The mountain above the spring
The we had the great idea to go on the 0.2 mile hike to the lookout point
If you look real close you can see fish in the water.
We took this one our self, the timer on the camera works!
Can you see the lookout at the top of the picture? We walked up that far. Oh My!
Leaving Roaring River to hit HWY F
If you are from around Empire, Oklahoma, you know the road called Hijackers Hollow. Highway F is like that road only it is about 10 miles long.
On the road to Harrison.
In Harrison, we stayed at the historic 1929 Hotel Seville. It was another wonderful old hotel.
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| The front door was neat. |
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The foyer had an amazing stair case. The elevator was out of order, so we got to use this staircase a lot.
The view from the second floor above the foyer. The picture of the chandelier does not show how beautiful it really is.
Once again we had narrow hallways, but they weren't as scary as the ones at the Basin. I guess between 1905 and 1929 they changed keys. We had the new fangled credit card style keys here.
The room was very small, but the bed was comfy and the a/c worked great. What else do you need?
This hotel had covered parking, and motorcycle parking for Bella. The black motorcycle next to Bella was funny looking (it had 4 wheels). This hotel also had towels and a water hose so you can wash your bike if you need to.
Saturday, we hit the road for a full day of riding. We left Harrison and headed to Peel, no traffic, we were glad. As we were zooming along up a hill, Bambi decided to take a stroll out of the ditch. Keith started shutting down the bike, we got it stopped and Bambi walked back into the woods. We saw buzzards and another deer before we got to Peel.
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| Look closely to the left and you can see the rear of a deer as it runs off! |
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We got to Peel, AR on Highway 125 and OH My! Where is the road? It disappears into the lake. We got to ride the Ferry across. While we were waiting for it to get back from the other side, we got off the bike to explore. I couldn't get a picture, but as we were exploring we upset a Kildee. She was making all kinds of noise trying to get us away from her nest. We walked back up the hill and she quieted down.
The ferry gets back and we board.
Our ferry was Lady Marion.
We met a couple that had been camping on the Missouri side, and just rode the ferry across for something to do.Their truck had a good wax job, so you can see Bella in the reflection.
The ferry captain told us about an old bridge on Highway 62B with a swimming hole, so we decided to go check it out. It was just off one of the routes we had planned.
On the Missouri side there were one lane bridges. Who ever gets to the bridge first has the right of way.
After our ferry ride we were quite thirsty so we went to the first convenience store we found, in Protem, Missouri. It was an old store in a spot in the road. We got water and had a nice visit with the people that worked there. I also found out that you have to order a Sunday paper if you want one, and if you want to buy (not sure what kind of animal) they are cheaper the younger they are.
Our next stop was Bull Shoals Dam.
But before we got there we found a really cool old bridge. I just love driving over these.
As we were driving along, I told Keith to STOP!!
We had to get a picture of Isabella MO, after all our bike is named Bella. I know I'm strange, but I have a lot of fun.
Isn't it interesting how you can see the right of way they made for the power lines.
They are working on the dam, so there is a stop light in the middle. We got caught by a red light on top of Bull Shoals dam.
By this time we were getting hungry, so where do you eat in Bull Shoals? The fire department was stopping cars and collecting money for their fireworks display, so we asked them. They told us the Village Wheel was pretty good, so we decided to give it a try. I have to tell this story on myself. We pulled up in the parking lot and Keith said that is a good looking Malibu. So I looked at the cars parked next to us, I thought I guess one of them was a Malibu. When we came out he said something about it being yellow. I could not see any yellow car. It wasn't a car, it was a yellow and white Malibu boat. This is our newest inside joke.
The Village Wheel was good, but I guess we scared the waitress, because the service was OK, not exceptional. After lunch we were headed to the rainbow bridge near Cotter, AR.
The bridge is coming up, notice the couple on the motorcycle waving to us. That is what we do anytime we meet an oncoming bike. Doesn't matter if you are in a curve, going down a hill, or changing lanes, you give them a wave.
I don't know if you can see in this picture but this bridge was built in
1930. It is in amazing shape to be 82 years old.
We drove across the bridge, then found the swimming hole the ferry captain had told us about.
The swimming area is fed from a spring and the bridge is on the river to the right side of the picture, the bridge is behind you. We could see the underside and the flood stage measure.
The river is low right now.
To the right of this picture is a railroad bridge.Can you see the work truck driving along the bridge?
After all of our travels today, it was time for a rest before dinner. We knew we wanted to go eat the "steak for two" at The Hub. It is a motorcycle friendly motel and steak house in Dog Patch, AR. A few years ago a couple that ride motorcycles bought the old Dog Patch motel and turned it into a biker motel. We drove past the turn off for The Hub and into Jasper. Our friends have a grandson named Jasper, so we wanted to take a picture for them. They were having some kind of festival and Jasper was full of people.
After we left Jasper, it was back up the highway to another bridge, this one will one day be gone, as it is on the list to be replaced when the funds are available.
Keith and I both love these old bridges.
We were walking right in the dry river bed. There was a family cooking out by the river. The little girl was in the water yelling at her dad "Are the burgers done yet?" The mom was sitting in the lawn chair eating a burger, they were having a great time.
A nice lady took our picture. I really was on this vacation, I think this is one of the few pictures of me.
We had a great steak dinner, then headed back to the motel to get ready for the long drive home in the morning. It is amazing how your stuff will not fit back in those saddle bags. We really didn't buy very much, just a couple of t-shirt,s so I don't know why we had such a hard time fitting it back in.
We had one more sight to see on the way home.
Isn't this a neat road? The trees almost covered the top of the road.
And covered parking to keep our bike and helmets cool.
This is the grist mill at War Eagle, AR. It is a real working mill. The day we were there they were grinding corn. You can go online and order fresh ground grains.
We didn't ride our bike across the bridge, but while we were there quite a few bikers did. The cars did not slow down, so if I would of stepped back, I would have been hit by a mirror.
I had the beans and cornbread, and Keith had a fiesta salad. His corn chips looked like fresh ground corn. They were very tasty.
Before we left, we needed to use the facilities. Do they look like outhouses? Well....they are, real outhouses. They were clean and did not smell.
It was now a little after noon and it was starting to get hot. We had to get on the road, it was hot, but with frequent stops we made it. It was a great mini vaca.
Here are a few views from the back.
Until next time.
