The Saturday morning before Labor Day means two things. Another birthday and it's time for the annual over night road trip. Two destinations are picked out and the one with the least chance of rain will be the one selected. Last year the return trip resulted in riding in the rain for eight hours. Not an enjoyable experience.
The preference is to ride to Sonora TX to check out the caves and cruise the hill country. Plan B is to head north into the Kaimichi Mountains and cover some of the West Arkansas territory. According to the Harly-Davidson road atlas, nearly all the roads in East OK and West AR are good for road trips.
For the past 5 years North Central TX has been in a drought. Thankfully this year was a drought buster. We needed a drought buster but rather than a motorcycle, a person would have better been served with a mini-submarine. There haven't been many "riding to work" days this year.
The weatherman says the further a person rides south, the wetter the ride will be. Plan B it is then. Searching the yellow pages on the Internet results in no motels in Broken Bow OK but DeQueen AR does have a couple of motels so the operational base will be DeQueen.
The Sportster is loaded up, sunscreen is applied, the wristwatch is removed and it's on to the open road. The first stop is in Paris TX with the obligatory picture with the Eiffel tower including the infamous red hat.
The next stop is Hugo OK. This was a needed picture as one of the relatives nickname is "Hugo". A stop
by the railroad museum resulted in a great picture opportunity. Just outside Hugo is Hugo Lake and since there
is nowhere particular to be, a cruise around the lake was in order.
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Onto Broken Bow which is in the Kiamichi Mountains. These are the mountains that are the reported home of Big Foot, (Sasquatch). A cruise north is what is needed. Often cabin owners advertise on the Dallas radio stations and the area is explored. There are a lot of cabins on different properties up this road. Stopping by a stand some brochures were acquired. This may be a family vacation spot next year. Alas, there was no Sasquatch sighting.
It's time to gas up again, next stop DeQueen AR. This trip is not an original idea. The motel's parking lot is lined with motorcycles. This is good news and bad news. When on a road trip you can always find the best restaurants by going where the bikes are lined up. They are not lined up at a restaurant but rather at the motel. What does this mean? I guess it meant the best meal in town was at Papa Poblano's restaurant that shared the parking lot with the motel.
A conversation with a few of the other bikers reveals that most of them are taking their annual Labor Day Weekend road trip. However, all were just spending the one night in DeQueen. They are families that are meeting up and riding 8 hours a day to the next destination before they return to their homes. The second night spent in DeQueen resulted in the Sportster being the only bike in the parking lot.
Sunday morning, more sunscreen is applied, the riding glasses and helmet are on. The Sporty fires up and the heading is north. The first diversion is Queen Wilhelmina State Park in the Quachita Forest. There are many places to pull off the road and enjoy the view form the various vistas. This is a very popular ride for bikers. It's as if this ride is a fraternal requirement for those on two wheels.
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Dutch investors arrived with the railroad and found the flat area on top of Rich Mountain (The second highest mountain in AR). In honor of the crowning of Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands, they built the "Wilhelmina Inn" a.k.a. the "Castle in the Sky ". Over the years the Inn fell into disrepair and has been reconstructed. This lodge and the scenery are the main attractions of Queen Wilhelmina State Park. Within walking distance of the lodge are a playground, amphitheater, a campground with modern facilities, and hiking trails. In the summer there is a miniature train ride.
The next leg of the trip is to ride north. On the map, the Arkansas roads look straight. These roads are not straight. This is not a bad thing as the scenic twisting roads are just what the biker is looking for. However, one should not estimate time by the number of miles. There are many turns that take you down to 25 MPH. It's recommend that when the sign says 25 MPH that you be going 25 MPH. There are some really tight turns.
Upon arriving at Ozark and finding that hunger and fatigue are catching up. A stop for another Mexican meal at El Puerto is in order before hitting the road again. This is when the realization that the ride has been over done sets in as the left shoulder is starting to act up.
Heading back to DeQueen the route is to continue to take more roads less traveled. This is the part of the trip that gets real good. Although the shoulder is starting to hurt, on Hwy 27 a coordinated turn was made fully on automatic. This is that sensation where the rider is no longer operating a machine but rather the machine has become an extension of the rider. Through these tight turns, up and down hill, breaking and accelerating, the natural high that all riders know but can never quite articulate is experienced. This connection with the bike will continue to be experienced for a few months and then it will wear off and one once again becomes just the controller of a machine.
Upon arriving at the motel, some anti-inflammatory medication is in order and then off to the land of nod.
It's Labor Day and time to head back to Plano (home). I-30 would make the trip in the minimal amount of time but that is not what this road trip is about. Once crossing back to Texas the bike is put onto Hwy 82 with a rest stop in Clarksville. Passing through Clarksville, it is discovered that in addition to being the "Gateway to Texas", this is also the "Wild Turkey Capital of Texas".
Most towns in Texas are the "Something Capital of Texas". Even Commerce TX is the "Bois D' Arc Capital of Texas". This as it gives the towns a personality all their own.
The next stop was home. the sporty is unpacked and a shower and a nap are in order. All in all this was a fine 950 mi road trip.
Also noteworthy, the weatherman was correct. The weather was great the entire trip.
The Peaches I bought at a road side stand.
Starting in Plano TX, 75 to McKinney TX, 380 to Greenville TX, 224 to Commerce TX, 24 to Paris TX, 271 to Hugh OK, 70 to Broken Bow OK, 259 to Bethel OK, 259 to Broken Bow OK, 70 to DeQueen AR,
Starting in DeQueen AR, 71 to Mena AR, Side trip on 8 to the Queen Wilhelmina State Park, and back to Mena, 23 to Ozark AR, 40 to Russellville AR, 27 to Mt Ida AR, 270 and 88 to Mena AR, 71 to DeQueen AR
Starting in DeQueen AR, 41S to I30W to 82W, 82 to De Kalb TX, 82 to Clarksville TX, 82 to Paris TX, 82 to Bonham TX, 78 to Farmersville TX, 380 to McKinney TX, 75 to Plano TX
