It’s late August and the hot days of summer are over, the children are back in school and its time to hit the road.  We departed from Plymouth with our good friends Terry and Nancy Christian.  They were riding a 1500 trike with trailer and Bob and I were on our GL1800’s with one of us pulling the trailer.  A group of three bikes is a great riding combination.  

Its two days after hurricane Katrina hit Louisiana and Mississippi.  Gas prices have really jumped to just under $3.00 per gallon.  Our route the first day took us down through Rochester, Decorah, Fayette, and then east to Guttenberg and south to our destinations.   

Our first destination was Anamosa, Iowa but before we got there we made a stop in Dyersville, IA and visited the “Field of Dreams” (www.fodmoviesite.com) where the 1989 movie was filmed.  “If you build it…they will come”, and that is what we did as we walked the baseball diamond, had a picnic lunch and saw lots of corn.  

In Anamosa we toured the National Motorcycle Museum (www.nationalmcmuseum.org) which has over 180 bikes on display before going to our motel.  We had some nice roads traveling through northeastern Iowa, getting us ready for the great curvy roads of Missouri and Arkansas.  Many states are now designating “scenic byways” which are always a good choice for motorcycling.  (Day 1 – 345 miles) 

Day two took us down into Missouri to Salem and Scenic Hwy. 19.  After we crossed over Interstate 44 the road really started to get interesting with lots of curves and rolling hills.  There are many day trips which could be set up from Salem if you have the time to tour the area.  We stayed at a new Holiday Inn Express which was very nice.  But our destination is Mountain Home, Arkansas so we moved on down the road the next morning.  There are many sites to see such as Akers ferry and Alley Spring Mill to name just a couple.  Scenic Hwy. 19 is my choice for the road of the day.  (Day 2 – 363 miles) 

We got into Mountain Home, Arkansas in the early afternoon.  It was starting to get hot the farther south we traveled.  Our choice of rest was the Comfort Inn for the next three nights.  There are many motels to choose from, as Mountain Home is a fairly big city.  We called some friends who live in Lakeview and joined them for supper.  As evening descended we had a few rain showers, the first of our trip.  (Day 3 – 205 miles) 

Now the real reason for our vacation begins, the riding.  We’re up early and had breakfast and are on the road by 8 AM.  Our circle route for the day took us south of Mountain Home on 201, 341 across Push Mountain, 14 east to Allison, 9 north to Melbourne, 58 south to Mountain View, and 5 north back to Mountain Home.   

Push Mountain road 341 was nice and curvy and very little traffic as it was early and the sport bikes weren’t out yet.  We stopped at Blanchard Caverns (www.fs.fed.us/oonf/ozark/recreation/caverns.html) on County 14 and took a break to stretch.  As we continued on our route we had two deer cross and stop in the middle of the road and watch us as we approached them.  A few toots on the horn and they proceeded into the woods.  County 9 running from Hwy. 5 to Melbourne was awesome, filled with curves and hills and trees and switchbacks, etc.  It is my choice of best road for today’s ride. 

Our lunch stop for today was at Jo Jo’s Restaurant at Jack’s Fishing Resort on Hwy. 5 as we headed back north.  Our table overlooked the White River.  The restaurant was recommended to us as having the best catfish around, especially the grilled catfish.  So we all tried it and it was delicious, the best catfish I’ve ever eaten.  I highly recommend it, if you’re in the area.  And be sure to ask why they have a bag of water hanging on the entrance door! 

We arrived back at our motel by 2 PM and took a refreshing dip in the outdoor pool as the temperature was starting to rise.  A group of gold wingers arrived from Missouri Chapter O and were staying at the same motel.  We chatted for awhile and then headed to dinner up the street at Salsa’s Mexican.  Afterwards, our friends drove us out to the Norfork Damn.  (Day 4 – 183 miles) 

The next day we were at breakfast by 7 AM and on the road by 8 AM for our day trip northwest of Mountain Home.  We didn’t see any MO-O people this morning, as they were sleeping in.  Our route took us north back into Missouri and loops back down on County 125 west of Mountain Home.  It was another great ride!  The little side roads of J, N, DD, and T were quiet country roads, paved and well maintained.  As we approached the border of Arkansas we took the free ferry across Bull Shoals Lake.  There were a number of other bikes doing the same crossing.   

Lunch was at the 178 Club in Bull Shoals.  I would recommend the hamburgers, they were very good.  Today’s ride was much more relaxed.  We had a little fog in the morning to start off with, but the weather was gorgeous.  Our route was 201, J, 160, 181, N, P, 14, DD, T, 125, 14, 202, 178 and 5.  It includes a ride across the top of Bull Shoals Damn.  Gas prices here have been $2.89 with no problems in supply. My choice of best road today would be County 125.  (Day 5 – 235 miles) 

The next morning we left Mountain Home for Eureka Springs on Hwy. 62.  It is a good road but very heavily traveled.  We get in early to our motel, Holiday Inn Express, and drop off the trailers.  Then we went on a short ride west to northwest of Eureka Springs.  There’s a great little road, County 187, where you actually cross a one lane suspension bridge.  That was fun!   

We did see lots of Gold Wings out riding today.  Upon returning to Eureka Springs we had lunch at the old Crescent Motel Café up on top of the hill.  From our motel we took the trolley to the ‘Christ of the Ozarks’ and downtown to play tourist.  It’s another beautiful day with sunshine and hot temps.  Friends from Little Canada, MN joined us for dinner, as they were also doing some motorcycle touring here.  Nothing is better than good friends and good food talking about motorcycling and trips we’ve taken.  Best road today was definitely County 187.  (Day 6 – 171 miles) 

If you want hairpin turns, today’s ride is the one.  We left early at 7:15 AM and it was a cool 61 degrees.  Our route took us south of Eureka Springs in a figure 8 and back.  In the early morning shadows we passed a deer standing right along side the road in the ditch.  You didn’t see it until you were passed it.  Once again the roads are great and the scenery even better.  We take roads 23, 16, Scenic 7, 164, 123, 7, 123, 74, 21 and 62.   

Because the trike uses more gas than our two wheels, we need to stop for gas for Terry.  This was the only day we had trouble finding an open gas station.  We found a little place in the middle of nowhere with a limit of 5 gallons.  No problem with that, Terry put in 2 gallons and we were good to go.  The price of gasoline was $3.19 per gallon. 

Scenic 7 is a great road, but County 123 is the best today.  It reminds me of the hairpin curves we’ve experienced in the European Alps.  We get back to Eureka Springs around 2 PM, just as it started to get really hot.  Then we went out to the Thorncrown Chapel (www.thorncrown.com) which is a magnificent wooden structure containing 425 windows and over 6,000 square feet of glass nestled in the hills.  It is an inspirational place of beauty and displays the essence of God.  

A unique event happened today as we found a nail embedded into the rear mud flap of Bob’s bike.  How lucky we were that it didn’t go into the tire.  It was really stuck as it took some mite to extract it out.  (Day 7 – 280 miles) 

It’s time to head back north as we leave Eureka Springs, we headed to Macon, Missouri.  Our tourist stop for the day was in Lebanon, Missouri at the Barrels of Fun (www.barrelsoffunstore.com) where they make barrels for wine and bourbon processing.  They do offer tours certain times of the year.  At Barrels of Fun there is The Original Walnut Bowl Factory Store (www.walnutbowlstore.com) with lots of bowls and souvenirs to choose from.  

Our route today was 23, 86, 65, 76, 5, 3, 24, and 63.  The best roads of the trip are behind us now.  It’s been a good trip, good roads, good weather and great travel partners with over 2200 miles so far.  It’s nice to take a more relaxing trip without doing the 400-500 mile travel days.  (Day 8 – 347 miles) 

We left Macon at 7:00 AM to a clear morning.  The farther north we went the cloudier it got.  By the time we got to Waterloo, IA it really looked dark and rainy.  So we stopped for gas and also put on our raingear.  As we continued north we rode into the rain about 20 miles from New Hampton.  The closer we got to New Hampton the harder it rained.  As we checked into our motel to stay for the Davis Rally, Terry and Nancy continued on home.  (Day 9 – 284 miles) 

The next two days we took in the Davis Rally (www.davismotorcyclerally.com) enjoying the vendors, the parade and the company of many GWRRA members.  Our last leg of the trip put us home on Sunday September 11.  The total miles for the trip was right around 2800.  We got excellent gas mileage in the mid to upper 40’s and only had 20 miles of the heavy rainfall.  Now, where will we go this year?  Or when can we get back to Arkansas to ride the roads we missed?  I think its time to get the maps out and start planning! 

(A great book for researching the roads is Arkansas Rider’s Guide by Mario Caruso.  I also used the AAA tour books for interesting sites to see as well as searching the internet.)