The Wrapup

Its Saturday, October 8 and we've been home for several days.  The final leg of the trip-Clarksville, AR to home was so uneventful (unlike last's year's harrowing trip through the mean streets of St. Louis) that I never found anything to write about.  The drive on I-40E to Memphis, then south on I-22 to I-20 and through Atlanta was smooth and, except for a brief ordeal with surface street traffic while transitioning from I-40 to I-22, devoid of traffic or construction delays.  Even hitting Atlanta at 6:30PM posed no real obstacles thanks to our use of the HOV and Peach Pass lanes.

So, I guess a recap is in order.

The trip was excellent...in many ways in excess of what I expected.  KC did a masterful job of planning most of the trip and the sights we saw were magnificent.  The Grand Canyon was stupendous, the Enchantment Resort was beyond luxurious, the desert drive in the 4WD Razor and seeing the Honanki Ruins was incredibly fun.  Sedona is a bit touristy, but is a world class area to visit.  Jerome, AZ was weird and unforgettable.  The red rock formations in Valley of the Gods, the ride up Moki Dugway and out to Muley Point were gorgeous.  BUT THE ASPENS IN COLORADO WERE SO EXTREMELY GORGEOUS THAT I WILL NEVER FORGET THEM.  Our timing was perfect.

And that brings up the subject of timing on a trip like this. Planned a year in advance, we had only the vaguest notion of what the weather might be.  You use your best guess, but its always a crap shoot.  Four days before we arrived it snowed in Silverton, CO.  And four days after we returned home, it was 23F and snowing in Telluride.  As it was, we had a couple rainy days and some temps in the thirties.  The Rockies are ALWAYS iffy and that is especially true in late September.  So, given the possibilities, KC and I believe we nailed it timing wise.

Our gear...truck, trailer, GS's, panniers, Bluetooth intercoms, GPS's, and iPhones all performed perfectly.  Or nearly so.  I had an issue with my horn and I honestly think that was about it for me.  KC was trying out his Klim riding suit for the first time and did his best to make me regret not having one.  Warm in cold weather, cool in hot weather, waterproof as a pair of fireman's boots...he sang the Klim's praises repeatedly.  I'm an Aerostich fanboy, but I was listening.

Speaking of fanboy...my love affair with Hampton Inn's flourished.  Easy to make reservations from their mobile app, flexible when I violated their cancellation policy, consistent from one hotel to the next, excellent WIFI, very good DirecTV service, great AC, great bedding and tolerable breakfast.  One morning I presented the desk clerk with an unresolved noise complaint from the night before and she said, "That's unacceptable.  I will credit you the entire charge.  Free room." It is a consistent and quality experience at a reasonable price and they take their Satisfaction Guarantee seriously.

I tried a couple of new approaches to photography during this trip.  First, KC and I discovered (with Kyle Campbell's help) an iPhone app called HDR Pro X.  It takes high dynamic range photos with the option of applying several preset edits to the pics.  The result is much more dynamic landscape shots.  I also began shooting in RAW format with my Fuji XT-1 (mostly using an 18-135mm zoom lens, though some shots were done through a 10-24mm wide angle zoom).  The RAW format is a MUCH larger and more complete capture of everything that the sensor "sees".  The downside is that the RAW files must be processed after their shot, but the processing (I use Adobe's Lightroom 5) gives you the ability to draw out much more from the original file than you'd ever get shooting jpeg.  Lightroom 5 is the digital equivalent of the darkrooms of film days.  I think shooting RAW + Lightroom 5 has noticeably improved my results.

So, the burning question is "What's Next?"  KC and I have tossed around some ideas...touring along the Mississippi River, touring around the Great Lakes, touring the Finger Lakes area of NY, touring New England have all been discussed.  I also have a desire to see the eastern Canadian provinces...Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and I still like the idea of a far northwest tour...Olympic Peninsula and Pacific Coast tour.  For now, the question burns with no answer in focus.  We'll just have to see.

Thanks to my loyal readers...it was always fun to know others were looking in on our adventure.

Cya next time!

Bob

Ozarks- Day Two

Today was our second and final day of riding in the Ozark Mountains.  And it concludes the motorcycle portion of this trip.  Following a delicious Hampton Inn breakfast, Jim, KC and I departed with KC leading us along a route that he and Kyle collaborated on. 

The highlight was to be Haw Creek Falls, which Kyle thought would be beautiful.  He recommended I take camera, tripod and filters to get a blurred water shot of the falls.  The falls turned out to be a bust due to the extremely low water conditions we'd picked up on yesterday, but the ride was a jewel...better than yesterday's ride.  Most of the roads were in great shape, though we hit one spot on Hwy 123 that was loaded with gravel for probably 5-10 miles.  Weather was perfect-temps ranged from 60-80 and skies were clear.  Traffic was light to non existent.  Most of the roads put us in very isolated areas...no stores, no homes, no people.  In one respect this was nice, since we were there to ride, not dodge traffic. OTOH, when we wanted food or gas, there were very limited options.

The ride started by heading south across Lake Dardanelle and towards the 2,753' Mt. Magazine.  After riding along the spine of Mt. Magazine and through the State Park we headed towards Dardanelle, AR and then Russelville, AR, across I-40 and then back into the Ozarks along Hwy 27, then Hwy 16.

Around 12:30 and at the intersection of Hwy 16 and Hwy 123 we spotted a roadside store called Hankin's Country Store with several motorcycles (NOT Harleys) parked in front.  It was in the booming settlement of Sand Gap, AR.

We were well past hungry at this point and the temperature was rising.  Perfect spot for a break.  The store was operated by an elderly woman who made fresh sandwiches for us.  

KC ordered a "Bologna sandwich with too much mayo."

She asked, "What's too much mayo?".

KC replied, "When you take a bite, the mayo squeezes out the sides."

She nailed it.

The store was very old, with lots of character.

Jim asked how old the stove was, and our hostess replied, "I don't really know, but its the second one we've had.
 

Sitting at picnic tables in front we engaged the young riders from Louisiana who seemed enamored with our bikes.  They asked lots of questions about our GS's and Jim's Triumph Tiger.

After lunch we headed down Hwy 123S looking for Haw Creek Falls.  On the way we found lots of road work and an abundance of gravel on the road.  It slowed me and Jim down considerably...KC, not so much.

Our final stop was Haw Creek Campgrounds.  We approached on a gravel road, forded a very shallow water crossing, cruised through a small campgrounds which was saturated with the smell of campfires and pulled up alongside the "falls".  The most important ingredient in ANY waterfall is water.  Haw Creek Falls has almost none. 

Nice setting, disappointing falls.

Ozarks- Day One

Today was our first of two days riding in the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas.  These roads are fabled twisties and it was both KC and my first attempt at them.  Our destination was Eureka Springs, a town both of us had heard about, but really knew nothing.  Our route took us north on Hwy 21 through Ozone, AR to Berryville, AR.  The weather conditions were perfect- 55-75F and blue skies, the roads were in excellent condition- smooth pavement and lots of turns and changes of elevation and traffic was very light.  Berryville posed a navigational challenge for me and we had to make several mid course corrections, but eventually found the road I was looking for- Hwy 221 to Eureka Springs.  Once inside the city limits of Eureka Springs, we were confronted with heavy traffic and a ton of motorcyclists...no BMW's in sight. 

So, how to describe Eureka Springs?   Not my kind of town.  Not KC's kind of town.  Its a really precious place.  Really heavy tourist oriented.  Tons of B&B's, cute shops, windy streets, old, historic buildings....and CRAWLING with cars, bikes and people.  Sherry and Karen would devour the place.  Me?  KC?  Not so much.  So, we've been there, done that.  Moving on.

Following a quick lunch we headed out of town on Hwy 23 South (AKA the "Pig Trail") and we took this through Huntsville, AR and eventually traveled along side the White River and the Mulberry River which were an odd shade of green due to the magnesium, sulfur and iron found in the water. 

We noticed that all of the rivers in this area were very low on water, if not totally dry.  Hwy 23S gave us a very different experience than Hwy 21N...a bit more traffic, but better roads, more views, better views.  If 21 was good, 23 was excellent.

From Hwy 23 we went east on Hwy 215, then south on Hwy 103 which brought us back to the Hampton Inn.  Within minutes of getting to my room, KC alerted me that Jim Dennis was here, so we both went down to greet Jim and learned that he'd had a good ride here. 

We'll fully catch up over dinner...Mexican if I get a vote!

Amarillo to Clarksville, AR

Sorry for the confusion...yesterday's post was titled "Gallup to Albuquerque"  when we actually ended the day in Amarillo.  The Albuquerque to Amarillo portion was via truck...so that's why I screwed up the post title. 

Today was all truck, all interstate and all I-40.  We left by 8:00AM and sailed on past our hotel in Clarksville, AR to have dinner in a very popular catfish joint in Russellville, AR called Brown's Catfish. 

It was killer and being an all you can eat kind of place, I am now suffering.  The catfish, et al was great.  But the killer item for me was the cinnamon rolls.  Huge, warm, soft, sweet and covered with all-you-want frosting.  OMG...the best I've ever had.

We heard from Jim Dennis today and he's well on his way.  Loyal readers will recall that Jim is motorcycling from home in north GA to meet us in Clarksville, AR. 

Jim stopped for the night in Olive Branch, MS and he should arrive tomorrow, so we wish Jim safe travels and look forward to riding with him on Monday.  KC reminds me that Jim pulled a 400 mile day...he's the MAN.

The highlight today was a gas stop in Shamrock, TX that put us on Old Route 66 and in front of a restored Conoco gas station/diner originally built in 1936 and restored in the 90's with state and federal grants to the tune of $1.7M. 

It was featured in the movie "Cars" and is like stepping into a time machine.  KC was in heaven.