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.