Fall Foliage Ride I; 10/30/14

It was 48 degrees under blue skies when we departed Russellville, AR at 8:40 – a chilly but pretty start to the day.  We rode north on Hwy 7 to Hwy 27 east and north.  Hwy 27 north of Hector, AR was beautiful – as good a ride as the Pig Trail.Hwy 27 north and east of Hector, ARAt one point on Hwy 27 I had the sun in my eyes and deep shadows between the road and the wooded area right of the road.  All of a sudden there was a deer hauling ass from right to left right in front of me.  I had no time to brake or react and I could not have missed the devil by more than 10 feet.  It is a good thing my bladder was empty.

We stopped in Clinton for a butt break and refueling before riding on to Mammoth Springs.  Operating on a tip from Frank and Terri we had lunch at the Riverbend Restaurant on the bank of the Spring River.  It was a good tip.

Today we visited Mammoth Springs State Park.  It was a very interesting park.  Mammoth Spring pumps out 9.78 million gallons of water every hour and it is the headwaters of the Spring River.  The water is discharged into Spring Lake,Mammoth Spring releasing water into Spring Lakewhich is a lake because of a dam built years ago to harness the hydroelectric power.  The power plant was decommissioned in 1972 but the dam still exists.Mammoth Springs State Park; old power generating plant at far end of the falls

The historic Mammoth Springs train depot, with simulated historic scenes inside, is also located in the park.  Mammoth Springs, Arkansas had its heyday from 1886 to the 1930’s at the time of the depression and the depot was closed in 1968.  One of the scenes in the depot was of a telegrapher.telegrapher in the Mammoth Springs train depot; Chris' Dad was a Rock Island Railroad telegrapherChris really enjoyed the depot and that specific scene because her father was a railroad man, who started his long and successful career as a telegrapher.

We stopped for the day at the Mammoth Springs Lodge (actually located across the state line in Thayer, MO) after riding 178 miles.  The high temperature (while on the road) was 66.  It may have increased a little later but not by much.

Tomorrow it is supposed to be colder with a high in the 40’s – brrrrr!

For more pictures from today click on the following link: https://plus.google.com/photos/104542123131082631220/albums/6076155676581232113?authkey=COOS_fDj7tz24QE

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