Southward Ho

On Thursday, November 11, 2010, five friends (Gary, Bill, Rod, Larry, and Carl) and I departed on a trip south. Ride Master Gary was leading the ride. The tentative goal was Natchez, MS. Originally this trip was suggested by Mel but his plan was to ride to Brownsville, TX and back in four days. None of us were crazy about going to Brownsville and we were not sure we could get there and back in four days without doing a lot of interstate riding. When Mel ended up being unable to go, Gary took over the planning and the destination was changed.

We departed south Overland Park at 8:15 am. It was cloudy and 50 degrees. We went south on Hwy 69 for a while and then east into Missouri to south 71 Highway. As we rode into Missouri the roads were wet from recent rain. As we approached Clinton, MO it started to drizzle and the temperature dropped to 48 degrees. We endured the cold and drizzle to around Collins, MO when the drizzle stopped. We stopped for gas south of Bolivar, MO.  As you can see from the picture below there were blue clear skies south of Bolivar.The rest of the day was beautificus.

We stopped for lunch at the Dixie Café in Harrison, ARand then rode south to Marshall, AR where we gassed up again. We saw some beautiful fall foliage in the area north of Clinton, AR. I have no photos to share, however, because we did not take the time to stop for photos and I did not have my passenger to take pictures on the move. We also passed the turn-off to the Arkansas Natural Bridge but we did not take the time to stop. Here is a web site that has a picture if you’d like to see what we missed (http://www.archesuk.com/html/arkansas-arches_3.html). We were serious about heading south.  I’ll have to stop here some other time.

We rode past Little Rock, AR and then stopped at about 5:30 pm at the Super 8 motel in White Hall, AR, which is just north of Pine Bluff, AR.We had dinner at Mazzio’s Pizza and then drinks on a patio outside the motel pool. We all toasted Mel for planning this ride long ago, which resulted in all of us clearing our calendars so we could go. It was a great ride (excluding the morning) of 455 miles with a high of 79 degrees.  The only problem the whole day was that a lens blew out of Rod’s sun glasses.

On Friday, November 12th, we left White Hall, AR a little before 8:00 am.  It was 54 degrees under blue clear skies and it quickly warmed with a top temperature for the day in the upper 70’s.

We rode Hwy 65 south from the area of Pine Bluff, AR.  It showed on the map to be a scenic route.  If that was scenic, every highway across western Kansas should be designated scenic.  It was a four lane highway with little traffic so I took some moving photos of the guys.

We crossed from Arkansas into Mississippi on Hwy 82.  The view of the Mississippi River from the bridge was impressive. We gassed up in Greenville, MS just over the bridge.

We rode south on Hwy 61 in Mississippi to Vicksburg, MS, where we ate lunch at the Sol Azteca Mexican restaurant.  It was larrapin good.

South of Vicksburg, and before we reached Natchez, we diverted from Hwy 61 to ride a portion of the Natchez Trace Scenic Byway.  It was a very pretty ride.

After refueling in Natchez, MS we rode south to Baton Rouge, LA and then west to Opelousas, LA, where we stopped for the night at another Super 8 motel.  We had dinner at a Cajun Buffet at a nearby casino.  (Chris – I didn’t want to eat at a buffet but I had to be sociable and dine with the boys.)

A great 430-mile day of riding in fantastic weather.

On Saturday, November 13th, we rode out of Opelousas, LA at 7:55 am.  It was 61 degrees under blue clear skies, a very promising (and deceiving) start to the day.

We rode north on I-49 to Alexandria, LA.  We ran into a cold front that included clouds, fog, and eventually very light rain.  The temperature dropped to 54.  We hopped on northbound Hwy 71 north of Alexandria.

We stopped for fuel in Montgomery, LA.  The proprietors were nice folks but the place was a dump.  The men’s restroom had the nastiest dirtiest toilet I’ve ever seen.  I’m glad I did not need to squat.  After donning more cold weather gear and rain suits we continued north.  As luck would have it, just north and around the corner we passed a much nicer looking gas station where, I’m guessing, they probably cleaned their toilets sometime in the last 50 years.

Along 71 Hwy in northern Louisiana and southern Arkansas we saw some very pretty fall foliage.  I would have taken some pictures but we did not stop and it was too cold to remove my gloves and attempt photos from the motorcycle.

In Texarkana we were looking for a good place to eat lunch  when we rode past Hooters.  Rod announced that it would be a great place to eat (CB radios are handy on a group ride).  We u-turned and gave it a try.  Rod seemed to connect spiritually with our waitress, Jayci, a very friendly and patient young lady.

After a brief gas stop in Mena, AR we stopped for the night at a Hampton Inn in Fort Smith, AR.  It was around 6:30 pm and 44 degrees.  Gary, Carl, and Larry enjoyed a soak in the hot tuband then we had dinner at a nearby TGI Friday’s.  We had a good (though cold) ride today of 460 miles.

On Sunday, November 14th, we took off from Fort Smith, AR at 8:05 am.  It was sunny and 37 degrees, brrr cold.  We rode north on Hwy 71 and I-540.  Just over the state line into Missouri we stopped for gas.  The temperature fluctuated up and down around 40 degrees.

We stopped for lunch at the Blue Top Cafe located at the Lamar exit off of Hwy 71.We got gas and had a DQ break in Harrisonville, MO.  We said our good-byes and took off for home.  I arrived home at about 3:15 pm after riding 320 miles.  Despite the cool weather it was a great day for a ride.  Riding through Arkansas reminded all of us why we love to ride there.  The roads and scenery are fantastic.

We had a great ride through 6 states covering 1,665 miles.  Ride Guru Gary planned a superb route that maximized our riding time, provided beautiful scenery, and avoided inclement weather as much as possible.

For more photos from this trip click on the following link: http://picasaweb.google.com/goldwinger.shawnee/SouthwardHo?feat=directlink