Retired and Trippin

We left our motel at the state line (Mammoth Springs, AR and Thayer, MO) at 9:00.  It was cloudy, 52 degrees and windy. About nine miles later we were in Grand Gulf State Park.  The park is 6 miles north and west of Thayer on County Road W where the pavement ends.  It features a collapsed cave system.  The collapse occurred about 10,000 years ago and created a vertical walled canyon about three quarters of a mile long and 130 feet deep.  It is surprising to me that the canyon floor and the lower part of the walls are completely devoid of vegetation.  Chris thinks this is possibly due to the fact that a creek drains into the canyon and rushing water may wash away vegetation.  I certainly don’t know. When we first arrived at the park we encountered a lady that we later learned was named Jackie.  She was worried because her husband, Fred, could not be found.  She did not believe he would be out walking around because of hip problems.  Chris and I set out on a search and found

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. At 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

We left our motel in Clarksville and rode south and east. There was some heavy fog in the area of the Arkansas River.  It was 52 degrees. In Mt. Magazine State Park we stopped at the visitor’s center, a scenic lookout  and at the lodge for pictures. On the way out of the park a buck crossed the road in front of us.  That reminds me – yesterday on the way to Devil’s Den State Park we encountered a deer that crossed the road in front of us. We rode down the south side of the mountain and east to Russellville for lunch at Colton’s Steak House. Then we visited Mt. Nebo State Park located south and east a bit from Russellville (7 miles east of Dardanelle, in Yell County; home of Mattie Ross in the movie, True Grit).  The view from the top of Mt. Nebo was impressive. There is a hiking trail on Mt. Nebo called the Rim Trail.  It is 3.5 miles in length and advertised to take about 2 hours.  Chris and I decided to hike it.  The views from the trail were great but it was brutal in places

We rode south away from Siloam Springs at 8:50 under blue clear skies with a temperature of 59.  Fifty five miles later we were stopped at the visitor’s center in Devil’s Den State Park. We noticed that from Siloam Springs to the park the leaves did not appear to have changed much.  In the park, however, it was a different story.  It was purty. Also, as we rode south, we caught up with the clouds and almost caught up with the rain that went through Siloam Springs early in the morning.  Roads were wet in places in the park.  By the time we left the park the sun was peeking out again. We decided to walk the Yellow Rock Trail. ( http://www.arkansasstateparks.com/things-to-do/trails/yellow-rock-trail-171/ )  It was 40 minutes up to Yellow Rock and 30 minutes back down.  The view was great and we enjoyed the scenery and the exercise. The park also had some pretty “fire” trees ( a term coined by our grandson, Jack). From the park we rode south to Chester, AR and had lunch at the Chester

We left home at the butt-crack of dawn - 9:30. It was 72 degrees and sunny but the sun was very short lived. Chris and I are off on our annual fall foliage ride all by ourselves. There was a fierce wind out of the south. We rode to Olathe and hopped on Hwy 7 south to Hwy 54. From Osawatomie to Hwy 54 it is a two lane road and we enjoyed the scenery and the slower pace. Just east of Beagle, KS we stopped to get some pictures of a field full of sunflowers. North of Devon, KS there is a section of Hwy 7 that is also Hwy 31. We were riding west on this section of highway when we saw two gigantic bald eagles sitting in a plowed field. As we drew near they took flight so I had no time to stop and get a picture. We rode Hwy 54 eastbound to Hwy 43 southbound to Hwy 117 east into Webb City, MO, where we enjoyed a LARRAPIN good pork tenderloin sandwich lunch in the old downtown area. We also had salads so it was quite a healthy meal. From Webb City we took off south for Noel, MO. We’ve r

Today we rode to lunch with friends Gary, Bill and Jamie.  Our destination was Kelli’s Korner in Paradise, Missouri.  Just where is Paradise?  I checked for Paradise on Google Maps, which showed no such place.  I then checked MapQuest, however, and found it.  It is located on County Road W east of Hwy 169 by Smithville Lake.  It didn’t matter, really, because Bill & Jamie knew the way. As we rode to Bill and Jamie’s home to start our ride we noticed many beautiful fall colors in Shawnee.  We pulled into our local cemetery to get a pic of some pretty trees. After meeting up with Gary, Bill and Jamie we rode north and east to Paradise. Kelli’s Korner is a grill located in the Paradise General Store, which is a gas station, convenience store and fish tackle store. They put out some LARRAPIN good grub.  We had burgers, fries, tater tots and fried green beans.  Kelli, the proprietor, is Bill and Jamie’s daughter. As we were preparing to leave, Kelli asked if she could ride along.