Spring Chicken Ride; Day 2

The morning brought clouds and temperatures in the mid to upper fifties, promising to be good day for riding and driving the Arkansas highways. But Rob was missing. And then we found out what was going on. The prior evening, after arriving at our hotel, Rob realized his cell phone and charger were missing from his luggage. His best guess was that they fell out of his unsecured luggage when we left the scenic viewpoint along the Talimena National Scenic Byway. It was shortly after 6:00 AM and Rob thought he could ride back up the mountain in an attempt to find his phone and return by 8:00 AM, our scheduled departure time, which he did. He found his phone but it was damaged and wouldn't work. When he returned to Mena he was awarded the chicken.

Our first stop of the day was the Skyline Cafe in Mena, where we loaded up on breakfast. This was a busy place so we had to wait 15 to 20 minutes for tables.

After breakfast we refueled our rides and departed Mena. It was 60 degrees and still cloudy.

The route today was as follows: 88 east thru Oden to Washita; 27 north thru Story and Onyx to Rover; 28 west through Briggsville, Bluffton, Gravelly and Parks; 71 north; 23 east and north thru Ione to Booneville; 10 east; 309 north over Magazine Mountain to Paris; 22 east through Subiaco; 109 north over the Arkansas River; I-40 east a short distance at Clarksville; 21 north through Ozone to Berryville; 62 west to Eureka Springs.

Much of the route was beautiful, which is why we take this annual ride to Arkansas, but 28 was especially impressive. The curves and hills through rural country with old barns, farms, and beautiful yellow fields were amazing. I don't know what this yellow flower/weed was but it was bountiful and widespread.

I love to take photos and I could have easily spent a day along Hwy 28 stopping to capture images along the way.  But this was a day for riding and all I could do was take the few photos I could from my moving car.

When we arrived at the junction of 28 and 71 we stopped for a map check and a few of our group downloaded some coffee.

Gary said he adjusted his route on the fly because when we arrived at the junction of 27 and 28 he knew we'd reach our destination too early. So he took 28 all the way back west, which was a good thing because it was a scenic route. When we arrived at 71 we were only 20 miles or so north of where we started the day.

At our gas stop in Booneville Carl found his new ride.

Highway 309 took us through Mt. Magazine State Park, which has some beautiful scenic overlooks, but we did not stop at any of them. By this time I think Gary was getting hungry and focusing on reaching the Ozone Burger Barn.

In Gary's research leading up to this trip he found an article that proclaimed the burgers at the Ozone Burger Barn to be the best burgers in Arkansas. They were OK, but we doubt they are really the best of Arkansas.

Highway 21 north is designated as the Ozark Highlands Scenic Byway. Except for some construction delay it was an enjoyable and scenic route.

We wrapped up our day in Eureka Springs, having traveled 321 miles. I don't recall the high temperature but it was a comfortable top-down day, probably in the mid 70's. Our lunch at the Ozone Burger Barn was late enough that we subsisted on snacks for dinner. I guess a few in our group did order a pizza. Adult beverages and conversation closed out the evening - another great day.

To see all the photos taken today click here: Today's Photos