EUREKA SPRINGS ARKANSAS

My brother and his wife purchased a Goldwing Trike this year and the four of us decided to go on a vacation together.  They had not  been on an extended trip with the trike so we decided to travel to Eureka Springs and base out of there.

We left early on a Saturday morning and the weather was just beautiful.  Upper 60’s so we started out wearing sweatshirts.  Me made it to Litchfield IL and refueled.  The weather was still comfortable in the low 70’s so we kept our sweatshirts on and headed toward St. Louis.  The thermometer kept climbing and we started getting warm.  We stopped in Pacific Mo. to refuel and start taking off clothes.  The farther we got into Missouri, the hotter it got.

My brother and his wife were on their trike and my wife and I were on ours.  We were pulling a heavier load so we were not getting as good of gas mileage as they were.  My red light came on telling me that we needed some fuel, but me, being a man and an adventurer, I knew that we could go a little further before we had to fill up.

My wife was not very happy and she was starting to think that we would run out of gas.  Fortunately for me, we made it to a gas station just in time.  I figured that we still had enough fuel to go another 20 miles before we ran out.  I was told in not so many words to NOT wait until it got that low the next time.

The longer we drove, the hotter it got.  By the time that we turned South from Springfield Mo, the temperature was reaching 102.   We were traveling 2 lane road and we knew that we needed to stop and rehydrate ourselves.  With only 31 miles from our destination but couldn’t go any further.  We stopped in Blue Eye Missouri at a little park to rest and rehydrate.

 

After drinking a Gatorade and falling asleep on the park bench, we were ready for the last leg of the journey.  As we were leaving Blue Eye, I noticed this business.  It stood out.

We arrived at Eureka Springs KOA about 4:30 p.m.  It was a welcome site.  Eureka Springs KOA is located about 4 miles North of Eureka Springs but the road to the campground is a hilly and winding.  The campground itself is very clean and peaceful.  It is run by a husband and wife team and you can tell that they take great pride in their property.

After checking in, we proceeded to our site to begin setting up our Bunkhouse Camper.  My brother and his wife had rented a park model camper and they started unloading their things into it.

I think that my wife and I lost 20 pounds a piece setting up our campsite because of the heat and humidity.

We were told that we were close to the bathrooms but we didn’t realize the bathrooms were not modern.

Fortunately for us, that was just for show and we really were close to the bathroom/showers.

We got our air conditioner going and crashed for the night.  Sweet dreams were had by all.

SUNDAY JULY 27

We all woke up Sunday morning refreshed and ready to go to church.  I read about a chapel that was near our campground and decided that we would attend Sunday morning service there.  The name of the chapel is Thorncrown Chapel.  It is a beautiful chapel and a secluded wooded setting and you felt at peace on the property.

 

Church started at 9:00 and got out at 10:00.  We decided to head in to Eureka Springs for lunch.  While talking to one of our neighbors at the campground, they mentioned that we should try out a restaurant called Myrtie Mays.  Myrtie Mays was located in the Best Western Hotel on the strip.  We thought that we would beat the crowd to lunch since it was so early and figured the Baptist were still in church.  Boy, were we wrong.  I think that they let all of the churches out early that day because when we got there at 11:10, we were told that we had a 30-35 minute wait.  There were plenty of seats in the waiting room so the woman waited there while my brother and I went outside to look at this beautiful bike that we had seen when we pulled into the parking lot.  It was a custom bike that he had made out of a VTX and he personalized it to the hilt.  Below are some pictures of the paint job and customizing that he had done.

The gentleman who owned this bike had his wife with him and she had one all decked out also.  It wasn’t as nice and as extensive as this one but it was nice nevertheless.

After admiring these beautiful bikes, we went back inside to wait for our name to be called.  While sitting in the waiting room, my brother struck a conversation with this gentleman and his wife.  I joined in the conversation and we talked until our name was called for a table.  This gentleman and his wife, Russ and Dixie Ashworth,  were so delightful and funny to talk to, we decided to ask them if they would join us at our table.  They consented and some new friends were made over lunch.  You will read more about them later.

They told us that they lived about an hour north of Eureka Springs in the country.  They described their house and the area that they lived and then invited us to come up and see them sometime.  By the time that our lunch was over, we felt like we had known them for years.  In the back of my mind, I was trying to figure out how we could  go visit them while we were still on our vacation.  In the mean time, we were chowing down on a great lunch with fried  chicken, roast beef, roast pork, ham, and all of the fix’ins.

 

After lunch, we rode our bikes back to the campground to relax a little.  We got antsy after a short while and decided to ride.  We took a loop from our campground and rode down to Beaver Lake.  The loop took us back into Eureka Springs.  We decided to visit the downtown area to look at the historical buildings and shops.

On the way into town, Judy saw this home with this beautiful flowering bush.

We decided to break the law and trespass.

Here are some photos of the downtown area.

 

 

This last photo is a building that I found intriguing.  We used to have one similar to this one in our home town.  It is a triangular shaped building .  I didn’t realize when I took it that my wife, Judy, was standing on the left side up against a railing.

Our beautiful wives at one of the springs that we visited.  Don’t they look lovely.

After touring the town, our crew was starting to get hungry again.  A vote was taken and I lost.  Mexican it was.  I can tolerate tacos so we found a Mexican restaurant .

 Monday

Today was Oark day.  Oark Arkansas boast the oldest continuous operated General Store in the state of Arkansas.  I have read numerous ride reports of guys riding their cycles through the hills of Arkansas and they always seem to mention Oark General Store, famous for their hamburgers and homemade pies.  It is located out in the middle of nowhere and getting there is such a pleasure.  The terrain starts out from Eureka Springs with gently rolling pasture lands and slightly curving roads.

 

Then it gets interesting.  Tight curves with higher hills makes the trip adventurous.

 

 

 

 

 

I am not sure if you can see her but this is one deer that we didn’t hit.

Finally rolling into Oark.

 

Note the price on the gas pumps.  They are so old, they cannot get the price to go higher, hence doubling the price.

The crew patiently waiting for our grub.

My brother Steve with his low calorie bacon-cheese-grease burger.  It does look delicious though.

 

I opted for the deep fried chicken strips and fries.  They were delicious.

 

Other businesses in Oark.

 

On our way home, we noticed this sign.  Yeah baby.  That’s what we’re talking about.

The road features curve after curve.  Then we come upon a sign like this.  I’m not sure why they put these signs up because in this part of Arkansas, it is one continuous curve.

We made it back safely to our campground and ate at our campsites.  Then crashed for a good nights sleep.

 

TUESDAY

 

Earlier, I had mentioned about a couple that we had met at Sunday lunch, Russ and Dixie Ashworth.  They had mentioned at lunch that we should visit them in their home.  They lived about 60 miles away in Missouri on 200 acres.  We called them and they said come on up.  So Tuesday morning, we headed up to Powell Missouri to visit our new friends.  The ride up was very pleasant and fast.  Russ and Dixie live 10 miles out in the country and the road to their house was as much fun as any we road in Arkansas.  Upon arriving at their home, we could understand why they were so proud of it.  It sits atop a hill and looks out over a valley.  It was so peaceful there.

 

After visiting for a few hours and getting the grand tour of their place, we decided that it was time to get going  and head back to Eureka Springs.  I got up to leave and Dixie said that we were staying for lunch.  Now we were not planning on staying for lunch but Russ and Dixie talked us into it.  They had hamburgers from their own farm raised beef, potato salad, some of the best baked beans that I have ever eaten, and 3 different desserts.  Talk about hospitality.  We had such a great time with them and hope to keep in contact with them.    My sister-in-law sitting at the feast that Russ and Dixie put on for us.

Russ and Dixie by their fountain in the front yard.

The river near their house.

Their house from the valley.  Their house in in the bare spot just to the right of the flag pole near the top of the hill.

 

ROURING RIVER STATE PARK

 

On our way back to Eureka Springs, rode throughout Rouring River State Park  to view the spring and fish hatchery.  The trout are quite abundant in this river from constant stocking.

 

The spring comes out of a cave and gushes out 20 million gallons of fresh cold water a day.

 

Judy took several pictures of old homesteads on the way back.  Every time I see an old abandoned house like this, I wonder about the people who used to live in them.  About their families and the hard work that they had to do.  I wonder about the flowers and gardens that they grew and all of the labor that they put into their property.  And now to see them like this, it makes me sad.

 

 

It was my turn to decide where we were to eat tonight.  I chose Bubba’s.

 

Bubba’s made for a great ending to a fabulous day.

 

 

WEDNESDAY

 

After breaking camp and packing everything, we started on our journey home.  We had decided to take our time riding home and make it a 2 day event.  Before we even got to Springfield Mo, the rains opened up and we had to climb into our rain suits.  After fighting a big storm, we were famished.  What better way to warm up and fill up than to stop at the Worlds Famous Lamberts Cafe, home to the “throwed rolls.”

As usual, the wait was long.  But they did have a gift shop and time flew by quickly.

They seated us and promptly took our order.  The entree of choice this day would be chicken and all of the trimmings.

 

They would wheel a cart into the lunch area where we were dining and say,”who wants a fresh roll?”  If you raised your hand, they would throw you a roll across the room.  Charlene didn’t realize that they were as fresh as they were and when she caught her roll, she smashed it in her hand.  Made no difference.  Those rolls would have be just as good any way you ate them.

 

 

 

 

We finished our lunch and waddled out of the restaurant.  We made it as far as Sullivan Mo. that night and stayed in a Comfort Inn.  The next morning after breakfast, we started off on the last of our journey.  We figured by that time, we were about 4 hours away from home.  After crossing the mighty Mississippi river, Steve wanted to pull over to check something on his trike.  When he tried to start it again, it wouldn’t start.

 

We started tearing it apart to see if we could figure out what the problem might be.  Talk about the blind leading the blind.    This is me asking Steve if it might be low on blinker  fluid.

 

Neither one of us could figure out what the problem was so I, being the most senior of the group took it upon myself to take drastic measures.

 

Fortunately, my brother in his infinite wisdom, joined Goldwing Road Riders Association just prior to our departure to our trip to Eureka Springs.  Included in the membership was free towing.  So my brother initiated his new benefit and called a tow truck.

 

They towed the trike to Neihaus Cycle in Litchfield IL.  It was approximately 40 miles away.  We spent most of the day at Neihaus and found out that the culprit was this.

Unfortunatey with Goldwings, when a battery starts going out, it doesn’t give any notice.  Such was the case this time as well.  With a new battery installed, we finished up the last 140 miles of a great vacation with enough memories to last a life time.