It was off to the back roads of America for a 
posse of five. Two from Maine, two from Michigan, and one from Georgia. The destination was southern Missouri/northern Arkansas for some curvy road riding, civil war site viewing and a family visit for yours truly. My aunt/uncle/cousins live in northern Arkansas in the heart of the Ozarks. Beautiful country (but a dry county, AHHHH!!!!).
We took off on Sunday morning from Upper Sandusky, Ohio with rain to left, rain to the right and rain straight ahead. Little did we know that the cool rain would be the only rain we would encounter and that the temperature was going to rise significantly. The rain stopped about when we got into Indiana and w
e had a beautiful drive through the southern portion of the state on Route 50 through Hoosier National Forest. We got to the Indiana/Illinois border and decided to call it a day in Vincennes, Indiana.
e had a beautiful drive through the southern portion of the state on Route 50 through Hoosier National Forest. We got to the Indiana/Illinois border and decided to call it a day in Vincennes, Indiana.
We were on a mission on day two to make it to Springfield, Missouri, probably 400+ miles from where we were starting. The temperature was rising quickly so we got going early in the morning. The ride through Illinois was pretty lame to be quite honest. If it wasn’t for Chicago, I don’t know what that state would be good for. Nothing but flat terrain with corn fields and hot pavement (sorry to any Illinois' natives). We made it to Missouri just in time for lunch in Cape Girardeau, a nice little historic village on the 
banks of the Mississippi. With temperatures reaching close to 100 degrees by this time, that first beer was quite a treat. Route 34 and Route 60 took us through Mark Twain National Forest and some beautiful scenery throughout. Chuck Chenevert is an experienced rider and can dart through those “S” curves pretty well but I’ll admit it, I go pretty much granny speed through them but am getting better each year. Those semis that cruise through the back roads like they are driving a convertible scare the heck out of me. I always seem to come upon them right at the turns. Okay, enough of my crying. We hit dusk with what we thought was maybe 100 miles to go until Springfield but the next sign said 170+ so morale took a little shot in the rear. The sun setting was a blessing because the temperatures cooled off to a chilly 80-85 degrees by that time. It wasn’t much of a drop but it was just what we needed for the last push into Springfield for our two day stay there.
We took off down Route 39 out of Springfield and the beauty 
grew as each mile we put on. We came upon an impressive lake (reservoir?) called Table Rock Lake. Later on I found out my cousin and her husband have a house boat on the lake. I’ll have to head back there in the near future. From a rest area, we could see the Ozarks in the distance. They aren’t large but they are beautiful, green rolling hills. We got into Arkansas and hit Route 62 through Eureka Springs. I remember Eureka Springs as a kid and it hadn’t changed much. Beautiful, curvy roads on the ridge of the hills but unfortunately the area is tourist-ville and Ken and I got stuck behind tourist number one going two miles an hour. They even have hotels specifically for motorcyclists in the area (pictured). We met up with the others in front of us for lunch and many liquid refreshments to combat the heat. I had planned to go with the others to Pea Ridge Civil War site but time was short and my mission was to see my Aunt Pat, Uncle Joe, and their family who live in Harrison, AR. With that, I split from the group and we’d all meet up at the hotel later that night.
grew as each mile we put on. We came upon an impressive lake (reservoir?) called Table Rock Lake. Later on I found out my cousin and her husband have a house boat on the lake. I’ll have to head back there in the near future. From a rest area, we could see the Ozarks in the distance. They aren’t large but they are beautiful, green rolling hills. We got into Arkansas and hit Route 62 through Eureka Springs. I remember Eureka Springs as a kid and it hadn’t changed much. Beautiful, curvy roads on the ridge of the hills but unfortunately the area is tourist-ville and Ken and I got stuck behind tourist number one going two miles an hour. They even have hotels specifically for motorcyclists in the area (pictured). We met up with the others in front of us for lunch and many liquid refreshments to combat the heat. I had planned to go with the others to Pea Ridge Civil War site but time was short and my mission was to see my Aunt Pat, Uncle Joe, and their family who live in Harrison, AR. With that, I split from the group and we’d all meet up at the hotel later that night.
I hadn’t seen my aunt/uncle in probably 20 years and the last memories I have there is the country house they had on ten or so acres and going to run some coon dogs with my cousin Mike. Well, times have changed. They now live in a neighborhood that backs up to a golf course and replaced ten acres with one. I guess you can say they are now city dwellers. The house is beautiful. My Aunt Pat did a great job decorating the place. She was gracious enough to let me put my motorcycle in the garage with the temperature again reaching near 100 degrees. While my Uncle Joe recently had a stroke that 
has slowed him down a bit, he still cracked me up with some of the dirt he had on my dad. His memory is still strong. My dad and Joe went to different catholic schools and both played football. Joe played linebacker and Dad played quarterback so something had to give. Joe said he got some licks into my old man and blocked a punt for his team’s only score but his team lost pretty well. I also got to see my cousin Kathy, her husband Steve, and her kids Derek and Josh. All good people. What topped it all off was a great chicken dinner from Aunt Pat with all the goodies on the side. It was great to see my family roots and I hope it’s not another 20 years until I see them again. I made it back to Springfield that night with some good memories and a belly full of food.
has slowed him down a bit, he still cracked me up with some of the dirt he had on my dad. His memory is still strong. My dad and Joe went to different catholic schools and both played football. Joe played linebacker and Dad played quarterback so something had to give. Joe said he got some licks into my old man and blocked a punt for his team’s only score but his team lost pretty well. I also got to see my cousin Kathy, her husband Steve, and her kids Derek and Josh. All good people. What topped it all off was a great chicken dinner from Aunt Pat with all the goodies on the side. It was great to see my family roots and I hope it’s not another 20 years until I see them again. I made it back to Springfield that night with some good memories and a belly full of food.
We had made it as far west as we were going to go on this trip and it was back to the east. With the group heading every which way back home, Kentucky was chosen as a nice destination for the day, specifically Bowling Green, home of the Corvette and Western Kentucky University. We bushwhacked in the morning to get some miles behind us before the extreme heat kicked it. The ride through Kentucky, as it always is, was beautiful. While they are lacking on taverns, they make up for it with rolling hills and twisting roads. We took Route 68 most of the way and through a section called “Land Between the Lakes,” which I had visited on a previous trip. The land is sandwiched between two large bodies of water, Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley. We made it into Bowling Green around dusk. In the distance I could see the beer store and I was a thirsty boy. I walked to it with my riding stench shooting from my pores but I honestly didn’t care at this point. I was on a mission for my group. While making small talk with the cashier and asking where her accent was, it turns out she was from Eaton Rapids, Michigan, and had just moved down there. I hope the liquor store is not her pinnacle in life.
The next morning, Dan split from the group back towards his home state of Georgia. The rest of us continued on Route 68 through Lexington. Speaking of Lexington and Route 68, there is a beautiful motorcycle riding road about a half an hour south of the city. The cave and bridge pictures are from there. We got through Lexington and into Ohio with the heat still hanging with us the whole way. Did I mention it was hot? We ended up in Chillicothe, Ohio, about an hour south of Columbus. While I think all Ohio drivers are the worst on earth, southern Ohio is quite beautiful on the motorcycle. It’s like day and night from the northern portion. We got settled into the hotel and had intentions of heading out later for dinner but some fierce thunderstorms settled into the area so we bought some liquid refresh
ments from the liquor store across the street and had happy hour at the pool. We had our happy faces on for dinner and Bob Evans was the closest place to walk to. I guess you can say we made our own supper club that night. It worked out well I think.The next morning Chuck and I went our way north and Ken and Pete went their way east back to Maine. They had already put on over 3,000 miles by this time. My fanny was crying; I can’t imagine how tired they must have been and still had probably two more days on the road. Chuck and I stopped for lunch near the Michigan border and I said something I shouldn’t have. Something to the effect of “It’s great that the bikes performed great during the tri
p and we didn’t have any breakdowns.” Well, we got into Adrian, Michigan with intentions of filling up the gas tanks one final time. Right about this time my speedometer starts bouncing up and down and my digital odometer goes blank. Maybe it’s just a bad odometer/speedometer? We stopped for gas and I go to start again; no power. Bummer! Chuck and I checked the fuses with no problems that we could see. It had to be the battery. Where in the heck are we going to find a store that sells motorcycle batteries? I look across the street and what do I see? Wholesale Battery Outlet. What are the chances? We walked over, they had the battery, the bike started and we were on our way. Lucky in life, unlucky in love I guess (or some silly saying like that). I couldn’t stop giggling on my ride back home after the experience. All and all it was a great trip with great people. You sure get some serious soul searching/reflection time/memory recall while on these rides and there is nothing like it.
That is all for now.
Trail Head
That is all for now.
