Ozark Ride Report (picture heavy)

[trumpetguy]

I had a short break last week, so my dad and I planned a quick 1,000 mile trip to the Ozark Mountains in eastern Oklahoma and Western Arkansas. I got away mid-afternoon on Wednesday and rode to Talihina, OK to meet up. We had planned a loop beginning there, going east into Central Arkansas, then up almost to the Missouri border and back into Oklahoma.

We got up Thursday morning and had a great breakfast, then headed for the Talimena Scenic Drive. This is a must-ride for anyone in the region. The road was built as a WPA project and straddles the ridge of the Winding Stair Range in the Ouachita Mountains. Because it is so high, spectacular views (and turnouts to take advantage of them) are everywhere. Plenty of twisty bits, too. It was a bit foggy in Talihina, but the forecast called for sunny weather and warm. As we rode up to the entrance, fog got thicker. We decided to try it, and as we entered the scenic drive, we entered a cloud of pea-soup fog. We stopped at a turnout to wait and see if it got better. After an hour, we turned back.

Here is how thick the fog was:




We did a little exploring while waiting for the fog to clear, still wearing gear to stay warm:

[trumpetguy]

After visiting with the very helpful people at the visitor center (the lady even called a friend to check on conditions for us), we decided to run our loop the opposite direction. We had to trim some distance off the trip to make it work in the time we had. Now we went north into Northeastern Oklahoma, and then into Arkansas. A highlight was Hwy 59 from Evansville to Natural Dam -- smooth road, super-twisty and beautiful scenery.

[trumpetguy]

A couple of views of Lee Creek near Natural Dam, AR:





We stopped for the night in Fort Smith, and had some great Thai food at a local mom and Pop Thai place.

Friday morning we headed east on I-40 to Ozark, AR, where we stopped for breakfast before heading south on Hwy 23 and then 309 towards Magazine Mountain.

A small lake en route:

[trumpetguy]

and another sign of natural beauty:


Here's my dad and his 1994 BMW R1100RS:


Another turnout with beautiful fall color on the way up:

[trumpetguy]

Our bikes (I was riding my 1982 Suzuki GS1100E with Windjammer fairing):


We reached Magazine Mountain and stopped to take in the spectacular view:




And more fall colors:

[trumpetguy]

We then reached the Talimena scenic drive from the other end (Mena , AR) and started up. Again, great views. Riding was not as fun due to traffic. We got behind the third grade girls Harley posers club at one point -- BRAKING through turns for heavens sakes. They must not have covered engine braking at the Harley dealership where they learned to "ride."

Views from the Talimena Scenic Drive:




We rode on to McAlester, OK for the night and went home Saturday morning. A great trip!

[67fire]

Looks like you guys had a great ride!
Thanks for sharing the pic's.

Eric

[spyug]

Nothing finer, father and son bonding, great riding and amazing scenery.

Thanks for sharing.

Cheers,
Spyug

[physics-teacher]

Home

I ride the roads you describe every weekend and they account for 40,000 miles on my GS650G in the last three years. I'd put them up against any in the US.

[trumpetguy]

physics-teacher, I agree. Those roads are awesome. BTW, my parents are both retired teachers and I'm a teacher myself!

[79FiveFifty]

I just got back not long ago from Missouri, nice to see your photos and I'm glad you got to take a nice long ride with your pops.

Oh, and I am in total agreeance with the curve signs on the road.. I like seeing them too!

[ReTread]

Thanks for sharing. Beautiful roads.

[Guest]

I've got to make a return trip on my bike to Mount Magazine. I took my wife to be on a ride there back in 92 or 93. The mountain then was nothing like it is now. Going home down the winding highway 7 toward Hot Springs and having fun I didn't realize I was scaring her half to death. But she still married me. We, mostly I, laugh about it now. Thanks for great photos. Now if I can find some of the ones we took.

[motomonkey]

Awesome pictures! Looks like you had a great time!

Candice

[detorn]

I would buy this photo, very nice. What type of camera did you use?