Days 8, 9, 10 – Harrison, AR Motorcycle Ride
We had a nice visit with Roy and Debbie catching up on all family news and we ate some good home cooking. We wished we could have stayed longer but a coconut pie was waiting at Aunt Imogene’s. She needed help eating it so we had to help her out…
It rained last night and was still raining this morning. We had planned to be on the road by 10:00 but waited until almost 11:00 to let the roads dry a bit.
It was a cool morning but warmed up quickly. It seemed that the closer we got to Texas the warmer it got. Today we rode more of scenic Hwy 7 to I-30. Again, there were lots of curves with great views all along the way. We rode through Hot Springs, my favorite city in Arkansas. We didn’t stop this time but if you do have a chance you need to spend time in Hot Springs.
Downtown Hot Springs, Arkansas
There is so much to see and do in Hot Springs. Hot Springs and Hot Springs National Park owe their existence to an array of springs that still supply naturally heated water for thermal bathers. The Fordyce Bathhouse, on famous Bathhouse Row, now serves as the park’s visitor center. From Bathhouse Row to the Gangster Era… Hot Springs is rich in history.
Lake Hamilton, Hot Springs, AR
The city is also known for many annual events including the Hot Springs Music Festival, Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival, Valley of the Vapors Independent Music Festival, Hot Springs Jazz Festival, Hot Springs Blues Festival, the downtown Bathtub Races and the World’s Shortest St. Patrick’s Day Parade.
I wish we could have delayed our ride by a few weeks. The fall foliage should have been good then. Fall is a beautiful time of the year to visit Arkansas.
Aunt Imogene lives on Cypress Springs Lake near Scroggins, Texas. It is a scenic area of north-east Texas. There are many scenic motorcycle roads in the area… We arrived at Aunt Imogene’s later that afternoon. We love visiting her for several reasons. We always have such a fun and relaxing time there, playing fun games, sharing memories and stories. Oh and did I mention coconut cream pie and she is just an all around great cook. We always eat too much while there. Another favorite pastime is sitting on Aunt Imogene’s deck enjoying the relaxing view of the lake while being surrounded by beautiful trees.
Aunt Imogene’s back yard on Cypress Springs Lake
We learned a new domino game Imogene called “Indian Railroad” Janet corrected her… The game is called “Mexican Train”… We had a good laugh about that one…
Janet and Aunt Imogene (84 years young)
We took a day off from riding and just enjoyed our time with Imogene and tried to finish off that coconut cream pie. Good time and great food.
Day 10
We were up early, had a good breakfast of biscuits and gravy and then we headed back home after saying our goodbyes. We promised Imogene we would get back sooner next time.
The ride home was through more of scenic East Texas. The down side of today was the temperature got into the mid 90’s. It was so hot that we removed our jackets. When we bought the Olympia Airglide 3 jackets, we hoped we could wear them when the temperature climbed into the upper 90’s.
It was nice to get home after riding 2035 miles over the past 10 days. We rode some beautiful scenic motorcycle roads with good friends, learned more history of the “Trail of Tears”, visited a couple of old forts rich in history, met some nice people along the way and took this opportunity to visit family on our return ride home. All in all it was a fun ride. We will return to explore the area more in the future.
Ride safe y’all… Hope we meet somewhere down the road…
Ride Statistics
Ride Miles 2035
Gas Used 48.2 gallons @ $3.72 average per gallon = $101.86 total cost
Average Gas Mileage 42.2 mpg
Number of Curves Ridden ~4000
If you want to follow us on the other days of our trip click the links below…
Ride introduction…
Day 1 – Georgetown, TX to Bowie, TX via scenic FM 4. (250 miles)
Day 2 – Bowie, TX to Wewoka, OK to Holden, OK (193 miles)
Day 3 – Holden, OK to Harrison, AR (263 miles)
Day 4 – Ride 1 out of Harrison, AR
Day 5 – Ride 2 out of Harrison, AR (120 miles)
Day 6 – Ride 3 out of Harrison, AR (207 miles)
Day 7 – Harrison, AR to Jessieville, AR (149 miles)
