Thunder Roads Magazine of Oklahoma/Arkansas October 2016 | Page 10

to help and experience that rally.
Next day it was south to 40
then West through Texas stopping
the Cadillac Ranch for the touristy
thing and Amarillo Harley for the t
shirt. Next was the hurdle of riding
past my last trip’s crash site which
I had just west of Groom, TX in
2010. Glad to say, I got over that
one with no problems. Ended up
finding a room in Shamrock for the
night and enjoying a cool swim in
the pool after a hot day of riding.
Again I headed East to
Oklahoma City then north on old
Route 66 to Tulsa with a few photo
stops on the way like The Round
Barn in Arcadia. Finally, arrived
in Tulsa and caught up with my
friends who I would stay with for
a while and use as a base. After
a few days of catching up with
friends, resting and getting the
bike serviced, I headed south
to Idabel via Fort Thunder HD
for a t shirt. I went to Idabel to
meet up with a friend I had met in
Cambodia a few years beforehand
and he had asked me to join him
and some friends for a ride through
Arkansas. Once we had all met up
in Idabel we headed up through
Broken Bow on 259 to Talihina
then rode The Winding Stairs road
which was fantastic. At Mena, we
headed north along 23 to Ozark.
What a dream ride Hwy 23 is to
Ozark. I didn’t think it could get
any better but then we hit The Pig
Trail which was a road I had been
hearing a lot about. Well, it sure
lived up to its reputation. What an
awesome ride. I can’t say enough
on what a great road this is except
riders in the area are very spoiled.
We eventually rode in to Eureka
Springs had a bite to eat then
found a room for the night.
10

Thunder Roads Magazine of OK/AR

Next day, after breakfast we
rode around the town looking at
the picturesque buildings then hit
the Harley Davidson dealer for the
t shirt. After that we headed out to
Harrison then Yellville and across
Blue Shoals Lake by ferry up into
Missouri back down to Mountain
Home and west back to Rogers.
After finding a room we met an
old Marine buddy of my friends’
who they hadn’t seen in 25 years.
We left Rogers and went East
to Harrison then south down Hwy
21. The great part was the ride
from Paris down 309 to Hurricane
and on to Hot Springs. We stayed

the night in Hot Springs which
is a lovely historic town with the
shortest street in the USA I’m told.
Next day I said goodbye and
was on my own again. It wasn’t a
hard decision I headed back up
the Pig Trail because I wanted to
experience it again then headed
back to Tulsa. What a great few
days of riding I had in Arkansas.
The people who live there are very
lucky. Until next time, I’ll be on the
road penning my journey for you.
Ride Safe All.