BBBQ 2008 Saturday Afternoon

As I said yesterday, I split up with the group Saturday afternoon and went for a ride out West. It was a good ride. I can't say much for the scenery, some was good and some so so and some just plain flat riding. One thing about riding I've discovered though is that it doesn't really matter if the scenery isn't that great or not. Its the ride that matters, just getting out in the fresh air, enjoying the sunshine and the sound of the motor in the open air. There isn't much I'd rather be doing.

I took some pictures to give an idea of what I mean about he lay of the land. Also, what was worth taking pictures of. I'm sure there's more out there but on the route I took I just didn't find much worth a stop for a picture.

I have heard that South of 102 and North of 62 are some nice riding roads. I guess what people are referring to is Hwy 16 which runs through a small section of the Ozark National Forest. Hwy 12 to the North of 16 looks interesting too, I'll return later on and see what they have tooffer. Here's a link.


View Larger Map

This and the picture below was the hilly part of Hwy 102.
Above is the way 102 was more often than not.
I had always wanted to go to Cherokee City, Ar., now I can say I have. This was the highlight of my visit. This was on Hwy 43 North of Siloam Springs.
I don't think I have ever been to Cininnati. Now I can say I have been to Cininnati, Ar. on Hwy 59 South of Siloam Springs. What you see is what there is. A hill with a curve, made it more interesting.
After turning onto Hwy 62 East, on my last leg towards Fayetteville, I found this Self Propelled Howitzer at a National Guard Armory in Lincoln, Ar.

A litte further down the road is Prairie Grove where a major battle was fought during the Civil War. It is memorialized with the Prairie Grove Battlefield State Park. Here's a couple of links.

http://www.arkansasstateparks.com/prairiegrovebattlefield/

http://travel.webshots.com/album/558930214wUsmDV

Cindy in front of the visitor center, Prairie Grove Battlefield State Park.
Rhea's Mill Tower.
Base of the tower with some mill stones.
The plaque above describes the cabin in the three pictures below.



I followed the driving trail for a little ways. It eventually went from pavement to that white limestone gravel which is a little more dusty than I wanted that day.

I road on into Fayetteville after my stop at the Battlefield. The traffic was horrendous. My original plans were to visit the Track Center. When I arrived at the turnoff and looked at the traffic in that direction, I just kept going East, to Hwy 265, made a left to Township and ended up at the motel, missing a lot of the heavy traffic.

A few minutes after I got back to the motel the rest of the group arrived. We took a break then prepared for Saturday Evening.