The Longest Bridge

It finally happened, I was off work a few days ago and the weather was great, time for a ride. The day was sunny and warm with no wind, a wonderful day for a ride. Wonderful as long as I was moving, whenever I stopped, the buffalo gnats would eat me up, in my eyes, my ears, everywhere. I took pictures quick and got back on the road.
On this ride I decided to go West on Hwy 22 to Midway, then 109 North. After arriving at Clarksville I took Hwy 64 East through town. I took Hwy 123 East next then shortly before reaching 64 again I took some county roads and ended up East of Lamar. I then took 64 back to Russellville.

A couple of old houses along Hwy 22.

Abandoned house in the cow pasture.

This house had what appears to be a gravity fed water system.


Interesting how they planted the big tree at the corner of the two sections of this house.

New Blaine... I never gave the place much thought, until now. Actually I have never gotten off Hwy 64 until now. I took Old Hwy 22 (its not called that, it has a name but I forget what they call it now) and found that it is probably the best preserved section of old Hwy 22 between Dardanelle and Ft. Smith.

The Lassiter Gas Station, Established 1935 is on the old section of road. Its a small building as were alot of gas stations in the old days. They were'nt convenience stores, they sold gas and oil.

Cindy next to the old road, I took this pic to give an idea of the size of the station.

When exploring old towns, you never know what you might find. Directly across from the old station was a dirt road. I just happened to notice an old sign that said something about a museum. On one side of the road was the old New Blaine Railway station with a caboose to boot.

I'm thinking this museum is not going to be open for business.

The old Farmers State Bank.

With whittling chair out front.

Inside is quite a collection of antiques. Too bad I could'nt go inside.

Around back was interesting as well. Zoom in on those old wagons and the old truck.

Going back out on the same road I made a right at the station. The bridge across Little Shoal Creek was built across old Hwy 22 in 1929.


Looking South you can see the new Hwy 22 bridge.

Looking North, I never knew this creek was this big.

I crossed the bridge, new Hwy 22, and still following old 22 I went up the hill to the old Rollans Cash Store (which is for sale, and the price includes two houses). From the store old 22 curves around and meets up with new 22.

The New Liberty School House about six miles East of Midway.


I went on to Midway and couldnt find anything interesting to take a picture of there. So it was on to Scratton, I probably missed something interesting at Scranton but it was getting late and I was hurting for sunlight.


Saint Peter and Paul Catholic Church is at Morrison Bluff. I'm not sure what year it was established but it was certainly the most dark pink church I ever seen.

Morrison Bluff is where Hwy 109 crosses the Arkansas River on what is the longest bridge in Arkansas. Its right at two miles long and is a really nice drive.

This old house is known as the Pioneer House in Johnson County http://www.clarksvillearchamber.com/historic.htm. Its located at Hwy 123/Hospital Drive in Clarksville and is the oldest documented house in Johnson County. It was built circa 1850. Its has not been taken care of, as is the case with alot of historical sites in Arkansas. I think I've said that before, and it's the truth.

Below is part of an area I've always known as 40 acre rock.

I don't know how many acres of rock there really are here but I'm sure its at least 40 acres. Not too many years ago there were only a couple of houses in the area and the trees were all short from fire, logging or whatever. The area was a real eyecatcher. When I was a teenager I climbed all over these rocks. Of course now there is a housing area and most of the rocky area can't be seen from 64 or I-40.
Heres how to get there. Going West from Russellville on 64, cross the lake, turn right as if to get on I-40. Go over I-40 take a right on Dwight Mission Road and the area is on the left. I didnt see any "No Tresspassing" signs.

The house was left in the picture intentionally to show the size of the rocks. I've heard that some of the new houses here are sliding on the rock, apparently the the soil is not very deep and the houses were not anchored to the rock.

As with alot of areas in Poop County, this is another spot that was overlooked. Forty Acre rock could very well have been made into a park/natural area. I guess we already have too many parks, natural areas, museums and preserved archaelogical sites in the county. We would'nt want to attract to many of the wrong kind of tourists, right. Lets keep it simple. Remember, the family that fishes together stays together.

I hope someone from the area understands my sarcasm.

A few scenes from the past.

These are some pics of CP on his 1970 Electraglide. The lake pics were at Greers Ferry Lake and were taken about 1979. I dont remember the location of the low water bridge although I'm sure it was on the same ride.





A pic of me from the same ride.

Morrilton-Solgohauchia Ride 2008

It started out to be a nice day for riding Sunday, the temperature was 67 when I left the house at around 1030. I did some errands in the Russellville area then headed towards Morrilton. I rode Hwy 64 East then made a right on 113 at Blackwell for a ride past pecan trees and through the soy fields that dominate the area.

This is what remains of a structure that once stood here. Its bigger than it looks in the picture. The square piece of cement with rerods is probably 3x3 ft. It may have been a tower of some kind, I know its been there for as long as I can remember.

A few hundred yards farther was this old barn. Thats Petit Jean Mtn in the distance.


When I arrived at the Point Remove Creek Bridge I was surprised. They've built a new bridge! I did'nt see anything wrong with the old bridge, I guess they needed one for bigger trucks to cross. The bridge which has been the crossing point since I've been driving has been torn down.
Here is the Old bridge, it was given a new paint job several years ago.



These summer pics are from a past ride.


The stats of the old bridge.
Overview
Through truss bridge over Point Remove Creek on AR 113 west of Morrilton
Location
Conway County, Arkansas
Status
Open to pedestrians only
Future prospects
Preserved
History
Built 1926 by the Virginia Bridge & Iron Co.; bypassed ca. 2005
Builder
- Virginia Bridge & Iron Co.

Design
Riveted, 6-panel Pratt through truss
Dimensions
Length of largest span: 122.0 ft.
Total length: 271.9 ft.
Deck width: 18.0 ft.
Vertical clearance above deck: 14.0 ft.

This is the absolutely beautiful new bridge....


This is a pic of the new bridge from the preserved bridge, looking North.


This is looking South from the old bridge.


I suppose the catfish were biting, whether they were or not did'nt seem to matter to this man.


I left the bridge behind and headed on to Morrilton. I passed by the rusting old Morrilton water tower.


A little ways down the road I took a pic of the renovations to the old St. Anthony's Hospital. I had posted some pics of the delapitated building last year and was wondering what its fate would be. What happened is a a private contracter bought it and turned it into an appartment complex.
Heres some pics of before and after. A definite improvement and a great way to save a great old building.



I arrived at Zach's a few minutes later and we agreed to ride North for about a 50 mile round trip. We headed North on Hwy 9. At the junction of 9/287 at Solgohachia we stopped at a little monument which I suppose is of area significance. I have my doubts about this story. They dont mention on the stone what tribe Chief Pontis belonged to or even the year he was chief. I'll have to do some research and update at a later time.

It looks like a tornado came through here. I cant remember it happening but it sure has the looks of it. Behind Zach you can see the renants of a little building that went along with the monument. In the distance you can see two other destroyed buildings. I like the way they put the state of Arkansas in the monument, pretty good work.
This pic is looking South down Hwy 9, thats Zach on the Heritage.


From here Zach and I took 287 North till we reached 95 which we took South back to Morrilton. The ride had turned misty and a little cooler so we stopped at Love's truck stop at I-40, and had us some hot drinks. Afterwards, I went West and Zach East, it was a good ride. I'm looking forward to alot more.

Whatwasit

Here are two pictures to a mystery. This little building is off the South side of Hwy 64 between Pottsville and Atkins. It has been there since, well, its been there as long as I can remember (which is a long time :)). What was it, I have no idea. I think maybe it was something to do with an Electric Company a long time ago, or maybe the railroad (which is just down the hill from it). I'm not sure though, it may have been used by an individual for some reason. I'm not sure if anyone reading this can remember but just to the West stood two houses on the South side of the road, one big and one little and they both were built to look the same. They looked like an adult home and a childs home. It was really strange. They're gone now though. I wish I'd taken a picture.

Tornado Run

The first post of 2008, imagine that. The weather was nice yesterday so I went for a ride to look at all the devastation caused by the tornado that took a Northeastern run across Arkansas. The area I looked at was South and West of Atkins. The damage was considerable to say the least. Alot of the houses that were destroyed have now been piled up so the oringinal look I didnt get to see but still what is left was bad.

The Union Grove Church is still there, kind of, it hasnt been totally cleaned yet. You can look Northeast and Southwest and see the swath that tornado took to get there. It looks as if the trees had their tops cut off with a huge weedeater and other were just twisted and split in odd shapes. Tin was wrapped around trees, fences and other buildings like it was so much thin aluminum foil. Huge trees were uprooted and others looked like a giants foot had stepped on them as it was traveled Northeast.

Its really strange how the houses within feet of the swath of destruction recieved little or no damage, if they were not in the path of the giant weedeater they were safe. I saw the Red Cross, the Salvation Army and hundreds of volunteers helping with the cleanup.

The Union Grove Church goers were lucky in a strange way. Next door, within maybe 50 ft of the Church was the church nursery, which was being used at the time. I heard there were guite a few children in the nursery when the tornado struck. The Nursery though was undamaged.

As far as Motorcycles go, there were alot out yesterday, several groups were touring the area and alot of singles, myself being one.



This is a pic from the East side of Crow Mtn. If you zoom in, you can see Lucky Landing in the distance where the smoke is.

Looking East at I-40. Zooom in and you can see the front of the Union Grove Church to the left of the Interstate.

This is a closer look at the front.

This is where I crossed I-40, the South and East side of the Church. In the forground you can see the Nursery where several children were during the storm. It was untouched.

This is the North side of the Church.



This is a picture near the Feed Mill on Hwy 64. The tornado crossed the Hwy just East of the Mill. The direction the camera is looking is the direction the tornado came from.