Back to Arkansas

Honestly, we only went to Arkansas last weekend because I missed going there; if you do a search, typing "motorcycle arkansas" in the search box in the upper left-hand corner of this blog, you will find several entries about our trips there on the Gold Wing.  Cliff wasn't thrilled about going, but was willing to cater to me.  I found a tractor show to (I hoped) help make the trip worth his time, and away we went.  

Going by car instead of motorcycle takes a lot of the novelty out of the trip:  Those winding roads through the beautiful Arkansas hills were absolutely breathtaking on the Gold Wing.  Somehow in a car you don't get the same effect.  However, there were many bikers at the motel where we stayed Friday night, and I was able to vicariously enjoy the biker experience by just observing them.  

After the tractor show (part 1 HERE, part 2 HERE), we went to Mystic Caverns, very near the biker motel we used to frequent.  There are two caves there; the price for admission to see both is $14.99 apiece.  Because there were many steps, I opted to see just one, the more recently discovered Crystal Dome.  I never know how far I can trust my knees to take me before they start protesting.  In hindsight, no more than we got for the thirty bucks we paid for the two of us, it was sort of a ripoff.  I'm sure if we had never seen the inside of a cave it would have been more impressive, but we toured Marvel Cave back when they gave a three-hour tour (before Silver Dollar City grew up around it), and once you've seen that, other caves fail to impress.  

Here's our tour group going down into the cavern.

And here's a gruesome selfie I took of us in the cavern:

I bought twelve colorful rocks to take home to Cora, since she is fascinated by rocks.  It has been well worth the exorbitant price I paid, because she has spent a lot of time sorting, examining, and losing her rocks.  

I had planned for us to spend another night in Arkansas, but having no motorcycle to ride around the scenic hills, it just wasn't the same.  It was still early in the afternoon, and I told Cliff that if we could just go south on 7 highway to "the Grand Canyon of the Ozarks", I'd be content to go home.  

What a view!

Even with achey knees, I can't pass up climbing these lookout towers when I happen onto one.  I have to say, this one has seen better days.  The wood is rotting in places and it has a rickety feeling.  Notice the walking stick I bought while I was in Arkansas; I've wanted one of those for a long, long time.  

A group of Harley riders pulled in while I was at the top of the tower.

Here's a picture  of Cliff and our Gold Wing, taken from the top of the tower six years ago.

After this little stop we headed back toward home.  We made the required stop at Osceola Cheese and bought some cheese and crunchie-munchies to serve as supper on the way back.  

We left Friday morning around 8:30 and we were back home Saturday evening by 7 PM or so.  Nice little getaway, and we were gone less than thirty-six hours.