The merry band of travelers: Jim and Dena Hill, Meg and George Cook, Pam and David Robare
DAY ONE
Route for the day: Highway 121 North (through McKinney and into Bonham,
Texas); highways 82 East and Loop 286 (into Paris, TX); highways 195 North
and 37 East (into Idabel, OK); and Business 70 and 259 North up to Beaver's
Bend which is just north of Broken Bow, OK.
We all met at the Whataburger near Bass Pro in Grapevine for a quick breakfast and discussion of the day's ride. Getting out of the DFW metroplex does not lend itself to pretty views but it didn't take long for the scenery to change and become more pleasurable.
The morning started off cool and then gave way to really pleasant temps for the ride. When we reached the Beaver's Bend area, George and Meg recommended we have lunch at the Grateful Head at Beavers Bend. Really outstanding pizza if you are ever up in that area with a yearning for pizza.
After lunch, in true female fashion, we crossed the street and visited Girls Gone Wine.
A short ride brought us to the gorgeous log home where we would spend the night. Wow! It is a fabulous house owned by a friend of George.
Such a beautiful afternoon called for a ride around the lake at Beaver's Bend. Beautiful lake with clear water bordered by lush forest.
There was rain forecast for the evening. None of us relished a ride in the rain to have dinner so we headed back into Broken Bow where we picked up KFC to enjoy back at the house.
After dinner, we decided to take advantage of the large hot tub and have our shots of Fireball to kick off the trip. A hot tub session with a bit of alcohol is always a great way to get to know each other better. lol! David brought glow sticks which we tied to George's toes in the hot tub!
DAY TWO
Route for the day:
From Broken Bow, highways 259 North, 4 East, and 59
South (into Vandervoort, AR); highways 246 East and 84 East (into Glenwood,
AR); and highways 8 South, 84 East and 7 North (into Hot Springs, AR).
Jim and I had been to Beavers' Bend a couple times and enjoyed the breakfast we had at Steven's Gap cafe, so we led the group there to start the day.
There was drizzle forecast so we donned our rain gear at the cafe and journeyed on toward Hot Springs. However, the rain did not dampen our enjoyment of the ride. Such beautiful countryside and nice, easy curves on backroads. I have to say here, that GEORGE DID AN AWESOME JOB of planning the routes. The riding was just fabulous each and every day. Meg took care of the accomodations, and again, AWESOME JOB! We all owe a debt of GRATITUDE TO DAVID AND PAM for riding drag and keeping us all together.
Ah, Hot Springs and the Happy Hollow Hotel! Location...perfect. Right off of Central Ave/Bath House row and directly behind the Arlington Hotel. Happy Hollow is a vintage hotel with about 18 rooms. Re-furbished with great beds. Meg was a bit freaked out when we rode in and the manager, Michael, with whom she had spoken several times, said he wasn't expecting us until the next week. Confusion on Michael's part ensued for the next hour or so but he did eventually check us in.
To make things even more entertaining, when George opened the door to the room he would share with Meg, the door opened to the left, totally obscuring the door to the bathroom. He proceeded to decide that there was no bath in the room and that there must be a shared bath in the hallway. When Meg opened what she thought would be a door to the bathroom, she discovered it was a closet, further leading George to believe that there was no bathroom! Because we had drawn the winning straw for the master bedroom/bath at the house in Beaver's Bend, Jim decided to tease George that we had also gotten the best room at the Happy Hollow and that George would have to venture downstairs to our room when he needed to use the facilities. Lots of laughs over that! Michael proved to be a very kind and accommodating, if somewhat eccentric, host. He provided us with comic relief at every encounter. We spent the rest of the trip, explaining every situation with the phrase "there's a trick to that" which is what Michael seemed to say each time a question or inquiry was made.
above, a view of the hotel with our bikes parked in front. below, across the street from the hotel.
Michael made wonderful suggestions for restaurants to try, the first of which being the historic Ohio Club. This club was once owned by the infamous, Al Capone. Hot Springs was once a favorite vacation and hot spot for sports figures as well as mob figures. Below are photos of the history printed on the menu.
We gathered on the patio at the hotel after dinner to have drinks (slippery nipples) and dessert (fudge and peanut brittle)
DAY THREE
Route for the day:
From Hot Springs, highways 7 North, 5 East, 9 North and
154 West (into Petit Jean State Park); highways 154 West, 27 South, 10 West
(into Havana, AR); highway 309 North (into Mt Magazine State Park); and
highways 309 North (towards Paris, AR), 109 South, 10 East, 27 South, 28
East and 7 South (into Hot Springs, AR).
For breakfast on our first morning in Hot Springs, we stopped in at the award winning Colonial cafe, reputed by Southern Living to have the best breakfast in the area. VERY good. Biscuits to die for! And of course, our spoon toast with Tabasco!
The weather forecast for today promised beautiful sunny skies and nice temps. However, we did run into drizzle late in the morning and once again got into our rain gear at a pit stop.
We journeyed on to Petit Jean state park and were able to travel on without rain gear from there.
Beautiful riding among rural areas, passing through several small and sometimes quaint towns.
We rode up Magazine mountain for a fabulous lunch in the lodge there and enjoyed the wonderful vistas from the patio. The Lodge is really gorgeous and it would be so nice to rent a cabin there on the side of the mountain and spend a few days on the porch sipping wine while gazing at the views.
After lunch we rode the incomparable highway 7 back into Hot Springs, arriving back at the hotel slightly after dark. A full day.
DAY FOUR
Route for the day:
From Hot Springs, highways 270 West, 88 West, and 1 West
(across Talimena Scenic Drive); highways 82 North and 270 West (into
Wilburton); and highway 2 North (into Robbers Cave State Park).
With the bikes all packed and with all of us bundled up for the cool morning, we bid farewell to Hot Springs and Michael.
We couldn't resist another visit to the Colonial for breakfast and our traditional spoon toast of Tabasco for good luck for the day. Headed west to Mena, Arkansas where we made our way onto the Talimena Scenic Drive. Several stops along the drive to enjoy the vistas and take photos.
George is from Oklahoma and at a stop for lunch at Bell's Cafe in Talihina, he met a new cousin, Samantha. And the food....FAB! Jim had a delicious patty melt. We were able to snag the last two pieces of their toasted coconut homemade pie for our table to share. YUM! If you find yourself in Talihina around the time for a meal, you must try Bell's. You will not be disappointed.
After lunch we rode on to Wilburton, Oklahoma for our stay at the lodge in Robber's Cave state park which is located in an historic area where outlaws gathered in the past, including Belle Starr.
Beautiful state park, lodge and views from the cliffs where we enjoyed our happy hour at the day's end.
And of course the last shots of Fireball to commemorate a fabulous trip together!
And of course the last shots of Fireball to commemorate a fabulous trip together!
DAY FIVE
Route for the day:
From Robbers Cave State Park, highway 2 South (into
Antlers, OK); highway 271 South (into Paris, TX); loop 286 West and highway
82 West (into Bonham, TX); and highway 121 South (into the Fort Worth/Dallas
area).
None of us could believe that this was the final day. A whirlwind trip and so much fun together. No tabasco this morning because we ate at McDonald's in order to get on the road before the rain set in. Guess we need to travel with our own supply of Tabasco from now on. LOL! There was a lot of rain in the forecast as well as thunderstorms in the metroplex. We got an early start hoping we could avoid some of the wet weather. At McDonald's we got into our rain gear again for the ride home. The huge storms never materialized, thank goodness. Just pretty steady showers. Our final stop was in Bonham, where we had our goodbye hugs and photos.
ITS A WRAP!
Some of the funny things:
1. Top of the list has got to be Michael at Happy Hollow
2. George trying to find the bathroom at Happy Hollow
3. Our daily spoon shots of tabasco for good luck
4. Meg trying to get a delayed release photo of all of us on the last night
5. the wait for hot water in the shower at the Happy Hollow
6. David being so romantic and putting rose petals on the bed for Pam at the Happy Hollow. Then Pam freaked out thinking that Michael had been in their room. Sort of Bates motel freaky.
7. David's glow sticks in the hot tub tied to George's toes
8. Dena's new nickname...Pokey. (thanks, david. lol!)
9. An excess of cable wires strung throughout each room suggesting that there could possibly be video recording in the rooms.
10. George's insistence that Jim needed to try some lamb fries for dinner one night in Oklahoma. Jim was thrilled that opportunity never did present itself.
What made it especially memorable:
1. New friends, first time traveling together.
2. Everyone willing to go along with whatever the group wanted
3. no complaints (at least no serious ones but lots of funny ones)
4. the roads
5. not letting the drizzle dampen our spirits or our enjoyment of the trip
6. Herd of deer Meg saw in the vacant lot next door during the VERY early hours of Wednesday morning when she peeked out the window to check on the bikes
7. did I mention the roads?
8. everyone's focus on safety and having fun together
9. the gorgeous house in Beaver's bend for our first night and enjoying the hot tub
10. Rueben sandwich at the Ohio Club
11. tabasco shots to start the day
12. Fireball shots to end the day (courtesy of Meg and George)
13. slippery nipples for dessert (courtesy of Pam and David)
14. Michael
15. awesome photos taken by Meg and Pam so that we would have documentation of all the great sights
16. Filthy bikes mean we had a great time!
The states - Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas
Total miles round trip from our driveway - 1108
Can't wait until the next one and making more memories!
