This morning I had planned a Photo Safari. Just grab the cameras, jump on the bikes and head down toward the Buffalo River and amble along.
I figured to just take it slow and eventually run out to my mom's and see how she was doing.
I loaded up and headed out to my buddy Luther's house. He, like me, dabbles in the Photographic arts on an amature level. He was going to be my number 2 co pilot for the day. As I pulled up to Luther's shop I noticed he had his Bandit all primed to take off.
Pulling out we ran down and caught Hwy 45 East to Hwy 412. There wasn't much traffic and it was a good early morning ride. About twenty five miles into the ride we came up on a car beside the road with the trunk open. A young woman standing beside the car with a small child. Thinking that they may be having trouble we did a quick turn around and went to check. The woman explained that her daughter had just gotten car sick "all over everything!" She thanked us for stopping and but assured us she had it all under control.
Pulling back out we made a small stop at a business just outside of Marble where Luther could clear up a small business snafu.
Back on the road we ran down a couple of miles and caught 21 toward Kingston. This was a good slow paced six or seven miles. In Kingston I saw that there was a yard sale going on on the square. I rounded the square at about forty and didn't see anything I couldn't live with out. Pulling the hill out of Kingston I opened the old bike up and topped the hill at seventy five. The best part was listening to the pipes bark. I had saw a couple or three bikes and their riders parked around the square in Kingston. I'm sure they enjoyed hearing my pipes as much as I did.
We ran along to the Boxley Mountain and pulled over at the brake check area. I had manage to pinch a nerve or have a heart attack or something. My whole right side was numb and tingling. First I thought it was from the vibration of my old twin. The English bikes their design is supposedly stolen from caused this a lot. My old Bonneville was really bad for numbing your body parts. But, in riding this one everyday for over three years, I hadn't ever had it happen before. I pretty much ruled out a heart attack. I had one once and it was sorta but not quite the same feeling. So that left a pinched nerve. With a bad back, I've done that several times. I explained to Luther what I had figured out and that I needed to walk around and stretch a bit. I poured a cup of coffee and after about ten minutes I was back to normal. While we were "un pinching" my nerves a bike roared up and a couple from Hot Springs visited with us for a few minutes. They were in Kingston when we came through. It was a nice morning in the warm sunshine.
I loaded up and headed out to my buddy Luther's house. He, like me, dabbles in the Photographic arts on an amature level. He was going to be my number 2 co pilot for the day. As I pulled up to Luther's shop I noticed he had his Bandit all primed to take off.
Pulling out we ran down and caught Hwy 45 East to Hwy 412. There wasn't much traffic and it was a good early morning ride. About twenty five miles into the ride we came up on a car beside the road with the trunk open. A young woman standing beside the car with a small child. Thinking that they may be having trouble we did a quick turn around and went to check. The woman explained that her daughter had just gotten car sick "all over everything!" She thanked us for stopping and but assured us she had it all under control.
Pulling back out we made a small stop at a business just outside of Marble where Luther could clear up a small business snafu.
Back on the road we ran down a couple of miles and caught 21 toward Kingston. This was a good slow paced six or seven miles. In Kingston I saw that there was a yard sale going on on the square. I rounded the square at about forty and didn't see anything I couldn't live with out. Pulling the hill out of Kingston I opened the old bike up and topped the hill at seventy five. The best part was listening to the pipes bark. I had saw a couple or three bikes and their riders parked around the square in Kingston. I'm sure they enjoyed hearing my pipes as much as I did.
We ran along to the Boxley Mountain and pulled over at the brake check area. I had manage to pinch a nerve or have a heart attack or something. My whole right side was numb and tingling. First I thought it was from the vibration of my old twin. The English bikes their design is supposedly stolen from caused this a lot. My old Bonneville was really bad for numbing your body parts. But, in riding this one everyday for over three years, I hadn't ever had it happen before. I pretty much ruled out a heart attack. I had one once and it was sorta but not quite the same feeling. So that left a pinched nerve. With a bad back, I've done that several times. I explained to Luther what I had figured out and that I needed to walk around and stretch a bit. I poured a cup of coffee and after about ten minutes I was back to normal. While we were "un pinching" my nerves a bike roared up and a couple from Hot Springs visited with us for a few minutes. They were in Kingston when we came through. It was a nice morning in the warm sunshine.
Pulling back on to the road we ran on down to the bottom of the mountain and decided to hook a left and head for the possums shank.
Along the way we pulled into the old bridge at ponca and took a few snaps.The river was low and made for some good swimming right around the old bridge.
The run up the possums shank was all that I remembered it to be...loads of fun. Just not long enough. About half way up the possums shank I noticed that I had lost my "L S I". This was a minor cause for concern. I do like to know how fast I'm going into some of these curves. We pulled into the Junction at Jasper and topped off the bikes. While there I looked over the broken LSI. and decided that it would have to wait till we were back home and I could change out the drive gear in the hub. Funny. You'd think that the Japanese would have designed things to last longer that thirty two years. I mean your always hearing about their craftsmanship. This bike is just now getting broke in and parts are going south.
Leaving Jasper on Hwy 7 south, we pulled the mountain and as always really enjoyed the tight curves. Again, they just didn't last long enough for me. At the top of the mountain we pulled in to the Scenic point and climbed the tower for a great view to the north. After a few snaps we headed on south toward Deer and mom's.
Along the ride to Deer there are several great spots to stop and view what is billed as Arkansas Grand Canyon. We pulled over at the Green Thumb Pull Off and took a few shots of the valley. Thinking about it, if it wasn't for all the greenery, this would resemble the Grand Canyon. It's bigger than you realize just casually looking at it.
A quick run on down the road and we pulled into Mom's. Mom was doing pretty well and had fresh cornbread made. So as we visited we made this our lunch stop. It was just a real slowed down and relaxed lunch. I really didn't want to leave. But then I never do. After saying my goodbyes we headed back out to Hwy 16 and the ride back to the house.
16 hardly has any traffic on it and you can blast along and really enjoy your ride which is what we did. Coming back into Kingston I gave Luther the word that we would be stopping at Marble. I wanted some ice cream. He gave me a big smile and nodded. Kind of like being a kid again. We chowed down on ice cream and just generally shot the breeze. Neither of us was in any kind of hurry. A real rarity for us both. An actual lazy Saturday with nothing to rush around for. Man! it was nice.
Grabbing my mandatory Hush Puppies we loaded back up and headed on toward the house. I had a fleeting worry about running into a "Big hat" with my LSI broken. But this had been such a good trip, I don't think even a ticket could ruin it. So I just jammed on.
Back at Luther's shop I changed out the gear in the hub and got my GFM back on line. A good finish to a great trip. Close to Two Hundred miles...I enjoyed each and every one of them.
Leaving Jasper on Hwy 7 south, we pulled the mountain and as always really enjoyed the tight curves. Again, they just didn't last long enough for me. At the top of the mountain we pulled in to the Scenic point and climbed the tower for a great view to the north. After a few snaps we headed on south toward Deer and mom's.
Along the ride to Deer there are several great spots to stop and view what is billed as Arkansas Grand Canyon. We pulled over at the Green Thumb Pull Off and took a few shots of the valley. Thinking about it, if it wasn't for all the greenery, this would resemble the Grand Canyon. It's bigger than you realize just casually looking at it.
A quick run on down the road and we pulled into Mom's. Mom was doing pretty well and had fresh cornbread made. So as we visited we made this our lunch stop. It was just a real slowed down and relaxed lunch. I really didn't want to leave. But then I never do. After saying my goodbyes we headed back out to Hwy 16 and the ride back to the house.
16 hardly has any traffic on it and you can blast along and really enjoy your ride which is what we did. Coming back into Kingston I gave Luther the word that we would be stopping at Marble. I wanted some ice cream. He gave me a big smile and nodded. Kind of like being a kid again. We chowed down on ice cream and just generally shot the breeze. Neither of us was in any kind of hurry. A real rarity for us both. An actual lazy Saturday with nothing to rush around for. Man! it was nice.
Grabbing my mandatory Hush Puppies we loaded back up and headed on toward the house. I had a fleeting worry about running into a "Big hat" with my LSI broken. But this had been such a good trip, I don't think even a ticket could ruin it. So I just jammed on.
Back at Luther's shop I changed out the gear in the hub and got my GFM back on line. A good finish to a great trip. Close to Two Hundred miles...I enjoyed each and every one of them.
Here is a group we met over by Lost valley. The only Harley in the bunch was spraying oil all over the rider. He was like Luther and I, loved those old contrary machines, and was having a blast.
One of the views from the Green Thumb Pulloff on Hwy 7.
These are a few snaps of what the photog-ra-fa-kator saw during this short trip along the Buffalo river..
Catch ya on the road
No comments:
Post a Comment