Hi Gang, just got home. AWESOME weekend...thought I'd share some about the trip. Off topic and all, but I do have a Roady Wagon report for you, and some pics below.
Took the '03 Suburban, and with 177K miles on it, 6 people in it, the rear cargo area packed floor to ceiling, and two motorcycles on the trailer begind it, we set the cruise at 70mph and had ZERO issues. Take that Toyota owners...hard to beat a good Chevy truck....but towing in 3rd gear we averaged 13mpg...ouch. Other than that though, no issues with the good old Burb.
Left Thursday, 70's in Austin, got just north of Dallas and temps fell to the 50's and it POURED all the way across eastern Oklahoma. Had a BIG scare too. In the dark, rain coming down, on a rural Oklahoma road, a guy in an older Z-71 pulled off a side road directly in front of us. He had to be drunk. We were going 60 and we swerved and just missed hitting him. The trailer with the bikes on it fishtailed but didn't pull us off the road....and we just barely got back in control. Pulled in to the first gas station we saw and sat there for a while....shaken badly. Now here's the funny part.... My Mom said how lucky we were, and that someone must have been looking out for us...and my oldest son perked up and said "Yep, Bridgestone". Hahahaha. Kids.
Made the rest of the trip with no issues, thankfully.
For those who don't know it, and think Arkansas is some kind of back-woods Hee-Haw state, let me tell you it's got some of the most awesome roads and some of the best scenery in the country. From the center of Arkansas and back to the west are some of the curviest, crookedest, ashphalt covered roller-coaster roads to be found anywhere. There is little traffic, almost no police enforcement, and with the leaves changing colors and temps in the 60's it's flat paradise to explore in the fall.
We had two full days to ride, and then on the 3rd day we were to attend my cousin's wedding in Eureka Springs. All in all a really good time.
My father-in-law rode up from Dallas, and Friday we rode 190 miles, down Rt 23, The Pig Trail from Springdale to Ozark. Spotted not one but TWO Roady wagons on this leg. The first was a totally trashed dark blue TBI woody in the little town of Cass, and then coming around a corner down a hill below me here came a GORGEOUS dark red LT1 Roady on the actual Pig Trail itself....it looked so pretty coming up the road with the trees full of red, yellow and orange limbs on both sides of it. Sorry no pics of these two wagons....was on my Yamaha...but neat to see them.
Here's some shots of myself, my Dad, and my father-in-law on the Pig Trail:
And some views of the Boston Mountains from an overlook on the Pig Trail. The colors of the trees were gorgeous. There had actually been a landslide below the overlook recently and all the rocks you see are an attempt to stop it from getting worse!
Once we reached Ozark we then rode west to Alma, and then back north up Hwy 71 over the Boston Mountains with a bypass to Devil's Den State Park, which has some of the craziest switchbacks I've ever seen. I was actually laughing out loud when I got to the bottom of the park road....amazing. Found this on Youtube...this is a MUST RIDE/DRIVE road!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJmDhG1_a3YSaturday my Dad decided to go hang out with the grandkids, so my father-in-law and I rode from Springdale around Beaver Lake up to Eureka Springs and then back to Rogers and Bentonville (home of Wal-Mart...ha). This was also a fabulous ride. We crossed two long one-lane wooden suspension bridges, one over War Eagle Creek, and one over the White River. Amazing....especially on a motorcycle. No pics from this day, just hanging onto the handlebars and enjoying the views!
Sunday was the wedding...and Roady wagon spot # 3. Eureka Springs is a gorgeous old town built litterally in a valley between two mountains. Lots of good sites, good food, and friendly folks. My cousin Jane Ellen has been living in Boston Mass for the past three years, and fell for a guy from Conn. She's a tall redheaded Arkansas girl, and while she loves Boston, she wanted to have her wedding in Arkansas. It was quite a mix, my Arkansas relatives and her new husband's family and friends from Mass, Conn, and New York. Most had never been to Arkansas....glad where we were was such a pretty place! Hope it gave them a good perspective on the state. They seemed to have fun saying "ya'll". Ha!
The wedding was in a fairly famous place, the Thorncrown Chapel, which is a solid glass building perched on the side of a mountain...really wild. Sitting in the chapel, it was like we were sitting outside in the woods...it's all glass.
This is about as dressed up as you'll ever see the family and I!! I think this was the first time I'd seen my tomboy wife in a dress since we got married. The kids looked good though! (and she did too!)
My cousin Jane Ellen with her Mom walking her down the isle (my Uncle passed away in '86, sadly). Also pics of her and her new husband Greg. He seemed like a good guy.
The reception was held at The Crescent Hotel. Now this place was both impressive and creepy. It's a huge old "Grand Hotel" on the top of a mountain overlooking Eureka Springs. It was refurbished in 1997, but still, a lot of it is OLD...from the creaking elevator to the rusty balconly supports. They actually have a "Ghost Tour" at 8pm on the weekends. Ha! The entire wedding party stayed here, as did most of the guests (we stayed at the Doubletree, no personality but clean and new..ha!).
Anyway here are some shots of the old hotel....and something I found in the parking lot...
View from the top balcony
And hey, what's that in the parking lot???
Whoa she's a ROUGH dark red over dark red '94 LT1 Roady! No rust though!
That's a Compact, right? ; )
My Uncle John to my father..."Why is Michael making taking pics of his son with an ugly old station in the hotel parking lot?"........(my father just shakes his head.....)
Hahahahaha!
Really a good trip....but glad to be home where it's WARM! Take care all!
-Mike
