Trip to Missouri, Summer 2007, Part 1

A group of friends and I decided to take a trip to Missouri in 2007 and it lasted from June 18 to June 22.  We had a great time and what appears below is an attempt to journal (or chronicle) what happened.

Monday, June 18 - Destination, Laurie, MO
Jim, Bruce and I left LaCrescent a little after 9:00 and headed out on some Minnesota twisties.  These are some of my favorite roads and feature everything from tight turns, to long sweepers along with elevation changes.  Unfortunately, the grind through Iowa brought little more of the same.  It was hot, the roads were flat and the only turns happened when the road needed to turn 90 degrees.  In short, the day got long.  Roger caught up to us just across the Missouri state line.  We took off from there and headed south. 

Along the way, we passed several Amish horse and buggies and in general, they weren't any more an issue than a bicycle.  However as we approached one coming from the other direction, Roger (in the lead) for some reason slowed way down.  Just as we got close, the horse completely freaked out, went back on its hind legs, shot across all lanes of traffic and into the ditch on our side of the road.  I'm still thinking about what could have happened.  There were three Amish men in the cart and from the looks of them, they could have put the horse in the cart and carried the works to wherever they were going so they were fine.  We were all just a bit shaken by the experience.  One thing I am still wondering about is why the horse freaked like it did.  Roger has and uses a headlight modulator.  Initially, Roger insisted that it was not on but after awhile, backed off of that and said he wasn't sure.  I'm thinking there is a reasonable chance that it was on and that's what caused the horse to go nuts.  Another lesson learned.

Roger left us again in Macon, MO - he was tired and made a good decision to stop for the night in a hotel.  The rest of us continued on.  We hit I-70 in Columbia, MO and headed west for 20 miles, dodging raindrops the entire way.  When we got off the interstate, the rain started in earnest, darkness enveloped us and we hunkered down.  I was hungry because we hadn't eaten since we crossed under I-80 and was doubtful that we would find food once we got to Laurie, MO - our destination for the night.  It would turn out to be the only time I was ever hungry on this trip.  We got to Laurie and the blaze of the red "Sonic" sign was a welcome sight.  Root Beer floats were on sale and the food was hot.  We made it to the Brittenham compound and Lee was waiting with open arms, open garage doors and cool, comfortable beds.  Life was really good.

Tuesday, June 19, Destination, Eureka Springs, AR
We took off a little late, with no planned route other than for the first 50 miles.  This would turn into a slight mistake as the day wore on.  We headed out of Laurie, MO and almost immediately came upon county road J - excellent road.  Got through a few small towns and then just wound our way towards Springfield, MO.  We wanted to visit the Bass Pro store in Springfield on the way to Eureka Springs.  We stopped for lunch and punched the address of the store into the GPS.  It got us there.  After leaving the store, we used a paper map to figure out a route and here is where we made the mistake, we punched the address of the hotel into the GPS.  For the next couple of hours, the GPS and the paper map were pretty much in conflict with each other.  We'd see a twisty looking road on the map and the GPS would send us the other way.  In the end, Roger (Mr. GPS) got separated from the rest of us and we were left with the paper map.  We managed to find at least one great road on the way to Eureka and met Roger back at the hotel.  There is nothing wrong with GPS technology.  It works well.  It just isn't programmed to find twisty roads.  I also personally need the perspective of the paper map.

That evening we went to dinner at a restaurant in Eureka Springs and walked through town.  Interesting little town, but not one store was open and the town definitely rolled up at 6:00.  Bruce and I each had a nice ice cream bar and Jim and Roger had more than one, but they deserved it.  The day ended with a PAPER MAP planning session and a resolution by Roger to ignore the GPS.

Wednesday, June 20, Destination, Laurie, MO
For me, the joy has ALWAYS been in the journey and rarely in the destination.  This proved especially true today as we stumbled on to the some of the most fun roads I have ever had the pleasure of traveling.  For me, there are four components that factor into a good day on the motorcycle: Company, Scenery, Stories and Weather.  This day was off the charts on all counts.  In fact, the day certainly goes in my top of five of best motorcycling days ever.  The day actually started the evening before.  We found a copy of a local motorcycle ad publication that had a 100 mile loop in it.  We decided to follow the loop - it would bring us right back to Eureka Springs.  As a kid, I had spent time in Cassville, MO and I knew the roads between there and Eureka Springs were interesting.  Finally, one of the guys in the group, Jim McDowell, saw the town of McDowell on the map.  Based on those three things, we determined the route.  What a route it was!  The 100 mile loop was fantastic.  Almost all twisty roads. 

Toward the end of the 100 mile loop, we encountered the War Eagle Mill (http://www.wareaglemill.com).  There was a nifty wooden plank bridge that crosses the War Eagle River.  The mill is still in operation and they sell a variety of whole grains.  It's a bit touristy, but the roads into and out of the area are fun, the bridge made for some neat photo opportunities and it was pretty.

After the loop, the road out of Eureka Springs brought us to the Missouri line and a great breakfast.  Leaving there, Jim and Bruce had a great ride down a great road (MO 187) and me and Roger got stuck behind a motor home a couple of cars and a big, stinky semi-load full of chickens on their way to slaughter.  Frustrating, but, oh yeah, it's a public road.  No worries.  What we should have done was pull off, wait 10 minutes and then get back at it.  I think we hit the biggest stretch of traffic that the road saw all day.

From there is was off to McDowell.  Coming into McDowell, we hit county road C - a straight, little grey line on the map.  This road turned into one of the most fun roads I have ever been on.  It was completely straight but had a series of hills that were about a mile long that went straight up, then straight down and then right back up again.  My tummy was tingling and by the end, I was laughing out loud - great fun.  I was tempted to turn around and do it again.  In hindsight, I should have.  When with a group, I like the back and it was so funny to be back there just watching the three helmets pop up and then almost immediately disappear.  It is a memory that still makes me smile when I think about it.

The rest of the day was uneventful and we got back to Laurie, went on a nice boat ride and saw some remarkable houses on the Lake of the Ozarks and Lee prepared a great dinner.  The day ended by taking advantage of the on sale Sonic Root Beer Floats for a second time.

Part 2          Pictures          Slideshow