Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Dallas Ramble - Day 2
I woke up early (6:00 am) for my day which resulted in me traveling the 360 miles from Mt. Magazine State Park to Dallas, TX. I awoke to a a beautiful morning after a good nights sleep in the tent. In no particular hurry I leisurely packed my stuff for the days trip.
Leaving the park, I followed AR-309 south to Havana, AR. This curving, mountain road is not as nice as the northern side. Havana is a very small town with no restaurants or services to speak of. I continued on AR-10 to Booneville, AR where I stopped for breakfast at McDonnell's. I had forgotten to bring my favored grapefruit to eat at the picnic, so I had to make do with unhealthy breakfast. I left Booneville and continued south on AR-23 until it reached Hwy 71. 23 south of Booneville is once again a nice winding, rolling road that is nice to motorcycle on. This time I encountered more traffic as I rode Hwy 71 towards Mena, AR. The road is good but I encountered enough traffic to slow my progress.
Rather then head all the way into Mena, AR I chose to turn onto Hwy 270 and then take AR-272(?) to the Talimena Scenic Byway (TSB) or Hwy 88. This avoids the traffic of Mena but cuts off 14 miles of the TSB. On the plus side the narrow and steep mountain road (AR-272) that cuts from 270 to 88 is a trip. At the bottom I passed a minivan whose brakes were so overheated you could clearly smell the burning.This road is so narrow it does not appear that two cars can pass in opposite directions (despite being two way). It is also densely lined with trees on both side. The road connects to the TSB right at the Queen Wilamena State Park. I made a short stop to use the restroom facilities in the camp bathhouse then continued my ride along the TSB.
The Talimena Scenic Byway once again proved be a very rewarding motorcycle road. I stopped a couple of times to take pictures but the pictures do not really illustrate what a great road this is.
After finishing the TSB in Talihina, OK I continued south on Hwy 272. This road was again a series of enjoyable fast sweepers and my progress was smooth. I continued through Antlers, OK to Paris, TX. From Paris I rode to Dallas, TX (Plano).
From north of Dallas, the traffic is very heavy. Fortunately I a used to it so I am not bothered by riding here. I arrived at my favorite La Quinta Hotel at 2:30. Atypically, I had some problem getting my (free night) reservation made while in the lobby of the hotel. I had a reservation made for the next two days but just needed to get a room for that day (Thursday). Thirty minutes later all was well. As mentioned my hassle was notable and I spoke to the manager (not his or his staffs fault) and later La Quinta corporate management (Returns Club). I very much hope this is one time glitch and not a sign of things to come.
I had plans for dinner with a friend, so after unpacking I went for run. Later I enjoyed dinner at the Grand Luxe (a concept from the owners of the Cheesecake Factory). This restaurant is located in the Dallas Galleria. While I had not been rained on during my trip into town the skies were overcast and threatening of rain. I almost made it the Galieria when it began to rain. Fortunately I was near the covered parking garage and only got slightly wet. While we eat a long dinner at the restaurant, it rained pretty hard. Fortunately by the time I left (after 10:00 pm) it had pretty much dried up.
On my ride back to the hotel I was advised by the driver of a passing car that my taillight was out. I pulled over in a parking lot to find while my brake light worked the running light (red) was broken. Now in some places this may not be as big a deal as Dallas. But I still had 3-5 miles to ride on a very busy road. There was really nothing to do but ride with my emergeny flashers on until I got to the hotel. I made it safe.
It had been a pretty long day so I pretty much hit the sack after I arrived at the hotel.
Leaving the park, I followed AR-309 south to Havana, AR. This curving, mountain road is not as nice as the northern side. Havana is a very small town with no restaurants or services to speak of. I continued on AR-10 to Booneville, AR where I stopped for breakfast at McDonnell's. I had forgotten to bring my favored grapefruit to eat at the picnic, so I had to make do with unhealthy breakfast. I left Booneville and continued south on AR-23 until it reached Hwy 71. 23 south of Booneville is once again a nice winding, rolling road that is nice to motorcycle on. This time I encountered more traffic as I rode Hwy 71 towards Mena, AR. The road is good but I encountered enough traffic to slow my progress.
Rather then head all the way into Mena, AR I chose to turn onto Hwy 270 and then take AR-272(?) to the Talimena Scenic Byway (TSB) or Hwy 88. This avoids the traffic of Mena but cuts off 14 miles of the TSB. On the plus side the narrow and steep mountain road (AR-272) that cuts from 270 to 88 is a trip. At the bottom I passed a minivan whose brakes were so overheated you could clearly smell the burning.This road is so narrow it does not appear that two cars can pass in opposite directions (despite being two way). It is also densely lined with trees on both side. The road connects to the TSB right at the Queen Wilamena State Park. I made a short stop to use the restroom facilities in the camp bathhouse then continued my ride along the TSB.
The Talimena Scenic Byway once again proved be a very rewarding motorcycle road. I stopped a couple of times to take pictures but the pictures do not really illustrate what a great road this is.
After finishing the TSB in Talihina, OK I continued south on Hwy 272. This road was again a series of enjoyable fast sweepers and my progress was smooth. I continued through Antlers, OK to Paris, TX. From Paris I rode to Dallas, TX (Plano).
From north of Dallas, the traffic is very heavy. Fortunately I a used to it so I am not bothered by riding here. I arrived at my favorite La Quinta Hotel at 2:30. Atypically, I had some problem getting my (free night) reservation made while in the lobby of the hotel. I had a reservation made for the next two days but just needed to get a room for that day (Thursday). Thirty minutes later all was well. As mentioned my hassle was notable and I spoke to the manager (not his or his staffs fault) and later La Quinta corporate management (Returns Club). I very much hope this is one time glitch and not a sign of things to come.
I had plans for dinner with a friend, so after unpacking I went for run. Later I enjoyed dinner at the Grand Luxe (a concept from the owners of the Cheesecake Factory). This restaurant is located in the Dallas Galleria. While I had not been rained on during my trip into town the skies were overcast and threatening of rain. I almost made it the Galieria when it began to rain. Fortunately I was near the covered parking garage and only got slightly wet. While we eat a long dinner at the restaurant, it rained pretty hard. Fortunately by the time I left (after 10:00 pm) it had pretty much dried up.
On my ride back to the hotel I was advised by the driver of a passing car that my taillight was out. I pulled over in a parking lot to find while my brake light worked the running light (red) was broken. Now in some places this may not be as big a deal as Dallas. But I still had 3-5 miles to ride on a very busy road. There was really nothing to do but ride with my emergeny flashers on until I got to the hotel. I made it safe.
It had been a pretty long day so I pretty much hit the sack after I arrived at the hotel.
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hey! i'm going to cali this weekend and won't be back until september...here is the website i was talking about where i made extra summer cash. Later! the website is here
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