Day 1 – August 22, 2004

{Photos} Ride from home to Harrison, Arkansas {Home}

The ride today was short but I wanted to get the starting point of Highway 7 in Arkansas at the beginning of the day. I have heard that this road will take us all day and is several hundred miles of the kind of road we all aspire to ride. Diamond has been itching to go since I loaded the pack on the bike. Every time I went to the garage, there she was on the bike waiting to go.

We left home about 5pm and headed east back toward Springfield, then south across the boarder in Arkansas and on down to Harrison. As we rode down the 60 I decided there were just too many great roads around to take one I have become so familiar with, so we took a side road a couple miles south and I was not disappointed. Every time I take one of these back roads I remember why we wanted to move out here. In every direction as far as you can see there is nothing but green fields, long winding, hilly roads, and vistas that look like paintings. Many of the main highways don’t just look like they were carved out of the rocks. They actually were. As we near Branson, the Vegas of Missouri, the billboards spring up by the dozens advertising everything from Magic Shows, to Country, Comedy, and even Jim Baker. Go figure. Unlike Vegas down in a valley in the desert though, Branson is built right into the hills of the Ozark Mountains. We stop on the outskirts of town and come across a time capsule the Masonic Lodge planted. I couldn’t figure out why, but there is was. We rode another few miles and crossed into Arkansas. This happened so fast I almost missed the sign. I tried to get a picture, but couldn’t get the camera out quick enough. We rode into Harrison and had time to locate the motel, get checked in and go look for a place to eat before it got dark. Trying to find one where Diamond could eat with us was another issue. It seems that Sonic is the only place around with tables outside. We finally found an Arbys with a nice grassy area and used the drive through. I had a little trouble with her when I tried to get a picture of us both. It seems she likes to pose alone. She finally did let me in the corner of one.

Well it’s time again to say goodnight and see if I can get this uploaded. So till tomorrow, I’ll see you on the byways….