The weather was beautiful, I pull out around 2 pm and Go north up hwy 783, through Doss. Continue on hwy 783 to the intersection of hwy 87, and make right south to 152. Turn on 152 to Castell. Make a quick stop for a refreshment, Continue 152 to Llano. Stop at Joe’s by the courthouse. Wait for Roadrunner, He arrives around 3.30. Heading north on Hwy 16. Pass thru San Saba, Goldthwaite. Just east of Goldthwaithe cut off in 2005. This is a shortcut to Hamilton. Hamilton, where I registered for the military draft back in the day. Proceed up 16 to Hico. Where legend has it, Billy The Kid, lived for a while. Turn on hwy 220 on the edge of Hico, and head towards Chaulk Mountain. Just past Chaulk Mountain hang a left by Paluxy .. Theres is a place called Loco Coyote. We pull in. The only problem, it’s Wednesday, and they open on Thursday! Oh well, We have a refreshment anyway. We continue north across the Paluxy River, Not far from this crossing is Dinosaur Valley Park. Dinosaur tracks are still visible in the bed of the river. Continuing on this hwy , We make it to Granbury. Just north of town, the stop for the evening. We pull into the gated community by the lake. We looked like we belonged! Two bikers!
Welcomed by ‘Buffalo Bill”, We rolled into the driveway., Greeted by cold cerveszas Soon thereafter, freshly cooked steaks, What a treat, Such great hospitality! After a great night’s rest, Roll out around 830. Sunny skies, low 60”s Heading north to Weatherford, connect Interstate 20 towards Ft Worth. Catch the loop around Ft Worth to North Richland Hills, We pass the speedway towards Gainsville. Turning east at Gainesville to Sherman. At Sherman, we catch Hwy 75 to Durant, Oklahoma. When you cross that Red River, you become a Yankee! Only kidding! Continuing north we passed thru Atoka. I attended an outdoor concert in 1974 near this town. Willie, Waylon, and the boys were there, best I recall.
Rode my new 1973 Super Glide to the concert. Did you notice, seem to be fewer and fewer roadside parks or picnic areas? Hard to make necessary pit stops. Too many people unloading their home trash at the parks Enough preaching! We catch hwy 69 to Interstate 40. Turn east to Fort Smith, Arkansas. Traveling east on 140 to hwy 71, Head north towards Fayetteville. Thirty miles east of Fayetteville we turn towards beaver lake. A hidden lake about 10 miles off the main road. As we turn into the lodging house we are greeted by” Flippin’, our friend from Tex.
He arrived a day early to get a new rear tire. Walked into the house with the smell of Italian food. “Flppin had prepared a great meal for us. French bread and the works. Super! The next morning, we make our way to Eureka Springs. The Harley dealer has many vendors set up in the parking lot, and Demo rides as well. Shop a bit, then head south down hwy 21 to Boxley. Continue on 21 to Fallsville, Connect hwy 16, and Travel back to Fayetteville. Make it to Dixon St. Dixon St. is the main hub for the Bike, Blues,& BBQ rally held each year. The problem this year was that most of the activities were canceled because of covid. The outdoor concert that was held downtown was canceled. Bummer! We enter J J‘s Grill. We are waiting here for the arrival of two more riders, “Easy G” and Arron the “Aggie”.
They arrive, after a long day of riding from Texas. We have food and drinks till sundown. Winding our way back to the house was no easy task. We arrive right at dark. The next morning, we leave around 8:30, with clear skies mid-50s… Make our way north to Rogers. Pig Trail Harley has a large venue of vendors, music, food, tee shirts, and parts. Depart, run-down hwy 62 to Eureka Springs. Make another stop at the Harley dealer. Can’t get enough! We roll south, Down hwy 21, all the way to Ozark, down Interstate to hwy 7, and back north. Trying to make it back to Fayetteville before dark. Make a wrong turn-up by Jasper. All is well, the scenery is incredible. Make the correction, but nightfall is catching up. Have to abort our plans for Dixon Street, Hindsville is the alternative. Nice little steak house, with an outdoor patio, and a one-man band. What more do you want? Get ready to leave, “Flippin tips over his bike in the parking lot. No damage, just pride. In the old days, you would get a pacifier pinned to your vest. After a nice evening make it back to the cozy house by the lake.
Next morning, “Roadrunner”, leaves early to head home. Arron the “Aggie” goes his own way. “Easy G”, “Flippin, and I head to Mena. Do lunch in Mena. Hwy 8 runs west. The Telehena trail. Great turnouts and overlooks, to the Oklahoma border.
We catch hwy 259 once we get into Oklahoma. Following 259 to Broken Bow. Taking side roads we make it to Paris, Texas for the night. The next morning, continue south to Greenville. Skirt along the east side of Dallas. Miss another turn south of Dallas, Run west to Ft Worth. Turn south to Cleburne. Catch hwy 174 down to Morgan. Just north of Morgan, pull into a roadside park. I graduated from school at Morgan in the 60”s. At lunch break, we use to eat at this same park, Hard to believe the park still exists.
At Meridian we hit hwy 22, Stop at Cransville Gap, home of the Horney Toad Bar. bad timing, they are closed! Continue to Hamilton. South to Evant. West to Goldthwaithe. South on hwy 16 to Llano. Make a stop at the city park. Recap the trip, beautiful weather, and good friends. We plan the next great trip! Over 2000 miles in 5 incredible days!
Till next time, Ride Free and Ride Often!!
“DAD”
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