Congratulations to Jade at Hoptech Home Brewing Supplies for winning my "State of Jefferson" DVD!!! Hoptech is one of my awesome sponsors and you can visit there website by clicking on there link. Another contest will be coming soon!
August 27th
After a really good sleep in the bunkhouse I walked across the street to the general store for some coffee. I met a German man who had biked through this area 30 years ago and now lives here. Always fun to hear peoples stories of how they ended up where they are. I also met some really nice people from Fayetteville, Jeremiah, Hannah, and Jonathon. We hung out and talked for most of the morning and they made me 3 sandwiches and gave me some clif bars to take with me for the day's ride. Thanks so much guys, it was really nice meeting all of you! After a nice relaxing morning I headed down the street and walked around the Ponca Elk Education Center. Great to see Elk back in the Ozarks! My ride started off with a very large climb although quite scenic. There wasn't much traffic and then I had a huge downhill into the town of Jasper. Jasper seemed like a fun town and I decided that I would spend the night here. After talking with a nice couple outside the gas station for a little bit they handed me $40 and told me I should get a room, so I did. Just next door was the Arkansas House and they happened to have one room left, perfect! After a shower and a couple phone calls I took a walk and checked out the town. Got some local goat soap at the Chamber of Commerce and talked with one of the workers for a while. The county fair was in town but it was up and extremely large hill so I decided to skip it and head back to the Arkansas House. There was a restaurant at the Inn that was all organic and local food. I had the buffalo burger which was very good! Still hungry I walked down the street to the Ozark Cafe and Pizza on the Square and got a calzone. Two dinners tonight, I must have been hungry, ha! Spent the evening at the Inn working on my previous blog update and relaxing.
August 27th
After a really good sleep in the bunkhouse I walked across the street to the general store for some coffee. I met a German man who had biked through this area 30 years ago and now lives here. Always fun to hear peoples stories of how they ended up where they are. I also met some really nice people from Fayetteville, Jeremiah, Hannah, and Jonathon. We hung out and talked for most of the morning and they made me 3 sandwiches and gave me some clif bars to take with me for the day's ride. Thanks so much guys, it was really nice meeting all of you! After a nice relaxing morning I headed down the street and walked around the Ponca Elk Education Center. Great to see Elk back in the Ozarks! My ride started off with a very large climb although quite scenic. There wasn't much traffic and then I had a huge downhill into the town of Jasper. Jasper seemed like a fun town and I decided that I would spend the night here. After talking with a nice couple outside the gas station for a little bit they handed me $40 and told me I should get a room, so I did. Just next door was the Arkansas House and they happened to have one room left, perfect! After a shower and a couple phone calls I took a walk and checked out the town. Got some local goat soap at the Chamber of Commerce and talked with one of the workers for a while. The county fair was in town but it was up and extremely large hill so I decided to skip it and head back to the Arkansas House. There was a restaurant at the Inn that was all organic and local food. I had the buffalo burger which was very good! Still hungry I walked down the street to the Ozark Cafe and Pizza on the Square and got a calzone. Two dinners tonight, I must have been hungry, ha! Spent the evening at the Inn working on my previous blog update and relaxing.
Awesome place!
The Bunkhouse
Love this sign!!
Hannah, Jeremiah, Me, and Jonathon
Ponca Elk Education Center
Starting the huge cimb
Harleys hanging from the tree and a Wisconsin license plate!
Beginning the huge downhill
The Arkansas House
Pretty fancy
Dinner 2
The Arkansas House
August 28th
Started the morning off with cinnamon rolls, scones, and coffee at the Arkansas House. I was on the road by 10:00 and it was very hot again. I had another huge hill to start the ride and found myself pushing my bike uphill again. When biking through the Rockies, the Sangre De Cristos, and the Sierras I never had to push my bike uphill but the Ozarks are much steeper and very challenging. I am told bicyclists come from all over the country to train on these gigantic hills. After reaching the top of the hill I had a really fun roller coaster type ride for a while. I then got to go down a huge hill taking me back to the Buffalo River where I took a nice lunch break. Always feels great to sit next to a river and have it all to yourself other than the wildlife. Anytime you drop down to the river in this part of the country you have to climb uphill when you leave. It was another huge climb and seemed as though every house I passed had an angry dog that wanted to get me! I have come to find that most dogs give up the chase at 20mph and I had to laugh at a dog who gave up at 15mph. I made a stop at the Hurricane River Cave and talked with the owner Robey. He had quite a bit to say and by the time I was ready to go on the tour a couple hours had passed so I decided to skip it and continue on. There was another huge hill to get back to the road, so many huge hills out here! I then got another long downhill to the town of St. Joe where I stopped for a great sandwich at a deli. I biked up one more big hill and then down another big one to Tyler Bend Campground. Feeling very hot and tired I asked the only other people I saw if they had a cold drink I could purchase and they gave me 3 ice cold Coors Lights. They went down great! I saw a lot of deer while hanging out at my campsite and listening to music. After hanging my food I stargazed for a while and had a couple of opossum visitors.
Started the morning off with cinnamon rolls, scones, and coffee at the Arkansas House. I was on the road by 10:00 and it was very hot again. I had another huge hill to start the ride and found myself pushing my bike uphill again. When biking through the Rockies, the Sangre De Cristos, and the Sierras I never had to push my bike uphill but the Ozarks are much steeper and very challenging. I am told bicyclists come from all over the country to train on these gigantic hills. After reaching the top of the hill I had a really fun roller coaster type ride for a while. I then got to go down a huge hill taking me back to the Buffalo River where I took a nice lunch break. Always feels great to sit next to a river and have it all to yourself other than the wildlife. Anytime you drop down to the river in this part of the country you have to climb uphill when you leave. It was another huge climb and seemed as though every house I passed had an angry dog that wanted to get me! I have come to find that most dogs give up the chase at 20mph and I had to laugh at a dog who gave up at 15mph. I made a stop at the Hurricane River Cave and talked with the owner Robey. He had quite a bit to say and by the time I was ready to go on the tour a couple hours had passed so I decided to skip it and continue on. There was another huge hill to get back to the road, so many huge hills out here! I then got another long downhill to the town of St. Joe where I stopped for a great sandwich at a deli. I biked up one more big hill and then down another big one to Tyler Bend Campground. Feeling very hot and tired I asked the only other people I saw if they had a cold drink I could purchase and they gave me 3 ice cold Coors Lights. They went down great! I saw a lot of deer while hanging out at my campsite and listening to music. After hanging my food I stargazed for a while and had a couple of opossum visitors.
Buffalo River - lunch break
Roadside cave
Ice cold!
The campsite - only one in the park!
My Planet Bike light, lighting up my tent - so bright!
August 29th
I woke up around 8 in a hot tent and got packed up. I had to put my rainfly on in the middle of the night due to a thunderstorm that rolled in. I made a stop at the Tyler Bend Visitor Center before beginning the days ride. Filled up my water bottles and started the climb out of the park and back to the highway. I stopped for a nice hike at the Collier Homestead just before leaving the park. On my way out I came across a couple of turtles on the road. Nice quiet park with a lot of wildlife. Today it was very hot and I had huge hills all day long. The roads were scenic and pretty quiet but very challenging. I made a stop in the town of Marshall for a really good burger at Daisy Queen, not to be confused with Dairy Queen. I biked through the town of Big Flat which was neither bog or flat and I wondered how it got it's name. They had a really nice city park with a bunch of stone structures and picnic areas. After a break at the park I finished the ride into the town of Fifty-Six, Arkansas. I got some supplies from the general store and then headed towards the campground. On my way I found a $20 bill on the side of the road! I couldn't believe I even saw it in the grass as I was biking down the highway. I had a 3 mile downhill to the campsite which was fun but I kept thinking I am going to have to climb up this tomorrow! When I got to the bottom of the hill I checked out Mirror Lake where there was a few fisherman and the headed over to the campground. My campsite was very nice under some really tall pine trees. I hiked down to the creek for the sunset and spent the rest of the night listening to music and stargazing.
I woke up around 8 in a hot tent and got packed up. I had to put my rainfly on in the middle of the night due to a thunderstorm that rolled in. I made a stop at the Tyler Bend Visitor Center before beginning the days ride. Filled up my water bottles and started the climb out of the park and back to the highway. I stopped for a nice hike at the Collier Homestead just before leaving the park. On my way out I came across a couple of turtles on the road. Nice quiet park with a lot of wildlife. Today it was very hot and I had huge hills all day long. The roads were scenic and pretty quiet but very challenging. I made a stop in the town of Marshall for a really good burger at Daisy Queen, not to be confused with Dairy Queen. I biked through the town of Big Flat which was neither bog or flat and I wondered how it got it's name. They had a really nice city park with a bunch of stone structures and picnic areas. After a break at the park I finished the ride into the town of Fifty-Six, Arkansas. I got some supplies from the general store and then headed towards the campground. On my way I found a $20 bill on the side of the road! I couldn't believe I even saw it in the grass as I was biking down the highway. I had a 3 mile downhill to the campsite which was fun but I kept thinking I am going to have to climb up this tomorrow! When I got to the bottom of the hill I checked out Mirror Lake where there was a few fisherman and the headed over to the campground. My campsite was very nice under some really tall pine trees. I hiked down to the creek for the sunset and spent the rest of the night listening to music and stargazing.
Turtle 1
Collier Homestead
Turtle 2
Big Flat City Park
Mirror Lake
Good choices!
Oh boy!
Looking up at the campsite
Happy Camper
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