N - OFRT Rookie

This weekend I went on a motorcycle trip with my brother Joel. He is a founding member of the OFRT, or Old Fart Racing Team. We went to White Rock, Arkansas which is near the "town" of St. Paul. If you're still lost it is in Madison County. OK fine, it is SE of Fayetteville and NE of Fort Smith, that's the best I can do! I made the comment this morning that we saw why Arkansas got it's reputation. Someone asked if I meant as the Natural State or home of Billy Joe Bob Jim. I said both. It is pretty but I can't imagine how people live in some of the places we saw. In that part of Arkansas there are county roads that are nothing more than one lane of (mostly) dirt with the occasional creek crossing. They wind up, down and through the mountains. Stinks if you are a school bus driver but pretty fun if you're some Oklahoma variety hillbillies looking for a place to ride a converted dirt bike.

I haven't spent much time on a motorcycle since my days pretending to be Bo Duke on our Yamaha YZ80 out behind my parent's house so I was a little nervous. I didn't do too bad though; one minor spill that mostly just hurt my pride although I did have to pluck grass out of my helmet like Brett Favre on the frozen tundra of Lambeau Field. We road about 110 miles over the course of 6 hours. All in all, I had a really good time. I might do it again (if Mary lets me).

This is the cabin we stayed in. The outhouse is barely visible in the far left.


We came across this cemetery way up in the mountains. They had a small covering for the service with a pulpit and pews. They also had several rows of picnic tables, presumably for the family meal afterwards. Many of the headstones were simply a stone with no writing on them.


This gives you an idea what the roads look like. Not much to it.


If you ever find yourself in Oark, Arkansas I highly recommend the Oark Cafe, very good cheeseburgers. I found that most small towns in this part of Arkansas offer something similar. They are truly a one stop shop. You can get gas, buy groceries, eat a meal, shop for garage sale bargains, play the slots, and buy used lawnmower parts (you know, in case you broke down on the way to the store).


Here's the OFRT and me taking a break.


Ya'll come back now, ya hear.