Deb and I have the trailer site #11 - right next door to cabin #14 that Mike and Marcia have booked.  We are arriving on the 12th and leaving on the 20th.

Jeremiah and Maureen are the new owners and have owned it since March.  He said business is brisk this year, as folks seem to be camping instead of going to populated areas.

So Verslagen, Springman, Lancer - don't wait too long to make your choice of cabin.

Hay guys  

My bad , but I just noticed that #14 and # 13 are part of the same building.

There ain't no telling who might be in #13 with only a door separating us.   Number 13 only has a queen and a twin so it not enough for our 3 or 4  solo guys either .

SO

I'm moving to #34 cabin .  

Dave I hope your "OK" with moving too ?    

Isn't always more FUN when somebody COMPLICATES matters a little ! ?  

MM - I believe you did good by getting an "exclusive" cabin for 2........I bet the walls are really thin on the #13/#14 conjoined cabin.

I will be staying put in the spot I have - it is a nice spot and I can pull the trailer in/out easily.

There was a metal carport that wasn't being used for anything last year, and some guys put their bikes underneath at night.  I don't know if they are using that building for something else this year.

For those who are adventurous and don't mind getting up early - the sunrise at the Cliff House is really cool!  It is only a 15-20 minute ride from the campground - but does require getting up before dark!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5bM8sv9vks

We also found a good place to watch the sunset.



 

MMRanch wrote on 07/29/20 at 08:54:17:



Mike, you’re not up before dawn like all the other farmers & ranchers ? ?

Here are some routes that we can take.......Jasper is part of some of these routes - or very near for a few of them.


This ride covers a lot of ground, and the section between Harrison and Eureka Springs is a 4 lane highway and a bit boring.  Eureka Springs is a cool touristy town that used to be a resort - the buildings are hanging on steep hillsides and it is a pretty fun place to explore if you like looking and shopping.
https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1_gKFgWvEI3LFm3Gov-CRm7Ewcr1YkM1E&ll...

This is the Pig Trail - nearly as good as the Tail of the Dragon.....much longer and the curves are farther apart.  If we decide to go to Eureka Springs this is the route I would take:
https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1VXHC_VFRL9Pv1Q2JGswRemzHkB8yqH_S&ll...

Deb and I ride the southern half of this loop by leaving Japser on 74 when we need an hour ride.  The southern half is better than the northern half - the road going north out of Jasper to Harrison has lots of traffic and it is just a very straight road that gets you to the big crowded town of Harrison.
https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1vZK0xD7ZOZAmKadSTO2k8NSsqas1274a&ll...

When we are ready for a long ride - we need to make a loop that leaves Jasper and goes down #7 to Ola, then over to Magazine Mountain where we can go up the mountain and have lunch at the lodge on top.  From there we can go north and get on the southern end of the Pig Trail.
https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1MrdAQEjTA5G92WKFa-RgMWn7RyU&ll=35.0...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HpDlZDu-x_o



There really are some incredible roads and scenery - the mountains are not quite as high or impressive as the Blueridge Mountains (except for Magazine Mountain).  The mountains are much older and have eroded into gentler slopes with rolling hills on top in most areas.  The riding is great - the curves are more open and the scenery is fewer forests and more farmland.

We will have no problem finding good roads to ride on.......the area is not nearly as touristy as the TN/NC area around Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg.  On the local roads there will be a small store about every 20 miles - about half of them have fuel.

we're going for #27

verslagen1 wrote on 08/01/20 at 15:48:55:


I need a gasbuddy that will pay for the fuel along the route....as I will be getting about 9 mpg towing the camper!

Our trip is really unusual for me, as most times I go somewhere to ride I end up driving in hilly country.  When I go to the TN/NC/GA area, I drive the hilly area I live (Glacier Erosion), then pass through portions of the Appalachian, Blue Ridge and Smoky Mountains. The entire drive is a series of uphills and downhills and the last part of the trip I usually have to drive the Tail of the Dragon and a portion of Moonshiner 28!

However when we go west to Arkansas we pass through some of the hilly Ohio River valley for the first couple of hours - but almost immediately after leaving Kentucky and getting into Indiana things become really flat.......which is something I am really not used to.  I grew up in a Glacial Moraine area in northeast Ohio, I live in a Glacial Erosion area in norther KY - I am use to living in areas that are hilly!  

The area we pass through in Indian, Illinois and Arkansas is really flat farm land.  Last year when we drove through the area the farmers were burning off the harvested fields, and it looked like small cities were on fire!  When we first saw a huge cloud of black smoke in the distance we thought there was a building on fire - then later we saw some burned fields and more clouds of smoke in the distance and I got on the internet and discovered they burn fields in the fall. The land stays really flat all the way to Jasper, and only when we get near to Jasper does the land begin to get hilly.  The land in Indiana and Illinois is all planted in corn, wheat, hay, soybeans and some form of rice where they flood the fields - then when we reach the mountainous area around Jasper the farming changes to cows and chickens - the fields are much smaller and tucked into the hills, and rather than being a cash crop they are grown to feed their cows.

Make sure you have decent tires on your bike, as these roads are very similar to the roads in TN/NC/GA and they do tend to eat away at the rubber........the only motorcycle shop in the area is up in Harrison and I suspect they don't have a huge selection of tires in stock.

I've had gas buddy on my phone for several years now.
It doesn't have what the website has...(wait a minute, let me check, nope)
put in your destination and it will tell you all fill up at the range of you vehicle. (will have to try the savage)
but you can put in a city and it will search there.
so I would plan my route and note the cities for later.