Cav47
Adventure Seeker
This report could easily consist of 4 separate ride reports. But one without the other just would not make sense.
This sounds corny, but this ride report is dedicated to family and friends on this trip. The great friends on this trip have blurred the lines between family and friends due to their amazing character. John, Mike, John, Mr. Lewis, Andrew, and Joey--You are family.
My grandpa Marshall Adolf Schaeffer was born to a prostitute in a brothel along the Illinois river near Henry Illinois. It was during the depression and he was "given" to a man named Carl who took in boys to work on his farm when he was about 7 years old. (Carl also took in unwed pregnant women until they had their baby also) I do no know if he was a saint, but my grandpa named his first boy after him and always spoke highly of Carl. This was the only "father" my grandpa knew. My father died when I was 10, while I knew him, I did not see him as my father. My mom got remarried, but my step dad was not impactful in my life. After my mom died, our shallow relationship did not continue. My grandpa was really the only "father" I knew.
So the back story goes like this. I was leaving the cemetery in Ottawa where all my family, except the above grandpa, is buried. Yeah, it is a little weird but my Mom, Dad, his parents, and my Maternal Grandmother are all gone and have been since I was 32. But this plays into the story.
Whenever I go to my brothers house on the cycle, I swing by there because I feel I should and....truth be told, there just happens to be a good road on the way to the cemetery. I am leaving the cemetery in Ottawa after paying my respects, but am a little bummed out because Grandpa Mike(Marshall) is not there, His ashes are in Lake Texoma in Texas. He got divorced from my Grandma and married a woman from there. I will leave the rest of that story out......
I put on my helmet and hit "play" on the songs and a song comes on that is talking about Texas. The references in the lyrics are familiar to me because it has everything to do with the road that I took so many times when going to see him in Texas. I have never heard of this artist before. I let it play out while riding away. I pull over after the song is over with and pull up YouTube and watch the video. I am astonished at the parallels. I put the video on loop and listen to it all the way home for 2 plus hours.
When my Grandpa died 10 years ago, he forbid me to come to the funeral. He was sick with cancer but fought the good fight for almost 2 years. I took him to some appointments in Houston at MD Anderson about 6 months before he died and they basically said they would keep trying, but the end was near. We visited a few more times in the next 6 months, but the last time he came to see me in Illinois, he said that this was his last visit. I was not to come see him as his health declined. He did not want me to see him wasting away. (I had seen my mother go that way 13 years before) He was adamant about making sure that would not be my lasting memory of him. We discussed why I could not come to the funeral, (well I tried to discuss it but he was not having any of it) He knew I would be coaching in the middle of football season and felt it would be unfair to my team to go and see him be "dumped in the lake" I tried to protest but he made me promise. Well, he pegged it right and he died during the first week of the season. I was devastated more than I even thought I could be. Grandpa made it to every single game he could when I was playing or coaching from 1989 to 2006. It did not matter if he was in Texas or not, He never missed an opening game. This was the first he missed. And this is the last picture we have of him.
The song made me know for sure that I needed to go back to Texas one last time. So this is how the trip was born.
Enough of the backstory, It was time to Ride. And to paraphrase a great friend, "When we ride, We ride!!"
The plan was ambitious, but it was not really much of a plan. Head to Texas but why pass through Arkansas and not ride some of the best roads in the nation. John, you all know him as RJAMT, is simply an awesome guy. He lives on the way and has often talked and wrote about riding Arkansas and Missouri. It was on the way so I messeged him up and asked if he wanted to come along on a camping/riding trip to the Ozarks. He checked with his bosses(wife and work) and he was in!!
Friday Morning, we met in St. Louis and we headed down I-44, got off at Cuba and John picked some of the best Missouri riding. We meandered South towards Bull Shoals Lake as that was our planned campground for the night. We stopped and found some cool places to go with the Cooler Temperatures.
I want to apologize in advance for the quality, or lack thereof, of the pictures, My I phone has a glitch in it that was due to an update that I did right before I left for the trip. The lens was not focusing properly and consequently my pictures suck. My riding mates have pictures and have carte blanche to fill in my blunders with better or more supportive pictures.
Our trusty Steeds.
The temps were holding in the low 50s. This was as good as we would see it for most of Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
We had lunch at a little cafe in Emmince Missouri. I highly reccomend it. Good atmosphere, good food, and if you can get John to go, your company will be even better.
Right across the street is the town courthouse, jail, and this historical snapshot of the town
John's wife got him a new 'stich. THAT is a good woman. I should submit this to their catalog for publication.
Oh yeah, John rides a 2015ES and he told me to always remember and remind Andrew (RedfishHunter) that his bike is better looking and cleaner than his. JSNS.
First of the Food ****. Many were lost in the focus SNAFU
Safe bike parking for sure as this was from our dining room seats......Man, John's bike looks better than Andrew's from every angle
Oh yeah, I got a new Shoei helmet and Sena 20s. It is awesome and John and I used the intercom feature. Those of you that know John, know he is a man of few words, but the Sena allowed us to converse the next 2 days effortlessly. I really enjoyed his stories about his work in the Air Force. Ask him to tell the story about the "Flasher" It is hilarious.
We ended the day at Bull Shoals Campground. It was late in the day and setting up camp was a top priority. We got our drink on and settled in for a cold night because the wind was a howling from the north right across the lake and you could see the lake in the background. Good Campground sites, facilities, and we lucked out and were allowed to stay for free. SCORE. This is in the morning as we were packing up. Fuzzy Pic.....sorry.
Saturday, the ride was supposed to look something like this....but I cannot navigate worth a crap and we missed a little of the route. We missed Oark Cafe cause I am an *****, but we saw a full day of riding for sure.
This is the finishing point of Push Mountain. I rode here last year with Allan, Poolboy, John from Louisiana and Pants. Last time was on a flat rear tire, worn out forks, and rear shock. This time was much better.
Good place to get the adrenaline slowed back down after the PUSH.
We headed to lunch here. Good food and people. Did I mention I hate that my phone was jacked. Ruined pictures.....
After lunch, we hit 123 from Western Grove all the way to Sand Gap. Many of you have seen the sign on Highway 7. Stop in an sit a spell with the owners.
It was chilly
Both of us had to use the restroom.
The best thing here was the Warm Stove.
The stove was worth coming back for tomorrow on my way back up 123.
This place has some interesting history. I asked all about it the next day while I stalled to get warmed up.
We found ourselves headed toward Petite Jean State Park. We liked the idea of heading south to possibly avoid the cooler temperatures in the north. But the North wind blew all day and pushed the temp into the 20s for the overnight lows. This is the campsite as we packed up. I forgot about taking one the night before because we had other things on our mind.
That night, we cooked up a fine meal. John can whip up some seriously good rice dishes on that Jet Boil.
And since we had a fire
I can make this.
Rice and Rib-eye. Camping ain't roughing it sometimes.
We settled in and stayed much warmer due to the wind protection of the trees despite the colder than the night before temps.
The next day, we had to go our separate ways. John is a extremely smart man!!!. His wife was expecting him home and he hit the road when I headed for the waterfall at the park. John gave me some great advice on the way out. Keeping Mama happy will keep me getting weekend passes to go riding. That there is a nugget of advice to hold on to.
John, It was a privilege to ride with you. I hope it happens again sooner than later.
I had a full day of riding ahead of me on Sunday, but a little walk was in order. Both Joey(Pants) and Andrew(RedfishHunter) were texting me about taking the walk to the Waterfall. Like they were blowing my phone up about it. Remember, these guys are from places that are 24 feet above sea level, so a Waterfall to them might not be what I was used to. Well, they were right, my first view from up top was this. From the overlook...
It was huge but there is no scale to show this.
A quick ride to the Lodge downstream puts you on a trail to come at the waterfall from below. It was about a mile or so in. But this walk is more of a rock scramble at time. Temps were around 35 at the beginning of the hike. I had no trouble warming up. Only my ears were cold from the wind whipping down the canyon. The walk from down below was more peaceful than I could have hoped.
Joey always says get off the bike when on a bike trip......this is what he means.
From the top of the trail.
You know you are going the right way if you see this. The trail is really well marked.
Down stream.
Upstream toward the Falls
No the river does not bend, but a panorama shot from the bridge makes it look that way.
A mile of this was serene.
High Bluffs on the other side. Above on that side somewhere was the overlook where I took the first picture
You could clearly hear the Falls but not see them yet. I saw a total of ZERO people on the way out to the falls and less than 10 on the way back.
First Glimpse. The roar is at full volume even this far away.
This sounds corny, but this ride report is dedicated to family and friends on this trip. The great friends on this trip have blurred the lines between family and friends due to their amazing character. John, Mike, John, Mr. Lewis, Andrew, and Joey--You are family.
My grandpa Marshall Adolf Schaeffer was born to a prostitute in a brothel along the Illinois river near Henry Illinois. It was during the depression and he was "given" to a man named Carl who took in boys to work on his farm when he was about 7 years old. (Carl also took in unwed pregnant women until they had their baby also) I do no know if he was a saint, but my grandpa named his first boy after him and always spoke highly of Carl. This was the only "father" my grandpa knew. My father died when I was 10, while I knew him, I did not see him as my father. My mom got remarried, but my step dad was not impactful in my life. After my mom died, our shallow relationship did not continue. My grandpa was really the only "father" I knew.
So the back story goes like this. I was leaving the cemetery in Ottawa where all my family, except the above grandpa, is buried. Yeah, it is a little weird but my Mom, Dad, his parents, and my Maternal Grandmother are all gone and have been since I was 32. But this plays into the story.
Whenever I go to my brothers house on the cycle, I swing by there because I feel I should and....truth be told, there just happens to be a good road on the way to the cemetery. I am leaving the cemetery in Ottawa after paying my respects, but am a little bummed out because Grandpa Mike(Marshall) is not there, His ashes are in Lake Texoma in Texas. He got divorced from my Grandma and married a woman from there. I will leave the rest of that story out......
I put on my helmet and hit "play" on the songs and a song comes on that is talking about Texas. The references in the lyrics are familiar to me because it has everything to do with the road that I took so many times when going to see him in Texas. I have never heard of this artist before. I let it play out while riding away. I pull over after the song is over with and pull up YouTube and watch the video. I am astonished at the parallels. I put the video on loop and listen to it all the way home for 2 plus hours.
When my Grandpa died 10 years ago, he forbid me to come to the funeral. He was sick with cancer but fought the good fight for almost 2 years. I took him to some appointments in Houston at MD Anderson about 6 months before he died and they basically said they would keep trying, but the end was near. We visited a few more times in the next 6 months, but the last time he came to see me in Illinois, he said that this was his last visit. I was not to come see him as his health declined. He did not want me to see him wasting away. (I had seen my mother go that way 13 years before) He was adamant about making sure that would not be my lasting memory of him. We discussed why I could not come to the funeral, (well I tried to discuss it but he was not having any of it) He knew I would be coaching in the middle of football season and felt it would be unfair to my team to go and see him be "dumped in the lake" I tried to protest but he made me promise. Well, he pegged it right and he died during the first week of the season. I was devastated more than I even thought I could be. Grandpa made it to every single game he could when I was playing or coaching from 1989 to 2006. It did not matter if he was in Texas or not, He never missed an opening game. This was the first he missed. And this is the last picture we have of him.
The song made me know for sure that I needed to go back to Texas one last time. So this is how the trip was born.
Enough of the backstory, It was time to Ride. And to paraphrase a great friend, "When we ride, We ride!!"
The plan was ambitious, but it was not really much of a plan. Head to Texas but why pass through Arkansas and not ride some of the best roads in the nation. John, you all know him as RJAMT, is simply an awesome guy. He lives on the way and has often talked and wrote about riding Arkansas and Missouri. It was on the way so I messeged him up and asked if he wanted to come along on a camping/riding trip to the Ozarks. He checked with his bosses(wife and work) and he was in!!
Friday Morning, we met in St. Louis and we headed down I-44, got off at Cuba and John picked some of the best Missouri riding. We meandered South towards Bull Shoals Lake as that was our planned campground for the night. We stopped and found some cool places to go with the Cooler Temperatures.
I want to apologize in advance for the quality, or lack thereof, of the pictures, My I phone has a glitch in it that was due to an update that I did right before I left for the trip. The lens was not focusing properly and consequently my pictures suck. My riding mates have pictures and have carte blanche to fill in my blunders with better or more supportive pictures.
Our trusty Steeds.
The temps were holding in the low 50s. This was as good as we would see it for most of Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
We had lunch at a little cafe in Emmince Missouri. I highly reccomend it. Good atmosphere, good food, and if you can get John to go, your company will be even better.
Right across the street is the town courthouse, jail, and this historical snapshot of the town
John's wife got him a new 'stich. THAT is a good woman. I should submit this to their catalog for publication.
Oh yeah, John rides a 2015ES and he told me to always remember and remind Andrew (RedfishHunter) that his bike is better looking and cleaner than his. JSNS.
First of the Food ****. Many were lost in the focus SNAFU
Safe bike parking for sure as this was from our dining room seats......Man, John's bike looks better than Andrew's from every angle
Oh yeah, I got a new Shoei helmet and Sena 20s. It is awesome and John and I used the intercom feature. Those of you that know John, know he is a man of few words, but the Sena allowed us to converse the next 2 days effortlessly. I really enjoyed his stories about his work in the Air Force. Ask him to tell the story about the "Flasher" It is hilarious.
We ended the day at Bull Shoals Campground. It was late in the day and setting up camp was a top priority. We got our drink on and settled in for a cold night because the wind was a howling from the north right across the lake and you could see the lake in the background. Good Campground sites, facilities, and we lucked out and were allowed to stay for free. SCORE. This is in the morning as we were packing up. Fuzzy Pic.....sorry.
Saturday, the ride was supposed to look something like this....but I cannot navigate worth a crap and we missed a little of the route. We missed Oark Cafe cause I am an *****, but we saw a full day of riding for sure.
This is the finishing point of Push Mountain. I rode here last year with Allan, Poolboy, John from Louisiana and Pants. Last time was on a flat rear tire, worn out forks, and rear shock. This time was much better.
Good place to get the adrenaline slowed back down after the PUSH.
We headed to lunch here. Good food and people. Did I mention I hate that my phone was jacked. Ruined pictures.....
After lunch, we hit 123 from Western Grove all the way to Sand Gap. Many of you have seen the sign on Highway 7. Stop in an sit a spell with the owners.
Both of us had to use the restroom.
The best thing here was the Warm Stove.
The stove was worth coming back for tomorrow on my way back up 123.
This place has some interesting history. I asked all about it the next day while I stalled to get warmed up.
We found ourselves headed toward Petite Jean State Park. We liked the idea of heading south to possibly avoid the cooler temperatures in the north. But the North wind blew all day and pushed the temp into the 20s for the overnight lows. This is the campsite as we packed up. I forgot about taking one the night before because we had other things on our mind.
That night, we cooked up a fine meal. John can whip up some seriously good rice dishes on that Jet Boil.
And since we had a fire
I can make this.
Rice and Rib-eye. Camping ain't roughing it sometimes.
We settled in and stayed much warmer due to the wind protection of the trees despite the colder than the night before temps.
The next day, we had to go our separate ways. John is a extremely smart man!!!. His wife was expecting him home and he hit the road when I headed for the waterfall at the park. John gave me some great advice on the way out. Keeping Mama happy will keep me getting weekend passes to go riding. That there is a nugget of advice to hold on to.
John, It was a privilege to ride with you. I hope it happens again sooner than later.
I had a full day of riding ahead of me on Sunday, but a little walk was in order. Both Joey(Pants) and Andrew(RedfishHunter) were texting me about taking the walk to the Waterfall. Like they were blowing my phone up about it. Remember, these guys are from places that are 24 feet above sea level, so a Waterfall to them might not be what I was used to. Well, they were right, my first view from up top was this. From the overlook...
It was huge but there is no scale to show this.
A quick ride to the Lodge downstream puts you on a trail to come at the waterfall from below. It was about a mile or so in. But this walk is more of a rock scramble at time. Temps were around 35 at the beginning of the hike. I had no trouble warming up. Only my ears were cold from the wind whipping down the canyon. The walk from down below was more peaceful than I could have hoped.
Joey always says get off the bike when on a bike trip......this is what he means.
From the top of the trail.
You know you are going the right way if you see this. The trail is really well marked.
Down stream.
Upstream toward the Falls
No the river does not bend, but a panorama shot from the bridge makes it look that way.
A mile of this was serene.
High Bluffs on the other side. Above on that side somewhere was the overlook where I took the first picture
You could clearly hear the Falls but not see them yet. I saw a total of ZERO people on the way out to the falls and less than 10 on the way back.
First Glimpse. The roar is at full volume even this far away.
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