* Ride Report * Newton County, Arkansas - 03.10.2007

[rocker59]

Wow!!! It's been a long, dark winter, but the sun has been out and the temperatures have been moderate this week... Today was actually the third time I've been able to ride this week !!! I rode Tuesday with a friend on her Harley up to Eureka Springs. Thursday, I rode some local backroads and visitied the nearby BMW shop. Each of those rides was about 100 miles.

 

Today it was more like 200 miles. I took off on the Nero Corsa just after noon and headed for some of the best riding in the country. Newton County, Arkansas. Population 8,608 !!! Several of the area's best roads run through Newton County and there are several good places to eat in Jasper.

 

 

 

I always like to stop in Kingston. The town has a neat little town square and there is always something going on, being at the junction of highways 21 and 74. Today I visited with Dean, who runs Grandpa's Flea Market and bought some Thin Mint Cookies from some local Girl Scouts. A few motorcycles were coming and going. It was Saturday, so lots of ranchers and cowboys were hauling cows and horses around in stock trailers.

 

A lonely old farmhouse on highway 74 West of Kingston:

 

It was probably a nice home at one time:

 

Malfunction Junction. What a great name for a service station. Long out of business, there is something appealing to me about this building on the square in Kingston:

 

Rebel Flags can still be seen flying here in the far Northwest corner of the former Confederacy:

 

This one in front of a home in Kingston:

 

Highway 21 decending into Boxley Valley. 11% grades and lots of nice curves!:

 

Highways 21, 16, and 7 get me to lunch in Jasper:

 

Typical Arkansas state highway in the Ozarks. Curvy, scenic, no traffic:

 

Highwy 7 South of Jasper:

 

Great road, Highway 7:

 

I had intended to eat at the Cliffhouse Inn which overlooks some beautiful scenery. It's a breakfast/lunch place and I got there too late. While there, I decided to snap a couple of pics of thier tourist sign! This place is near McElroy Gap and overlooks the valley formed by the Left Fork of Big Creek, a tributary of the Buffalo River:

 

 

From "the Arkansas Grand Canyon", I headed on in to Jasper to try and get a bite at the Ozark Cafe. It's been in downtown Jasper for about 100 years. Good food at the Ozark, and sometimes they have music on Saturday nights. Jasper is a fun little place to stay overnight when riding here in the Ozarks:

 

 

 

From Jasper, I headed to a nice section of twisties. Arkansas Highway 123 between Mount Judea and Lurton was gravel up until a few years ago. When the highway department paved it, little did they know what a great little motorcycling road this would be!

 

Typical scenery for this part of the state. Taken on Highway 123 along Big Creek near Vendor, Arkansas:

 

The Nero Corsa posing with Highway 123 in the background:

 

One of my favourite 19th Century farmhouses in this area. Not many exist because not many people lived here prior to the 20th Century and many have been lost to fire. Some of those fires from when the Yankees rode through here. This house has some nice Greek Revival trimwork not visible in the photo. Greek Revival was popular before the Civil War, but continued on as added detail to farmhouses. This is called an "I" house, a popular style here in The Hills:

 

The style came about from back in the days of single pen log homes. When a second, or third pen was added, it became known as an "I" house. When people started building frame houses here in the middle of the 19th Century, they kept the style of the older log homes. Two, and sometimes three, front doors are common on these houses:

 

The switchbacks just South of Mount Judea on Highway 123:

 

 

I stopped in the little logging town of Deer on Highway 16 for fuel. Yep, Deer is the name of the town, and Antlers is the school mascot. Timber and deer are popular in these parts:

 

From Deer, it's Highway 16 all the way home. Mostly through the Ozarks National Forrest. In the 40-miles between Deer and St. Paul, I only saw about a half-dozen cars and a couple of motorcycles. It was me and the road on a beautiful afternoon! It doesn't get much better!

 

A nice way to spend a Saturday afternoon. I'm glad Spring is almost here !!!