My Ozarks Trip Plan, leaving July 3rd...

[Bster13]

I no longer ride (have been on a hiatus from the website for about a year recovering, but figured this website is still the best place for local road knowledge  ), but my GF and I plan on driving my EVO down to the Ozarks for some camping and fun roads.  I've been trying to track the flooding in the Midwest and was wondering if some of you locals could advise me where not to go or what rivers are in danger of flooding?

We'll be coming down from St. Louis to Eureka Springs then driving in between Fayetteville, Fort Smith, Little Rock, and Norfork Lake Area.  Once we're down there we plan on heading to the Great Smokey Mountains.

Thanks,

Bryce

[garry]

Can't say I saw any road closures while riding in the Ozarks for the National. There is certainly flooding and very high levels on lakes, but I didn't see any state highway closures. Check out the various National threads (ride reports and the National forum) for some good road info. The routes by "Sprocket" are top notch.

[mxvet57]

same here. a lot of high water on the lakes and rivers but no road closed.                 the ferry at ark125 is running to.

found no dirty roads eather. all clean and fun.

  on sprocket's route's.  

[Hickey]

I saw a bit of road that had suffered a partial wash out.  One lane had collapsed down the hillside and the other lane was covered in gravel, probably as a preparation to begin repairs.  There were plenty of signs warning of this and I'll bet that by now repairs are well underway if not completed.  I think this was in the Buffalo River area south-southeast of Berryville, AR.

[Bster13]

Thanks very much guys...I think we'll still take the trip as the flood damage is at a minimum.  We plan on doing some canoing on the buffalo river, horseback riding, camping and of course experience some good roads and hospitality.

[hobbes]

Don't miss Rt 123 from 164 North up to Hasty, AR. When they say 5mph is some turns, they mean it!

[Bster13]

Ut oh...

http://maps.modot.mo.gov/travelerinformation/TravelerInformation.aspx

[Bster13]

Well I think I got the balance of driving and attractions that I was looking for w/ the GF and I.  The flooding concerns turns out to be small.  Goes like this:

Full size map of our trip:
http://www.23hq.com/Bster13/photo/3246546/original


Full size map of the Ozarks portion of our trip:
http://www.23hq.com/Bster13/photo/3246567/original


~3500 miles, 175 gallons of gas, ~$750-800 for fuel.  

3rd- Driving from GF's house on highway to Laurel Hill State Park.
Staying at Laurel Hill State Park campsite in PA.
http://tinyurl.com/5wqcz5

4th-5th- Driving to GF's aunt on highway.
Staying w/ Jamie's Aunt outside of Cincinnati, OH.

6th- Driving on highway to Buffalo Point campsite.
Staying at Buffalo Point campsite AR.
http://tinyurl.com/5khhjk

7th- Horseback riding at http://littleheavenranch.homestead.com/ then driving to http://www.topotheozarks.net/ for sightseeing.
Staying at Buck Creek campsite on Bull Shoals Lake in AR.
http://tinyurl.com/5jrobc

8th- Canoeing down the Buffalo River with http://www.silverhill65.com/ then driving to Dam Site River campsite.
Staying at Dam Site River campsite on Beaver Lake in AR.
http://tinyurl.com/6zpqcb

9th- Driving to Mossy Bluff Trail for hiking-> http://www.swl.usace.army.mil/parks/greersferry/hiking.htm
Staying at Heber Springs campsite on Greers Ferry Lake in AR.
http://tinyurl.com/57bjm2

10th- Driving highway to Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, TN-> http://www.opry.com/ then camping at Anderson Rd. Campsite.
Staying at Anderson Rd. campsite on outside Nashville, TN.
http://tinyurl.com/5oaeuf

11th- Driving the Cherahola Skyway-> http://www.cherohala.com/ and Deal's Gap-> http://www.dealsgap.com/ then driving to Lake Powhatan campsite
Staying at Lake Powhatan campsite outside Ashville, NC.
http://tinyurl.com/5b63lk

12th- Driving the Blue Ridge Parkway-> http://www.blueridgeparkway.org/ and US421 -> http://www.shadyvalleycountrystore.com/ then driving to Bear tree campsite.
Staying at Bear Tree campsite in Mt. Rogers National Recreation Area in VA.
http://tinyurl.com/678bao

13th- Hitting the highway home...
Staying in my own bed.



     

[Bster13]

Well I am back.  4000 miles later.  Here are the photos:

http://www.23hq.com/Bster13/album/3246545

Had to cut the trip a little bit short due to a death in the family, but that's life, we still had a nice time.  I have video of me on the Gap but none of me on US 421, "The Snake" in Shady Valley, TN where I tried to chase down a Lotus Exige S.  Oh well, there will be other times.  My driving on Deal's Gap was at a slower pace, but still enjoyable.  Spent some time w/ Kill Boy as well as he was out taking pics, very nice guy as usual (used to frequent the gap w/ my motorcycle for years).  I'll try to get the video up shortly.  :beer:

[Bster13]

1st Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e07fa5UJs3I

[FZ1 Matt]

Nice pics. Glad you had fun. Will we see you on a bike in the future? Are you just giving it a break for a while? An Evo would be a good car choice if I was bikeless.  

[Bster13]

need more surgery on my right arm in order to ride...will take place after the fall.  If that works I will ride again.  If I cannot, I may trade the Evo in on a Min as it gets better MPG, better following (evo owners tend to be young drivers to like to drag race  ), but yeah the EVO does well on it's own.  

[FZ1 Matt]

Was it a street or track mishap that messed up your arm? I remember you had an FZ1, right? Did you ever make it to the FZ1 rallys?

[Bster13]

Was a deer strike in WV on 6/30/07 on my st1300.  I remember talking about you and your givi setup for your FZ1 as I was considering that bike for two-up travel (a way to have my cake and eat it too...sporty bike and luggage capacity and passenger comfort) but I opted for an St1100:





I'd like to think I represented you and sport-touring.net well with my runs on the gap as I was envious of your pics of you hauling on the gap with full luggage back in the day, haha.

Then an St1300 which I had my accident on:



Such is life.....I have all four limbs and I'm alive.  

(accident pics....warning, some blood and stuff: http://s16.photobucket.com/albums/b50/bster13/Deals_Gap_07/?start=all&special_track=album_paginate_top_view_all)

[keeptryn]

You could get a good lean on your Honda.
Also, took a look at your accident pics.  Geez, your helmet took a beating.  Hope it works out and you can ride again.  Good luck.

[Bster13]

I do not remember the accident but I assume I was passed out grinding down the asphalt for a bit, face down.  Full face helmets rock!    I also had a mouthguard in (used to wear it for rugby in college and then during trackdays) that doctors tell me saved all my teeth and prevented a bigger concussion.  I had chest and back protector that saved my core and full textile 1000 denier cordura top and bottom that prevented road rash, but were no match for the guard rails (*doh!*).  AGAT....saved my life.  

[Bster13]

All videos have now been posted here:

http://www.youtube.com/user/bster13

Unfortunately the photo site is down for maintenance at the moment.

Enjoy!

[Bster13]

Pics are back up!

http://www.23hq.com/Bster13/album/3246545

 

[FZ1 Matt]

I do not remember the accident but I assume I was passed out grinding down the asphalt for a bit, face down.  Full face helmets rock!    I also had a mouthguard in (used to wear it for rugby in college and then during trackdays) that doctors tell me saved all my teeth and prevented a bigger concussion.  I had chest and back protector that saved my core and full textile 1000 denier cordura top and bottom that prevented road rash, but were no match for the guard rails (*doh!*).  AGAT....saved my life.  

Wow mouth guard while riding?! I could see for trackdays but just regular sport touring -- now that is ATGATT.

[Bster13]

I got used to it during rugby in college so was no sweat to me.  And while I was all about saving weight on my setup with the piggly ST1300, the mouth guard was something I was willing to sacrifice for, haha.