After our little tour, it is time for Gene and Billy to get home and for me to get back on the road. One of those roads, Highway 74, takes me west to Ponca. Billy had suggested I watch the fields for elk and-sure enough-I spot a few cows and a calf along the way. Newton County released 112 elk from Colorado and Nebraska in the early 1980s, and that program has paid off with a healthy local population. In fact, Newton County now calls itself the "elk capital of Arkansas," and the town of Jasper hosts the annual Buffalo River Elk Festival to celebrate the herd.
I head north on Highway 23 through Forum and Rock House and come out in the town of Eureka Springs. Legend has it that the springs had magical healing powers, and Indian tribes consider the area sacred ground. When Dr. Alvah Jackson "discovered" the springs in 1856, he reputedly cured his infant son of an eye ailment with water from the spring. The doc then founded Dr. Jackson's Cave Hospital.
The town sprang up around Dr. Jackson's enterprise in 1879, and the legend of the spring's powers drew moneyed Victorian-era travelers from around the world. Elaborate hotels, spas and restaurants were built overnight, and the flood of tourists and entrepreneurs made Eureka Springs the fourth-largest city in Arkansas by 1881.
Today, the town's architecture is a big part of its charm. In fact, the entire downtown area is on the National Register of Historic Places. Legends of mystical powers persist, with mystics claiming that Eureka Springs is an Earth "vortex," a place where spirit and body are aligned.
Mystical or not, this interesting little town is a popular place for weddings, Wiccan gatherings and motorcycle rallies.
I am due to meet friends on the highway in a few hours, and any mystical powers of Eureka Springs have to be absorbed as I pass through. In my brief tour of the town, I don't experience any noteworthy spiri-tual revelations, but I do get a speeding ticket later in the day. Perhaps my neurological path is accelerated. Or maybe I'm just not paying attention...
The final leg of the day's ride takes me west of Eureka Springs on Highway 62, which snakes into the low mountains of Boone County. A scenic drive on 187, south and west along Beaver Lake, looks like another tempting option for someone with time and two wheels.
My ride in the Ozarks ends a few hours later, as I turn north to head back to the frozen pavement of my native Minnesota. I'll soon be back home, telling stories to my friends and family about the trip. Travel tends to do that-offer up stories-and my favorite trips are those that send you home with great tales to spin.
When I think back on this ride, my favorite memory is of the Ozark Caf, a place where daily legends are as deeply ingrained in local culture as the stripes of Ozark Mountain pavement tumbling across the Ouachita Mountains.
Trip TipsArkansas Guide to Motorcycling Maps, suggested routes and destination listswww.arkansas.com/outdoors/motorcycling/
Harrison Motorcycling Guidewww.harrisonarkansas.org/motorcycling.htm
Turner Bend Store (motorcycle information)www.turnerbend.com/motorcycling.html
Pig Trail Scenic Bywaywww.byways.org/explore/byways/2156/
Mount Nebo State Parkwww.arkansasstateparks.com/parkfinder/parks.aspx?id=5
When to go:March-November