Touring Toad Suck and Tucker Creek Trail

Just down the road is Toad Suck, Arkansas. Yes, that's right, Toad Suck. There is a nice campground called Toad Suck Park. It's right on the Arkansas River.

Before the bridge was built across the river, there was a ferry that ran back and forth. Apparently, the origin of Toad Suck has to do with when the river was either too high or too low for the ferry to run. While the guys would be waiting for the ferry to go, they would be drinking in the bar. They would drink so much they would puff up like toads (?). I'm not sure where the suck part comes in. I know it's not a very good explanation...

After checking out all things Toad Suck, I headed over to the Walmart where Gary told me the Tucker Creek Trail started. Sure enough, behind the Tire Center was the beginning of the Tucker Creek Trail, a very nice paved bike path. It, obviously, runs along Tucker Creek. It isn't that long yet, but it will eventually run from one end of Conway to the other.

At the current end of the trail, I came out to the road. I pulled out my phone to see where I was. Then, knowing enough by now of Conway, I decided to go back on Prince St. to the bridge and back to the house. It was a short ride of about 12 miles, but that's just fine.

Betsy is all packed up. We went to Walmart to find a duffle bag for the other stuff, but couldn't find one big enough. At Target I had the same problem, so I switched to plan B. I bought a big suitcase. I have a big duffle at home. We need a bigger suitcase (Dillon has the one big suitcase).

I'm headed home tomorrow afternoon.

A Petite Climb to Petit Jean

Monday morning...time for a bike ride! Hmmm...I hear there's a mountain nearby.

Kim and Gary suggested riding to Petit Jean State Park. It just so happens that Petit Jean State Park is at the top of Petit Jean Mountain. I mapped the route and it (and Gary) said it was 29 miles one way. Gary said the steep part was a mile.

I took off at 9:30. The ride to the base of the mountain was very pleasant. It was gentle rollers on quiet roads. My average speed up until the beginning of the climb was 15 mph! Apparently, I had a tailwind.

The climb up Petit Jean was definitely a climb. It was probably the longest hill I've climbed this entire tour (not the steepest, however). I managed to make it half-way before I gave in to super granny gear.

At the top, was a sign to Petit Jean's gravesite and the Overlook. I rode up to the overlook, but never found the gravesite. The view from the overlook was spectacular! The Arkansas River curved below and I could see for miles. The hawks were catching the up drafts. I wondered about the origin of the name Petit Jean. Of course, my questions were answered shortly ( and now so will your's). Petit Jean (Little John) was a French girl who disguised herself as a boy to work on a ship as a cabin boy so she could come to the New World with her fiancé (who didn't recognize her). The crew spent the summer with the Native Americans near the Arkansas River and the mountain. At the time they were getting ready to return to France, Jean became ill. Her true identity was discovered. She knew she would not survive the trip to France, so she asked to stay with the Indians. They carried her on a litter up to the top of the mountain where she died shortly after and was buried. Years later a grave was discovered at the the top of the mountain with perfectly placed stones. It was thought to be the grave of Petit Jean.

From the overlook, I continued on to the State Park. It was lunchtime when I got to the Registration Building. I was going to eat my lunch at a picnic table behind the building, but I saw another cyclist, so I went to talk to him. He was out for a day ride on his recumbent. He had come up the other side from Dardenelle (not as steep). We chatted for awhile about touring (he would like to come to Washington and do the Olympic Penninsula). I ate my lunch while we were talking. He was heading to Mather Lodge for his lunch.

After finishing my PB&J, I went into the office/store. The clerk asked if I had been to the Cedar Falls Overlook. She told me there was a bike path ("Hike and Bike" as they are called here) that would take me to the Overlook. Well, she was sort of right. I rode the bike trail to the end, but it came out at Mather Lodge. That was okay because the view from the lodge over the canyon was nice too. I saw signs for the Falls Overlook, but I couldn't seem to find it. Finally, I followed the bike path back and turned onto a gravel path that said "Access to Cedar Falls Overlook. The gravel path ended with stairs, so I just carried Betsy down the few stairs. The road to the Overlook was across the street.

I parked Betsy and walked the boardwalk to the Falls Overlook. The falls were not that big, but the rock formation was pretty cool. There were other trails to other viewpoints, but I didn't take them.

When I had ridden into the park, I had passed The Outpost--a grocery/cafe. I saw a sign for hand-dipped ice cream. When I was headed back, I stopped and had some ice cream. They also had Petit Jean Mountain Fudge, but I resisted buying any of that (it was in the upper 80s today--I'm not sure the fudge would have survived long).

My ice cream fix satisfied, I headed back down the mountain. Coming down was quite fun. Unfortunately, at the bottom I was met with a headwind. I rode against it until Houston (Arkansas, not Texas--population 726). From there on Bethel Rd to Hwy 60 it was a crosswind. I had a tailwind for the last 5 miles.

Overall, I rode 63 miles. That was a long distance considering the hills.

Tonight, my nieces, Haley (with husband, Dallas) and Brittany (without husband, Drew), and Kim's mom, Betty, came to dinner. I was happy I got to see the girls. After dinner, all us gals hopped into Haley's car and Kim's car and went to Haley's house (just down the road) to see all the stuff Haley has for baby "Trip" (officially, Dallas Wayne Payne III), due in June. That baby has enough stuff for a whole herd of babies! That's not counting the stuff Kim has for him at her house!

Anyway, it was fun to get to see everything and see both Haley and Brittany's houses yesterday and today. Both girls have grown up to be wonderful women!

Little Rock and the BIG Dam Bridge

Ahhh...the luxury of sleeping in a regular bed! I'm used to sleeping 2 1/2 inches off the ground. The bed I'm sleeping in is quite high off the ground (I mean, the floor). I thought I might get altitude sickness! No, just kidding, it is really very comfortable.

Today Kim took me into Little Rock to have a look around. First we went to Central High School. For those who don't remember their Civil Rights history, Central High was the school where, in the late 50s, the "Little Rock Nine" were the first black students to enroll, and the beginning of the end of segregation in the schools. The school is still a functioning Highschool. Kitty-corner from the school is a Central High Visitors Center run by the National Park Service. The exhibits detail the fight for desegregation and all the political upheaval between the Arkansas Governor who fought against desegregation and President Eisenhower who finally sent the 101st Airborne in to control the situation. It was very interesting. The school is, architecturally, a beautiful building.

After the high school, we swung by the State Capitol Building. It is a dome Capitol building just like Olympia's. everything was pretty quiet since it was Sunday.

From the Capitol, we drove through the River Market section of town (where they are working to revitalize the area with a friendly atmosphere and even a trolley) to the Clinton Library. The library wasn't open, so we didn't go inside. But, it is a cool building. Near the library is an old railroad bridge that has been turned into a pedestrian/biking bridge. It is, of course, called the Clinton Bridge (it used to be called the Rock Island Bridge). We walked to the center of the bridge and back.

By then it was coming up on lunch time. First we were going to go to a Subway, but instead we went to a Whole Hog BBQ place. It was good! Afterward we went to the Subway for cookies (check a Little Rock Subway off the list).

Then it was on to the Big Dam Bridge. Seriously, that is the name of the bridge! It is an apt name since there is a dam, and it is the longest pedestrian bridge in the world. From the bridge I could see pelicans--big, white pelicans.

When we left the Big Dam Bridge, we headed over to Brittany and Drew's house. They were home so we visited, but only for a brief moment. Then Kim's mom, Betty, called. We had stopped by her house earlier, but she wasn't home. Now she was home, so we stopped by her house too. Had a great visit, then headed back home.

We had a good dinner (pizza) and we planned a ride for me tomorrow to Petit Jean Mountain. Gonna go climb me a hill!

The Last Loaded Day

First thing I did when I woke up this morning was look out the window. Yay! Not raining, but it was heavily overcast and it looked like it had just recently stopped raining. I got everything together, then used the microwave to fix my breakfast.

I was out the door at 7:55. I had put my raingear on, but almost promptly took it off (except the helmet cover). It wasn't really that cold. I was headed south on Hwy 367, even though none of my directions mentioned a Hwy 367. I turned my Garmin on. Then I stopped and pulled up the map on my phone. The directions had said to turn left, but it was to turn left onto Hwy 64, 167, and 67 (yes, this part of the highway went by three different names!). But that section of the highway was more like a freeway. I noticed, according to the Garmin, I was merely paralleling that Interstate. I figured it was fine, so I stayed on 367 until Searcy. Then, as I was going over the highway on the overpass, I looked down at the road and saw it wouldn't be too bad to ride on. There was a wide shoulder. So I got on the highway. According to the exit I would be taking, I had 13 miles on this highway. I turned on my Volcano music speaker, and listened to the music as the big trucks flew by.

When I exited, I had 31 miles to go to Conway. Along those 31 miles, I stopped for a mid-morning snack at the junction of Hwy 5 and 64 (now just 64). Back on Betsy, I noticed it was starting to misty rain. I didn't feel it was enough to bother with the raingear.

For a number of miles, I was riding on what appeared to be a pretty new road. Kim said it is a bypass. Alongside much of the road was that red blossom clover. I think it is very pretty when there are tons of the red blooms. In general, today I saw more dead armadillos than I've seen altogether. It was definitely "dead critter day". I even saw a deat rat!

I returned to the regular Hwy 64 and continued working my way toward Conway. Once in Conway, the traffic was very heavy until I passed under I-40. By this time, I was hungry and on the lookout for a Subway. In all this busy shopping area, I saw not one Subway! So, I kept going. As I was headed toward my next turn, I saw the Subway. It was a combo gas station/restaurant Subway.

After lunch I had only 8 miles to go. I found Kim and Gary's house with no problems. Kim and I had a nice long chat and I got to know the dogs. Sulu is a long-haired dapple dachshund, and Sadie is a pie-bald dachshund--both versions you don't see to often. They are very cute!

I rode 70 miles today with an all-time highest touring average of 13.6 (it was 13.9 prior to going through all the slow traffic coming into Conway)!

Below ia a photo of the new highway with red clover blooming on both sides.

Just Keep Pedaling!

Today's goal was to get as far as I could toward Bigelow. I had Google-mapped directions from Tom Sawyer to Kim and Gary's place in Bigelow. I made a couple of modifications to avoid I-40, the busy freeway.

All but about 7 miles of today's ride was on US-64. It was really a pretty good highway for much of the way. There were mostly good shoulders.

As I left Tom Sawyer today and came up over the levee, I looked to the direction I was heading and saw nothing but very dark clouds. Not a promising vision for a long distance day! At least I had stowed my raingear in the top of the pannier.

Fortunately, I seemed to stay south of the darkest clouds. However, about 10 miles in, it started to rain. I pulled over to a closed florist shop that had an overhang and pulled out my raingear. I put my jacket and RainLegs on as well as my helmet cover and gloves. As I set back out on the road, the rain was already tapering off. About a mile down the road the rain quit altogether (of course it did!). I stopped and took the RainLegs off, but left the jacket on for awhile. Because I nothing better to do, I did a round of 100 Bottles of Beer on the Wall. When I got to zero, I took my rain jacket off. I know...I know...like I said, nothing better to do.

At the town of Parkin, I pulled over for my 10:00ish snack of chocolate milk and an oatmeal cookie sandwich thingy. A guy named Chris rode in the same time as me. He is from England. He is riding from San Diego to Washington DC. He just had rear panniers and a backpack. He had camped earlier when there weren't as many towns, but he was now staying in motels. He didn't stay long. While I was experiencing a tailwind, he battled a headwind. Sorry, dude, but I'm not wishing away my tailwind!

By 12:30 I had gone 57 miles. I can't remember the name of the town, but I told myself if there was a Subway, I would eat there (big surprise, right?). If there wasn't, I would eat my own food--a peanutbutter and jelly sandwich. Well, there wasn't a Subway. I did buy a bottle of Gatorade to go with my PB&J.

As I was finishing my lunch, off in the distance there was lightening...yaaaaay! My favorite thing to do, ride in a thunderstorm! At the time, it wasn't raining...at the time. Not far down the road, I could see the rain. I pulled over just as the first raindrops hit (actually, hail). The thunderstorm was also continuing. Each time I saw lightening, I did the whole counting thing. It seemed to be (if there is truth to the counting to determine how far away the storm is) 7 to 8 miles away. Still, the sooner it stopped, the better.

Fortunately, the thunderstorm part did stop. It continued to rain for quite awhile. In the distance I could see lighter sky (even a hint of blueness!). I just kept telling myself to "go into the light"! By the time I got to Augusta, I had done 76 miles. It was no longer raining, and it was time for another break. What do we have here? A Subway of course! I had cookies and chocolate milk.

I had 13 more miles to Bald Knob. Earlier in the day I had told myself if I could make more than half of the miles (around 90), I would treat myself to a motel stay. When I arrived in Bald Knob, I had gone 89 miles. At the intersection of US-64 and a bunch of other highways, there was a Budget Inn. Looked good to me! There is supposed to be another thunderstorm tonight. I don't care! I will be INSIDE TONIGHT!!! Of course, it's also supposed to rain tomorrow...

Today was my longest touring day ever. My average speed was 13.3--my highest for this tour!

Walking in Memphis...Going to Graceland

Now, if I could only get those two songs out of my head!

Today was the day to explore Memphis. First, however, we had to get there. Getting to Memphis from West Memphis has probably been our biggest worry of the whole tour. The MRT Guide book tells how to do it, but from the other direction. It really wasn't too difficult except for when we both realized there was no longer a shoulder as we came to the bridge. There was a pedestrian walkway, so we both ended up lifting our bikes over the jersey barrier. Fortunately for me, I did not have my luggage with me, so it was pretty easy. Christian who was a ways behind me, had to take his front panniers off so he could lift the bike. Once on the walkway, it was easy going.

On the other side of the bridge, in Tennessee, we rode down a grassy hill to the street. From there we needed to find the Mississippi River RV Park so Christian could drop off his stuff. There were no signs, but Christian found it.

After Christian checked in and set up his tent, we had to do some tricky maneuvering to get to downtown--more grass riding. We managed, but it was kind of confusing.

First we wanted to go to Midtown Bikes which was on the way. We were too early and they weren't open yet. So, we rode on to Sun Studios. Sun studios is where Elvis first recorded as well as many other musicians (Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison, Maroon Five, and Stray Cats to name a few). We didn't bother with the tour as it was expensive and long. Still, we took lots of photos.

After the Studio, we headed back toward Main St. On the way we passed the Peabody Hotel. This is the hotel of the famous ducks that live on the roof and are escorted every morning to a fountain where they spend their day, and are then escorted back to their rooftop home.

We headed to Beale St., but turned right first and went to the river. We wanted to go to the Visitor's Center to see if there was a "Welcome to Tennessee" sign (there wasn't one on the bridge). The closest we could get was a big egg (see photo below).

From the Welcome Center, we could see the De Soto Bridge (I-40--no bikes allowed). This is the bridge that is lit up at night. We could also see Mud Island (more of a kids place) and the hanging monorail that goes to the island.

We rode back to Beale and decided to go to the Lorraine Hotel. This is the hotel where Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated. Of course it is all part of the Civil Rights Museum with a charge to visit. But, we could go into the parking lot of the hotel and take photos of the balcony. It's also under renovation "to make a better museum experience".

The bike shop was very close so we went there next. Christian was hoping for a Memphis jersey, but the guy didn't have much in the way of clothing. I asked for a sticker, and he also gave Christian and I Midtown Bike can-cozies (I had to explain to Christian what a can-cozy was). I noticed a Subway cup on the counter. I asked the guy where the Subway was. It was just up Main St.

We had decided to eat at a BBQ place. We ended up eating at "Pig (Pork With an Attitude)" on Beale St. We were able to sit outside so that was pretty cool. Pig has won several BBQ contests so we figured it would be pretty good--it was.

After lunch, we did the rest of Beale, then went in search of the Subway (had to check off a Tennessee Subway). Of course we didn't have sandwiches, we just had cookies. Across the street was a marker telling about the first Piggly Wiggly. Piggly Wiggly was the first grocery store where the customer picked out their own groceries. Prior to PW, the customer handed the grocer the list and the grocer put the order together and wrote the price on the paper bag. PW revolutionized grocery shopping. I did not know that!

Originally, we had decided not to go to Graceland. But, we rethought it, and decided we should at least go to the gates. Graceland is a 10 minute drive from downtown which makes it about a 30-45 minute ride. Riding on Elvis Presley Blvd. was highly unpleasant. The road was bad and the traffic was heavy. But, we made it to the gates of Graceland (did not see any ghost of Elvis). It was sort of anti-climactic, as you would expect something...I don't know...bigger? More ostentatious? Really, it's not. What is more ostentatious is all the touristy stuff across the street from Graceland itself. The area of town surrounding the Land of Elvis is pretty low-rent. I can't help but wonder what the area would have been like if Elvis had lived to a ripe old age???

After Graceland, we retraced our ride on the nasty road. Once we got off of EP Blvd., things quieted down. We stopped at Stax Studio (also a museum and Music Academy) for a photo.

Christian had Google directions to get back to the RV Park. With just one wrong turn, we made it back. At the RV Park, we said our goodbyes. It was a great tour. I told Christian I'm sure I will be looking for him in my rearview mirror for the next couple of days as I make my way to Little Rock.

The way back to West Memphis, Arkansas was not bad. I just had to walk down and up a few embankments to avoid much of I-55.

When I got back to Tom Sawyer RV Park, I decided to take a shower. When I got to the restroom/shower, I noticed a toiletries bag sitting on top of the paper towel dispenser. Uh-oh, it was Christian's! I emailed him right away and told him I would leave it at the office for him. He will come tomorrow to get it. I will be gone by then. Bummer!

Anyway, it was an interesting day in Memphis. Now, onto Little Rock!

Housekeeping and a Reconnaissance Mission

Last night we survived our 5th thunderstorm. It started raining at about 11:00 and didn't stop until about 8:30 this morning. The thunder and lightening didn't last too long and it was never very close. After initially waking up to the sound of the rain, and going through a mental checklist of making sure everything was put away or closed, I went back to sleep for the remainder of the night.

We had planned to ride over the river to Memphis, but with the weather we decided to stay in West Memphis and take care of some housekeeping details. First up was some charging of our various electronics. The laundry room was a perfect place to do that. There are several outlets and a couple of tables.

Once the rain stopped, we got on our bikes and went first for some lunch. As I had not checked an Arkansas Subway off my list yet, we went in search of one. Of course, Subways are never too difficult to find. A sure-fire bet is near a freeway interchange. Sure enough, I found one! Since the Subways in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Arkansas don't seem to serve coffee past 11:00, we hopped across the road to McDonalds so Christian could get his post-lunch coffee (and wifi, because he is unable to get online at the RV Park).

After the coffee and computer chores were completed, we rode over to a Kroger grocery store. Because Christian is heading to a different park tomorrow (in Memphis), he needed to restock food that doesn't require cooking. I will be staying at Tom Sawyer and just riding into Memphis tomorrow without my stuff. It will be easier for me to head toward Little Rock on Friday from here. I found a new thing at the grocery store. Quaker makes an instant oatmeal that comes in a ziplock bag. You can use as little or as much as you want. It packs easier and comes with less servings. I don't need a whole bunch because I just have, maybe, 5 more breakfasts (depending on how long it takes me to get to Little Rock).

We returned to the park. Christian wanted to dry his tent. I decided to do a reconnaissance mission for tomorrow's ride into Memphis. I rode down a road that a sign said was easy access to I-55 (the bridge we need to cross to get to Memphis). The road took me to Broadway (aka Hwy 70). From there I could see MRT signs again so I knew I was going the right way. I followed the signs as far as the entrance to the freeway. There appears to be a good shoulder on I-55. The return trip from Memphis is a little trickier involving pushing the bike up an embankment to get to the freeway. At least I won't be carrying any luggage. I rode back to the park and reported my findings to Christian

Tomorrow's weather is supposed to be sunny. Actually, the sun came out this afternoon, so it looks promising for tomorrow. The river is rising, but we'll be okay until Friday when I leave for Little Rock.

In the photos below, you can see the height of the river is right up to the edge. The other photo shows the final height of the river in 2011 (the same flood that closed Great River Road State Park). The problem is these places are on the river side of the levees. When the river rises, these places are under water.