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Allen TX – Hot Springs AR
Sun Oct 6, 2024
(~442 miles)

After a fun-filled day and a half hanging with the Iron Butt crowd, it was time for Char and I to embark on the third and final phase of this autumn journey – two-up to the Ozarks region of northern Arkansas!

We enjoyed another nice breakfast with conversation in the hotel café first, though I don’t think either of us was too hungry yet after yesterday’s feasting. By the time we said our farewells and got the bike packed up and ready to roll, it was about 09:45. No problem, we are operating on our own vacation timeline now!

Traffic wasn’t bad on this fine Sunday morning, as we rode west from Allen back to I-35, turning north away from the metroplex. We’d budgeted some time to pull off the highway for a quick tour around my old college town, the small city of Denton TX. I wanted to show Char a few of the old haunts from the six years I’d lived, studied, and worked down here in the 90s. If said haunts were indeed still around… a lot can change in 25 years. Holy hell, 25 years!

I’ve already noted the build-up of commercial properties lining the interstate corridor through Denton, but was eager to get past that façade to get eyes on the University of North Texas campus and around the town itself. The institution is world-famous for it’s music program, which is what had drawn me down here, arriving on a Greybound bus one hot August evening many years ago, from my home 1700 miles away.

Back then, the draw of students from all over the country and world for the music and arts focus of the school created a bit of a progressive vibe in Denton, making it a bit of an island in the otherwise conservative Bible belt of pre-Internet rural Texas. That helped cushion the culture shock a bit for one rebellious long-haired youth from the northeast. 😉

According to the word on campus during my last couple years here and tidbits of news since, the school had exploded in size a few years after I’d graduated, with a new focus on improving the football program to Division I. Back then, the marching band, filled with world-class musicians from the music program, was a bigger draw to the games for many students than the team itself (called the Eagles back then).  There’s a big 35,000 person stadium by the interstate now that wasn’t there before, so it looks like the university’s plans worked out. Not sure how much the refocus on athletics has changed the school and town vibe over the intervening years.

The layout of certain familiar streets was firmly embedded in my memories, so it was quite weird getting off the exit and immediately seeing the old mixed with the new. The boundary of the UNT campus was now pushing all the way down Avenue C  to the interstate, a few blocks further than before. The Sack ‘n Save grocery store, conveniently located between campus and I-35, is now gone, but the same building remains occupied by the university Physical Plant dept.

Also long gone is the cheap off-campus apartment building on Maple Street where I’d rented a one-room efficiency for $250/month during summer sessions, and then full time for my first year after leaving the dorms. A new residence hall has taken its place, with part of Avenue D now taken over with grass and foot paths.

Other street names slowly came back to me and triggered memories as we rode deeper onto campus, passing more of the older buildings that hadn’t changed much. The streets and sidewalks seem oddly deserted for a fall weekday under the increasingly hot Texas sun as we paused outside my old dorm, Bruce Hall, to gaze around. I narrated tidbits of my former life here to Charlotte. Buildings I’d had classes in, where I’d rented a practice room for my drumkit (and illicitly bunked for a couple Thanksgiving breaks to avoid paying to travel home), etc.

Circling around to the far northeast corner of campus, we checked out Fry Street, which is actually the name applied to the entire 1-2 block radius surrounding the intersection of Ave A, Hickory, and Fry. This area was the ultimate student hangout in my day – coffee shops, pizza parlors, bookstores, head shops. It was sort of like a mini Harvard Square in Cambridge (back when Harvard Square was actually a cool and interesting place to go hang out, before gentrification and commercialization).

Along with everyone else, I’d spent a lot of time down here, particularly to get some of the best pizza I’d ever eaten from The Flying Tomato, whose deep dish pan pizza was exotic to me and so different from the ubiquitous Greek-style pizza I grew up with in New England. Many coffee breaks, discussions on music/philosophy over pizza, and live music to enjoy at the Karma Café or Rick’s Place on most weekends. All those places are now gone. This great article wonderfully captures the spirit of Fry Street and the Flying Tomato crowd of yesteryear.

The intersection was still recognizable, but had undergone major changes and development, with some modern apartments towering over the older one-story strip that still looks like it serves the needs of hungry and bored college students. Being a Sunday at midday in the heat, there weren’t many students out and about when we passed through. Hard to tell if the place still has some of the same eclectic vibe on weekend nights, when ALL the freaks (meant affectionately) would be out, camped out on the sidewalks, just people watching and enjoying their substances of choice. Good times.

After circling through Fry Street a couple times so I can absorb the changes, we proceeded towards the center of town, called “the Square”. The beautiful and historic county courthouse still stands proudly in the center of the huge quad, a sight I hadn’t really appreciated as a younger resident. Many of the historic buildings lining the main square, which had once seemed quite defunct and sleepy, now seem to be rejuvenated by lively local shops, cafes, and businesses, many displaying Halloween decorations in keeping with the time of year.

It generally looks the same here as I recall, which was a bit comforting for some reason. Maybe a bit more neatly landscaped. Nice to see the Recycled Books and Records store still occupying the old pink opera house – I spent a lot of time there browsing the dusty shelves and buying cheap used books, cassettes and CDs, which were all my means would allow.

Concluding our short tour down memory lane, we did a drive-by of the apartment complex where I’d lived the last few years of my sojourn in Denton.  Then we fueled up just around the corner and hopped back onto the interstate to continue north out of town. OK, the nostalgia tour is over, thank you for attending!

 

 

 

In an hour, we found ourselves crossing the state line over the Red River into Oklahoma. We pulled in to a welcome center rest area right around noon for a stretch break in the shade of some trees. They have a reconstructed portion of a steel bridge on display here that used to cross the nearby river, so we read some of the interpretive signs about the history and importance of river crossings in this region. And of course we got the requisite bison photo op.

Feeling excited for our next stop, we shortly pressed on northbound, running quickly through Marietta, Ardmore, and Springer, watching the terrain become slightly less flat and boring, as rocky hills rose up around us to lend some backdrop to the plains. Just south of Davis, we exited at US 77 and pulled into the parking lot of Arbuckle Mountain Fried Pies. Yes! I’ve been dreaming of returning back here since my brief visit for a bonus stop on the ’23 Iron Butt Rally.

The place was hopping with customers on a weekend, and in full production mode, with several workers bustling about the open bakery area behind the sales counter. They formed what appears a well-orchestrated assembly line to churn out the coveted half-moon-shaped hand pies that this place is famous for.

Both of us feeling hungry by now, we decided to make this our lunch stop, ordering a sampling of both savory and sweet pies for here and to-go, including: chicken pot pie, polish sausage/potato, spinach/cheese, apple, and blackberry. And of course a couple pumpkin pies to keep with the autumn spirit, though it certainly seems too damn hot for October for this pair of Yankees!

Following this satisfying and delicious meal break, we set back out on the road, taking US 77 due north and leaving the interstate behind for the next several days. We hung a right on OK 7 in Davis and then OK 1 to skirt around Sulphur and northeast up through Ada, passing quickly along the straight and mostly-flat landscape. Not much to look at here really, at least on the main roads.

We turned southeast on OK 3 through more of the same terrain, just clicking through the miles. This type of open terrain, while not particularly scenic, was a new experience for Char so it was interesting to hear her reactions and experience things a bit through newer eyes. After first missing our turn in Coalgate and pulling a quick u-ey to get back on track, the ride along OK 43 began to deliver a bit more visual interest after crossing Atoka Reservoir and US 69. The landscape was getting a bit hillier and more varied as we approached the low-lying Ouachita Mountain range, which slashes west-east across the southeast corner of Oklahoma into Arkansas.

Sardis Lake reservoir was a refreshing sight, the biggest body of water we passed today I think. We didn’t ride across the dam, instead picking up a small curvy local road over into Clayton. It was still really hot and we needed fuel so we found a pretty nice gas station/store that appears to be run by the local Choctaw tribe. We were still only finding 87 octane gas out here in the boonies, which doesn’t really suit the ST, so I only put in enough to hopefully get us to some premium grade fuel.

A half hour later we cruised into the slightly larger town of Talihina, finding better fuel options (and actually a little bit of traffic!). We picked up US 271/OK 1 eastbound here and almost immediately entered Talimena State Park and the Ouachita National Forest. Turning onto the Talimena Scenic Byway (OK 1), we paused for a couple pics and got ready to finally enjoy the pretty riding that brought us this way in the first place!

Similar to the Blue Ridge Parkway back east, the Talimena follows the ridgelines of the Ouachita Mountain range for dozens of uninterrupted miles through old-growth forest, alternating between lovely tunnel-like wooded sweepers and beautiful open vistas of the surrounding hilly countryside and rustic valleys. There are over 20 scenic pullouts, though we only stopped briefly to enjoy one or two of them, since the day’s shadows were getting long.

OK 1 turned into Arkansas route 88 when we crossed the state line, but the scenic byway continues on until the town of Mena.

We pulled in for a quick look at Queen Wilhemina State Park, which straddles the ridge and has a campground and lodge perched up high with more nice views. The lodge’s restaurant is supposedly a worthwhile stop for some good pie, but was closed by the time we arrived. We were still digesting our delicious fried pie lunch anyway, and just focused on finishing out the day by this point.

More beautiful riding ensued on the Arkansas portion of this wonderful road.

We passed through Mena around 18:00, said hello to a couple old goats in the roadway. AR 88 dumped us on US 270 and we barreled our way east through Mount Ida. During my research both of these towns were mentioned as possible locations to stay or grab food at, so it was interesting to see what they actually looked like, rather than just grey-shaded areas on a map. The communities seem pretty small and remote out here in the middle of the forest, but I took note of some of the restaurants I’d seen online for future excursions. I’d ridden through this part of Ouachita NF on 270 late one night during the 2021 IBR, even stopping somewhere along the road to grab a nap at one point. The curves are much more enjoyable during daylight!

It was just past 19:00 as we finally rolled into the city of Hot Springs, our destination for the evening. Being a weekday, the streets seemed pretty empty, but well lit and clean, at least in the tourist district as we caught glimpses of the iconic Bathhouse Row.

We’d discussed a couple restaurant options for dinner and had settled on a recommended Mexican joint called Taco Mama. We decided to hit that place up before our hotel so we didn’t have to go out walking too far. Alas, they were already closed up for the evening! So without a viable plan B, we headed for our accommodation at the Rodeway Inn. Despite having stayed in some pretty nasty Rodeways, this was was plainly cared for and well-kept by the owners. It was a good deal, especially being pretty close (~1 mile walk) to the National Park sites and bathhouses.

Still, after a long day in the saddle, we were not hungry or enthusiastic enough to walk a couple miles to find a meal, so we settled for snack food we had with us, including the remaining sweet pies we’d taken to-go from Arbuckle Mountain. We settled in for the night with plans to do some sight-seeing around town tomorrow morning, before heading north to our AirBnB in Harrison. We were tired, but it had been a long great day, with new landscapes for Char to experience and enjoy, some beautiful riding, and many old memories for me to ponder as sleep quickly overtook us.

More photos from today’s ride.