Well, finished classes Thursday (still have grading to do and whining to put up with) and Friday was beautiful. Put the grading aside, kissed the Captain goodbye, and fired up Ruby for a nice road trip to places nobody has heard of.
I first set out for Trident, AR. Why? Never been there. Headed out AR-16, west out of Fayetteville for about 35 miles. Trident is an old moth-eaten church, a flourishing graveyard, cattle, and suspicious people peering out of windows at the weirdo in the 3-wheeled car. Stopped for a photo, but didn't go ask anyone for directions (banjos in the distance discouraged me.)
Headed south on AR-59 through the Ozark Nat'l Forest, Cincinnati is nice, sign says 600 people. Old granny complete with sun had and giant sunglasses on her 3-series John Deere waves and smiles - I wave back. No time for a picture, and no where to pull off and take it. Ruby and I press on through Summers (no sign) and on to Dutch Mills. Dutch Mills is where the internet dies. Pandora swing channel dies in the middle of a Louis Armstrong solo. For the next 60 miles it will occasionally blare out Glenn Miller or Parov Stellar at odd intervals, but mostly Ruby just sings to me as we motor through Tolu, Evansville, Natural Dam, and Cedarville - I am content.
We dodge through Ruby (avoid the Love's Travel Stop at all costs!) and under the I-49 and head up AR-71 - the "Road to Nowhere". This highway takes you through the Boston Mountains and along lake Ft. Smith, lots of long drops to green valleys with water at the bottom. Next stop, Mountainburg (Pop. 630). Yes, Mountainburg DOES have a police force - and I saw all of them, including the swift water rescue team. Some poor fool had misjudged one of the curves, gone through the guard rail, and on down into the water at the bottom (God only knows how far down.) Cops and EMT's peering down the slope and I am waved by, saying a prayer for whoever is at the bottom. The cop/flagman looks at me with a scowl - no doubt motorcycles and such are the bane of his life.
Artist Point and Winslow are nice, there is a neat cafe there overlooking the valley with Lake Ft. Smith in the distance - it looks abandoned and is for sale, its a nice place and an empty parking lot, so Ruby poses for a sexy photo or two.
On again through Pitkin Corner, West Fork, Greenland, and then home to Elkins. All told, about 160 miles and 3 and a half hours of therapy. Good lord, after this last semester with the Zoom Zombies, I really needed that!
Tomorrow? More grading, and perhaps a ride with the Captain!