CL Down South: Day Seven - Backroads and Deadends

We slept well by the lake in relative darkness. Luckily there were no streetlamps or anything of that nature near us, and we were able to enjoy the moonlit night. Upon waking we took advantage of the opportunity to watch the sun rise over the hill next to the lake, and enjoy a walk around its perimeter.

Here are some wildflowers along the roadside. Everything is in bloom here, and it is beautiful.

Another day, another Donut... this time we tried what seems to be a regional chain (I think out of Missouri)'The Donut Palace.' Delicious.

We cruised through the town of Paris and headed up towards Ozark for a few supplies before heading further into Ozark National Forest. Lindy pulled out the Gazetteer and plotted a course through backroads and forest roads to keep the scenery interesting. She has become very adept at reading a map and managed to find us some gnarly trails that I might not have even taken us down... Unfortunately on our first detour we hit two dead ends (well, one dead end and one trail that diverged from the map and got really dense) so a little backtracking was in order, but no worries. Passing through a couple more towns we again veered off on a forest road that had two knobs labeled on it, hoping that they would provide for a nice overlook, a snack, and a chance to walk the dog around. That didn't quite go according to plan either, though. The road looks like it has been freshly re-carved from the hillside and proved to be an extremely steep, rocky climb, just as we were nearing the top things started to level out and get better, and what do we see...? A nice clearing? NO, A House! With Electricity! Several junk cars, a pomeranian, and a chihuahua. This is how we learned to recognize what we now know as 'Lindy's nervous tune'. The road got 'better' and we proceeded to slide past them and head on down the hill. Unfortunately no photos exist to document this one...

On a side note, Lindy would like you all to know that she was comfortable with landing in the front yard of the Hillbilly camp UNTIL she saw the pomeranian and chihuahua. Don't ask us why, but they were just SO out of place that that is what created the 'nervous tune.'

We picked up the highway (biway) again and headed down the mountain to Boxley valley. There is a Historic District in Boxley (really, that's all there seems to be to Boxley). We pulled off alongside the remaining foundation of an old school house and fixed some sandwiches. J.D. was glad for a chance to run and roll in the grass as we all reclined in the shadow of the nearby mountains.

We drove up 43 in search of elk, but were not optimistic since we were coming through at mid day, and failed to catch any out and about. We did see several other things along the roadside... primarily abandoned vehicles.

The next town we hit that was a recommended stop was Eureka Springs. We made a quick pass through town (sure there's a lot I could say about this), and plan to return tomorrow to wander around a bit more. Feeling the need for a campground with a real bath house (and a chance to do laundry) we slid into the KOA just outside of town a bit early and grabbed a spot for the night. Lindy set out to show off her pie-iron cooking skillz and tried her hand at a pizza pocket. Unfortunately the untimely demise of the cooking oil earlier in the day (see steep rocky climb part....) led to some sticking issues, but the end result was still delicious.

The Eureka Springs KOA is very fitting for the area. As you will no doubt see in our pictures tomorrow, Eureka Springs has become a haven for both motorcyclist and artist. The lady at the front desk has a dog named Harley (we hope to catch a picture of him in the morning). She has also decided to use the space between campsites as her own outdoor art studio. Here are some of our favorite installations.