Day 6 - Sept 4

Today's ride was awesome!  I now better understand why people like coming to the Ozarks to ride.  I don't think there is a bad road out here!  

However, there really isn't much to blog about.  I have attached a few photos of various views but after awhile they all look alike.  The roads just go from one mountain top down into the valley and then back up the other side.  The mountains are not that tall; only about 2,000 - 2500 feet.  This is no comparison to Colorado where the passes often exceed 10,000 feet. I would compare it more to the Blue Ridge Parkway area in North Carolina.  The good part about the mountains not being that high is that they build roads more easily so there are many great roads to choose from.  One of the roads is called the "Pig Tail"; as you can image based on the name, it is very twisty.

In the afternoon I did a loop that went into southern Missouri and then back into Oklahoma.  I am spending the night in a state park campground in Oklahoma tonight.  It seems that the state parks now consider this past their prime season so they don't always have people around to collect money for camping and they don't provide any means for you to leave them money either.  This is the second night in a row in a state park with no need to pay.  Both places even had showers and electricity available to use.  All the perks!

Tomorrow I will ride back into Arkansas and finish the loop there and then head into Missouri.  I am thinking about seeing a show in Branson but not yet sure if the timing will work out.

Today's mileage was 481 miles.  Total mileage is now 3,262 - that is a daily average of 632 miles per day!  I have now ridden in 9 states on this trip.

P.S. - Yes it was hot again today.  Just before pulling into the campground about 6:00PM, the temperature on the bike was showing 108 degrees.  A shower felt really good at that point.  The high in Branson for tomorrow is only showing 97 - cool front must be coming through!