16: The Best Motorcycle Roads in Northwest Arkansas

This episode is sponsored by Law Tiger San Diego. If you or loved one is injured in a motorcycle accident, call 1-800-Law-Tigers for a free case evaluation. Welcome to the scenic ride, a motorcycle podcast where we explore the most epic motorcycle roads in North America and beyond. I'm Stacey, I'm Sana, and I'm Daven. Today we're exploring Northwest Arkansas, which is one of the best motorcycle regions in the south and is undoubtedly the best kept secret of the natural state. So if you're thinking of planning a road trip to ride this area, stay tuned and we will be chatting about some of the best routes and things to see, eat, and do in Northwest Arkansas. I will say that there's no way that we can cover everything in this episode, but this should give you something to jump off of to plan your trip. [Music] So I've been to Northwest Arkansas more times than I can count to ride motorcycles. It's actually one of the first places that I ever took a motorcycle trip to go motorcycle camping. And there is just so much to see and do out here. I think that the roadways as far as Arkansas goes, Arkansas does such a good job paving their roads. They're always so smooth. And they're banked really well. So from a motorcycle perspective, it just feels like you're riding roller coaster roads everywhere you go, especially in this area. The Ozark Mountains cover Arkansas and Missouri, but today we're going to stay on the Arkansas side of the Ozarks. And truthfully, I think that you could have over a dozen trips to this area and not ride any road twice and still have plenty to see and do. There's just so much to do in this area, depending on which your interest are to. If you just want to ride, that's great, especially paved roads. There's also lots of off road riding, whether you're into ADVs or dual sports. There's all kinds of off road stuff out there. And even more stuff has continued to pop up. Like there's a brand new BDR X route that has been announced in 2026. And you know, whether you're into mountain biking or fishing or maybe you're into hiking and you'd like to jump into some swimming holes, Northwest Arkansas has all of that stuff. Lots of really cool small towns and lots of really good food. So if you're like me and you're a foodie, I think that this area of Arkansas is definitely a place that you will really enjoy. And y'all, I don't know if we're going to talk about ice cream in this episode, but we're definitely talking about pie because that is something that I feel like anytime I go to Arkansas, it just it just becomes a part of the road trip. So we'll definitely be riding to pie and some some of these rides today. Perfect. But have either of you been up to Northwest Arkansas before and when did when did you go? I went last November and I did it as part of my project to visit all 63 national parks. There is a national park in Arkansas hot springs. I'm sure we'll talk about that in this episode. But I'll just say real quick that the one of the reasons I love doing this national park project is that it takes me to places that I maybe normally wouldn't go to like. I probably would have made it to Arkansas at some point, but I wouldn't have planned a trip specifically to go there. And because there's a national park there, I had a reason to really go explore that area and I've seen stacey posts so much about it. That I was really excited to go and it's really beautiful. And I went in early November, which I think was a really good time to go because it was basically peak fall foliage season. The leaves were just gorgeous, not all our traffic, little bit cold, but not too bad. Nice. Dave and have you been before? Yeah. Yeah. I did it in June of 23. It was shortly after one of your trips. I believe because I watched the video and then I put down a bunch of notes of where I wanted to go. And I did it as like a jumping off point to get to New Orleans because I'd never been in New Orleans and I wanted to go to New Orleans. So I did some searching and I found I looked at like every eagle rider in the five state area and getting one out of Dallas was the cheapest and made the most sense as far as getting the bike rental and flying to an airport. So started in Denver, went up across the town of Meena and then did a little bit of I didn't do all over Northwest Arkansas, but I did a good chunk. And man, it's a cool little spot. And like Sauna said, I wouldn't have normally just like I'm going to go to Arkansas. But after seeing you go there a couple times and some other people and back, I don't know, 15 years ago when I was working at Power Let, we were so let's go down there for bikes, blues and barbecue a couple times, but just didn't work out. So I, you know, just between then and 23, I never really had a reason to end up there. So that's that's that's my story about it. I did do a similar thing, which is I also flew into Dallas and rented a bike from Ego rider because it ended up being like the closest kind of big city hub that also had direct flights from where I live. So it was just easy to get in and I mean, obviously it's a massive city. So took a while just to get out of the city. But once you're out of the city, you're so close to these areas of Arkansas. So I do think that's a good jumping off spot. Yeah. And there is so backing up to the weather. I do think that the fall is the best time to visit this area. They do get snow and ice in the Ozarks and the wintertime and there's also plenty of great beautiful sunny and 75 degree days. But if you're planning a trip to go out here, you want to go and it's pretty. You don't want to go when there's no leaves on the trees. So I think the fall is truthfully the best time of year. So late October, early November, the spring as far as, you know, March and April and May go. It'll start to get bright green again with, you know, new leaves on the trees and all of that. But the weather is really really weird. They get a lot of tornadoes and severe weather in that area. So that's also something you kind of have to plan for. But late summer can also get really hot and really humid, which if you like jumping into swimming holes. That's you're going to be doing it on this trip. And I definitely have done that in the Ozarks where I've just pulled over on the side of the road, jumped in and all of my clothes minus my helmet and just cooled off because it was so hot outside. But either way, I think that, you know, if July or June or the only times of year, you can get out there. You're still going to enjoy it. I just think that, you know, September, October, November are the more enjoyable months of the year. For sure. I tried booking a trip there in the spring. Was it maybe a year or two ago? I can't remember. But I texted you about at Stacey just to see get your input of to see if that was a good idea. And you're like, there is going to be a cicada invasion. Don't go. So I looked it up. And it was like one of the biggest cicada. It's on cycle brood. Yeah. Of like the century or something like it was massive. I'm like, how how is it possible that I have like a full week where I'm going to plan this trip and finally go to hot springs national park. And there's like a once in a generation cicada invasion. Yeah, it's it isn't it the worst when the bugs control when you're going to go places. There's there's been a few road trips in the last couple of years where the cicada breads have absolutely controlled my road trip plans because I just don't want to deal with them. We don't have that here. I just I don't that was like not even something that was on my radar. I know how to look up weather and stuff. But like that I wouldn't even have known to look it up. Yeah, yeah, luckily I think the cicada bread is sleeping for a few years. I think we've got another like five years or so until that's a thing again. But yeah, I definitely think of those things too. I guess if you're from the south or if you're from the Midwest or the east coast, these cicada breads are probably more common to you. But if you're from anywhere out west where bugs are just less of a thing, you wouldn't think to think of these things whenever planning a trip out. But yeah, that's definitely something to consider. But fast forwarding to really good hubs to use. I've actually flown in and done some fly and rides as well for Arkansas. And there is an Eagle Rider location in Arkansas for for those of you who just want to get straight to the source and rent a bike and go. You can fly into Rogers Bentonville, which is X and A and pictural Harley Davidson does have an Eagle Rider location there and that's a pretty big Harley dealership if you go for bikes blues and barbecue. You'll want to rent your bikeway in advance because they will sell out, but that dealership is just packed with vendors and packed with people. But if you go and it's not rally time, it's actually a pretty chill dealership and it's pretty cool. But Rogers and Bentonville have a lot of it's huge. It's the headquarters of Walmart. So Walmart originated there and you can actually go check out the original Walmart on the square. It's now like a little museum. And it's a big mountain biking hub, lots of food options. I mean anything you could possibly think of is going to be in that area. So if you're someone who needs like all that commercialized kind of stuff. I think that is a great, you know, hub spot to base your trip around. Personally, I like to go up to your ecosystem, which I'll talk about here in a bit. But some people prefer to go to the market. to stay down in the low lands just because there's so much stuff to do. If you're a big coffee nerd like I am, I think Onyx coffee labs is probably already on your radar for this area. Onyx is just, it's for the coffee nerds. Let's just leave it at that. But their original location is in Rogers, so that's something you definitely have to go check out if you're there. Fayetteville is a little further south and that is where bikes blues and barbecue used to be headquartered. And for those of you who aren't familiar, it's a big motorcycle rally that's held in this area every September. And yeah, it used to be held in Fayetteville, which is a college town. So it's another kind of artsy, collective, foody kind of hub. But they have moved it up to Rogers Bentonville and it's kind of overflowed into Ureca Springs as well. So I think all of those hubs are great. I personally haven't spent a lot of time in Fayetteville, but I do know that it is kind of another motorcycle friendly hub. I know there are a handful of people personally out there that are really into the dual sport stuff and they use Fayetteville as their hub when they go out to Arkansas. So if you're like me and you really like barbecue, rights barbecue is based just outside of Fayetteville as far as their original location goes. And that is a place that I will go every single time I'm in Arkansas. It is just so good. Our brisket is, and I'm a brisket snob. I'm originally from Texas and their brisket is insane. Like it is life changing if you eat meat. I know there's some people on this podcast that don't eat meat. It's so good. And we could spend three hours just talking about the food scene out there. It's just incredible. But Ureca Springs, I think, if I had to pick one hub, I would choose Ureca Springs as my hub. Whether you're going to fly in and get a bike from Eagle Rider, I would then head up the 35 minutes to Ureca Springs and use that as my getaway location. It's very motorcycle friendly. There are all kinds of different lodging options there. Adam Sandeville has a cabin/campground place there called Route 62 Motor Resort. And it's right off Route 62. So you can't miss it. And lots of options depending on what you're into. Ureca Springs is just this, it's so cool. I don't even know where to begin like the story. But it's just this eclectic artsy little community up in the mountains. And it's very historic. It used to be kind of like a spa city, just like how hot springs Arkansas is known to be a hot springs town. Ureca Springs is known for their cold springs though. And they have over 60 natural springs. And it's been drawing people to this area since the late 1800s. Native American tribes used to use this area for its healing waters. And of course, as more people started coming out west and finding these areas, of course, more people found it. And it kind of turned into this destination for the rich, for the healing waters. And there is still one bathhouse left. And it is the palace bathhouse. So if you want to see one of the original ones from the 1900s, that one is still there. And you can still see all of these little cold springs all throughout town. Like you can kind of walk around and see them just kind of popped up on the sides of the road. And they're just there. Some of them are labeled. Some of them are not. So there's also that. But as far as springs go, I think just from the history nerd side of things, Ureca Springs Water, U2 or not from the south. So you've probably never heard of O'Zarca Spring Water. But growing up in Texas, if you bottled water from the grocery store, it was probably O'Zarca. And O'Zarca Spring Water was founded in Ureca Springs. And you can actually kind of find some remnants of this big brand in town, but that used to get all the spring water from Ureca and then take it out by train from the area, which I think is super cool. So if you're in a history, you'll have to do some googling before you go look up some pictures and then you'll be like, oh, that building on the side of the road was the old O'Zarca building. How cool. So I think that stuff's pretty neat. But yeah. That's all part of a, it's all part of a big corporate monster now, isn't it? Where like Florida, you get Zephyr Hills. Right there you get O'Zarca. Over here you get Ice Mountain. It's like regionally different now. Yeah, eventually. I think they're all under the same. I think they're all under this. It's like a Johnson and Johnson umbrella. Yeah, exactly. It's just all Detroit City water with different names. Exactly. But yeah, back in the day, it was its own special thing. But I think also Ureca Springs has, it has a pretty good food scene and I think Mud Street Cafe, if there's one I was really going to recommend to everyone try out while you're in town. Mud Street Cafe is probably one of my favorites, whether you're there for breakfast and you just want a pancake bigger than your face to eat or if you want a piece of amazing peanut butter chocolate pie, they have all of those things. They have the Mud Street Cafe and then they have the Mud Street Annex and inside the Annex, if you look down through the floor, there's a little piece of glass that they've cut out and down below you can actually see one of the springs like running through the restaurant which is really cool. So other than the food, it's just, I think that's a cool thing to go check out there. And another place, if you're into haunted stuff, the 1886 Crescent Hotel is considered America's most haunted hotel and it has been through all kinds of changes over the years at one point. I think it was even used during the Civil War for some stuff. It at one point had a guy use it as his like scientific cancer center and he built a morgue in the hotel and there's all kinds of like crazy spooky stories around what this guy did there. And today I'm not really into haunted stuff but if you are, you can do like a ghost tour and you get to see all of that stuff. I've never done it because that's not my thing. But I have gone there for the pizza and there is a restaurant that kind of overlooks the Ozarks at the top. So if you're not into the spooky stuff, the pizza's at least worth stopping to check out. So. And I think, I mean, I'm not really into haunted stuff either but I love a little like kind of historic mountain town like that. I think Yuri Gasprings, it reminds me a lot of some of these old mining towns in Arizona, like Bissby or Jerome where it's basically you like come in on some like really kind of steep one way roads that run through town and you have to go like up and down like some serious steep inclines to just like kind of get around from one end of the town to the other. And it's like artsy and eclectic and lots of historic stuff and I love that stuff. I wasn't really prepared for how cute Yuri Gasprings is going to be. Yeah, it is, it's cute. It's cool. I have never been tired of going there and I think I've probably been at least a dozen times now and I do something new every time I eat somewhere new every time. I always make time for mud street. But yeah, it's just such a cool town. And I think as far as motorcycle hubs go in Ureca, the Cathouse lounge is right there as you're kind of entering downtown Ureca Springs and that place is always packed with motorcycles especially during the spring fling rally or bikes blues and barbecue. It is just so busy. But I've had one of their state tips salads there. There was something that Adam actually recommended to me last time I was out there and we got food there and it was incredible. Like I was very surprised by how good the food was. So that's also definitely a good stop. Yeah, there were a ton of bikes outside that place when I rode past it which to me means it's probably not my kind of food here so I'm going to keep going. They did have salads so they would have had something for you. So next time. Now you know for next time. But let's go ahead and kind of get into the writing. I think that we could spend this whole podcast really talking about all the cool small towns and we'll kind of do our best to incorporate a few of those moving into some of these routes that we're going to be speaking about. But I will say that again, we're not going to be able to cover every single route in this podcast. These are just some of the highlights that I think will give you a good idea of what Northwest Arkansas is all about. And if you want more details, there is an Arkansas motorcycle and that the state of Arkansas has put together. I was actually lucky enough to help them work on it for three different years doing photos and just some write-ups of some of these routes. So I'm pretty familiar with the whole guide and I would highly recommend it to check out if you want to plan your trip any further. I will second that. I knew that Stacy was involved in making this guide. So I before I started planning my trip to Arkansas, I went online and ordered a copy. They're free. You just put your address in and then it shows up in your mailbox and you have a little physical booklet, a paper copy with all the routes and maps and stuff. And there are even some photos of Stacy in there. So that was fun. Yeah. That's the same thing. So do well. I love it. And I love that it's been helpful for both of y'all. It's so funny because I get recognized random places and people will be like, you're the Arkansas girl. I'm not even from there, but sure. I like that. That's fine. That's so funny. I get you're the National Park girl. So we have our things. Now you need a National Park guide just for you so you can be like just like me, but different. Yeah. I'll work on that. So the first route that I want to talk about and I'm going to use Riga Springs. That's kind of like the jumping point for each of these rides because again, that's kind of how I do Northwest Arkansas rides when I'm there as I stay in your the Eureka Springs, then I kind of go in, I like B line, so I go in and out on my rides. And the first one's a really short one. So maybe you're just in the area for the day. I think that this one's kind of a fun one. Maybe you're there for bikes, blues, and barbecue or spring fling. This ride is only 25 miles and it's only an hour long, but it's a fun one. It's basically, I call it the Eureka Springs and Beaver Loop. And there's two main things that you're gonna see on this route. And the first one, if you ride it, counterclockwise, which is what I usually do. The first thing that you're gonna see is the Beaver Bridge. And it has been nicknamed the Little Golden Gate Bridge. It is the last bridge of its kind in Arkansas and it's on the National Register of Historic Places, which I love stuff like that. It's a one lane wood planks suspension bridge that was built in the 1940s. And it totally moves when you're riding over it. And it just, even on a motorcycle, it feels so weird. (laughs) I think it's really cool. And I love riding over old bridges and stuff like that. I think they're super neat. So that is why I think this is just something you have to do if you're in this area. And because it is one lane, you do have to wait and make sure no one's going across the bridge before you get on it. It's only 11 feet wide, so it's pretty narrow. But sometimes this area gets flooded and you can't even cross the bridge. So you'll get down to the where the road is where you have to stop to decide if you're gonna cross it. And you might have to turn around right there because the river's flooded. So that's also kind of an interesting thing about it. And I think it's crazy that this bridge is just survived so many drastic water level changes over the years. So is that a different bridge than the one? There's a swinging bridge near Mountain View, which I think is the front one. So I had that one marked on my map before I went and then I ended up rerouting my trip because of, I was too cold. (laughing) But I had a swinging bridge marked on my map. That also looks really cool. That it's also just like a narrow bridge that I think moves when you ride over it. But it's kind of on the other end of, like it's more on the eastern side of Northern Arkansas. But I'm gonna definitely add this bridge that you're talking about to my list of. - Yeah, yeah. - Yeah, this one's super cool. And I really like to ride it in the early mornings 'cause you get the mist on the river still and there's people always kayaking and fishing down there. And it's just cool. It's just very like small town. You feel like you're in the middle of nowhere over there. But if you ride this in counterclockwise fashion from there, you would kind of go up this little roller coaster of a road and eventually you'll go over to Beaver Lake and you'll get to cross the Beaver Dam. And Beaver Lake, if it's a nice hot sunny day, this is such a great spot to stop and go swimming. And there is kind of like a little campground right there by the dam. And Beaver Lake is known as one of the clearest and cleanest lakes in the United States. Not of course as clear and clean as you know, crater lake would be, crater lake National Park and Oregon is for context. But this lake is just known for its fishing and known for its swimming and just how clear the water is. And in the summer, it's really, really pretty. And I think there's over like 250 campsites along the entire lake. It's pretty big. So a really cool spot there. And the Beaver Dam, you'll ride right over it and on the south end, there's actually a little overlooks that you can pull over and kind of check out. So if you're into overlooks, I would recommend checking that out. But yeah, it's only a one hour loop and you can kind of get a pretty good idea of what this area is like and how twisty a lot of the roads are, which I think is really cool. Do you always end up at the Cat House lounge or someone else after doing this one? But I think like what everyone I feel comes to the Ozarks to ride is the Pig Trail scenic by way. And have you either of you gotten to ride this yet? I did. I figured I had to check those off my list while I was up there. And then Dave and have you ridden it? I have not. No, I didn't get that far west. I was up in that corner. God, you gotta go back so you can get your patch. Come on, man. I'm gonna patch in rather big time. You do. I do have my Pig Trail patch. I by now I should have a couple of them. But the first time I ever went out there, I did buy one. So the mileage on the Pig Trail is about 81 miles from Eureka Springs to Ozark, Arkansas, which is the Southern terminus of it. And it takes about two hours without stops to ride the whole thing. I always end up stopping somewhere. So usually this takes me half a day to do the whole ride. And I think it's just one that's really enjoyable to kind of stop and enjoy and do some side quests on which we'll talk about here in a bit too. But the Pig Trail scenic byway has been voted one of the top 10 motorcycle rides in the United States by USA Today's Reader's Choice poll. I've never been pulled for that. So, you know, I have some opinions on if I think it's really the best motorcycle road in the US or one of the top 10. I definitely think that it is one of the best motorcycle roads in the South. I will definitely give it that designation. Probably one of the top five in the South. But do I think it's one of the top 10 in the US? Ooh, that's what I'm saying. Who's voting on this? People who live in Arkansas. Maybe. Or maybe they live in the North. People who have read the USA today, yeah. Definitely not me. Yeah, I think it's a cool road. But, you know, would I say that you should spend your seven days of paid vacation time riding across the country to go ride this? Probably not. If you live in Oklahoma or Texas or Louisiana, or a surrounding state where you're, you know, maybe 500 miles in any direction from the pick trail, sure. I think it could make for a really fun weekend road trip. But this is one that I would definitely try and bundle in to another road trip, kind of like what you all did where you just added it into your routes when you could. Yeah. But the pick trail does have some lore around its name and why it's named the pick trail. Some people say that it's because the pick trail is kind of like the scenic backway to get to Fayetteville, which is where the University of Arkansas is and their mascot is the Razorback. So some people say it's named after the Razorback football team. Other people say that it's just because the road is super twisty like the tail of a wild hog. So I'm going to go, honestly, I'm going to go with the Razorback football being the scenic route personally. But that's just me. That makes sense. And I think it's something that maybe we should talk about a little bit because people who haven't been to this area probably don't realize how twisty these roads are. It's not just the pick trail scenic by way. It's like every single road, like you just rethink. Pick any road and it's going to be like kind of like narrow, twisty, probably scenic, especially if you go in the fall when the leaves are changing. Like you can just spend hours, days just writing twisties in this area and never get tired of it. I agree. And I think that I could sit here and explain every road the exact same way. It's twisty. It feels like a roller coaster. And it's beautiful. It's hard to describe it any other way because honestly, some of the roads kind of look the same too. You get the same kind of scenic views every now and then. Some of them have some details that the others don't as far as roadside scenery goes. But I would agree. And I think that most of this writing is definitely for more experienced writers. I would say that if you are not-- don't take someone who just started writing motorcycles to go ride the pick trail. I know all of us are saying, all this road is so overhyped. But I do think that it can still be very dangerous to the wrong type of motorcycleist if they're not prepared for what they're going to find. I agree with that. And I don't necessarily think it's overhyped as much as I don't really personally know why the pick trail is like the one to ride when all the roads in this area are like it might have been just as good. It's the same as the tail of the dragon, like every road there. It's the same thing. I think that there's people behind the scenes that make these decisions for us. And they say, OK, this is the route that we're going to say is the best route in our state. And this is where we're going to draw people to. And I don't-- you know, that's my tinfoil hat speaking. But I do think that that's how that works. I mean, that's just marketing, right? Like that makes sense. If you can't really draw people in by saying, we have 4,000 really good roads come right all of them. Like it's better marketing to pick one and make it like the big thing. That's very fair. And then the real ones will know to research the less popular options. And Stacy, good point on the not-for-regunners thing too, because it's just-- it's not that there's so technical and challenging and massive elevation changes. But every road was narrow. And there was seem to be no shoulder. And it's like, you don't get these really long views, but you get-- you're always kind of just bobbin' around through there. So it is-- you got to be on your toes, because there could be a wild razor back in my runout in front of you or whatever. Yeah, wildhogs. They get you. You just got to be on your toes. And it's definitely not-- it being an unfamiliar area. Yeah, I agree. And I know people that have been in motorcycle accidents out there. And I know people who have been fine from them. I know people that have passed away in accidents out in the Ozarks, which is always really unfortunate. And they've been talented riders. So it's definitely an area that you just need to be on your toes. Some of the writing in this area, the pig trail specifically doesn't have a ton of switchbacks. It has a couple. There's one. area that I like to call the S curve. And it's like the one most technical section of that road in my opinion. But there are some serious switchbacks in the Ozarks that, you know, if the sign says 10 mile an hour, it's kind of like when you're climbing Pike's Peak, if y'all have ever ridden that one. And it's like that 10 mile an hour sign means it. Like you could probably do five and be fine. And it's just super banked and you need to be paying attention for sure. But the good thing about, I mean, any of the roads that I rode out there was that there was basically no traffic. And that could have been time of year, day of week, time of day. But as far as I'm concerned, it's a great area to ride because you can rip through these turns if if you feel up for it because there aren't just going to be like slow cars around every turn. Yeah, I think you'll see more wildlife like deer or maybe elk. There are elk in the Ozarks in certain areas. And I think that that's more of a more of a worry sometimes than people. So for sure. Yeah. So as far as the pig trail goes, I think it is one of those roads though that unless you're going to do some side quests, there's only a couple things to really stop and see. In my opinion, the good part of the pig trail starts near Huntsville, Arkansas or Brishiers and then goes south from there. I feel like the rest of it's kind of like rolling farm land. And it's still pretty and it's still a really enjoyable ride. But that's where the riding really starts to get pretty technical is when you start heading south and getting into that area. There is one giant overlook. It doesn't have a real name. So I'm just going to call it the overlook and you'll know it when you see it. If you're going south on the pig trail, it's on the left hand side. And it's just this beautiful overlook of, you know, it's basically like a panoramic view of the Ozarks. And it's really, really pretty to stop and check out. And every time I've ridden through there, there's always a motorcycle stop there. So that's probably also going to give it away that that's the spot to stop at. But I think that spot's really cool to check out. And just south of there is the Turner Binne store and campground. That's the first place I ever went motorcycle camping at. And it was so cool. My friends and I were drinking some bud lights and we heard a bunch of rustling in the bushes. And like an army of armadillos came out of nowhere. You're going to say wild hogs. No, it was armadillos. Because I was like, what is that coyotes? You know, I'm, I think I'm like 22 at this time, maybe 23. So we're in our party years. And yeah, there's just a port of armadillos coming out. And we're like, oh, okay, cool. Not coyotes love that. But super cool little campground there. And the Turner Binne store is where you can get your pig trail patch. If that's something that you're interested in. And they also have sandwiches. Sana. So perfect for you. Yeah. Good to know. Yeah. She's our resident sandwich claim. But yeah, I think that those are probably like the two things to stop and see. And then of course, you can continue south and go to Ozark, Arkansas, or you can do a side quest and go out to the Oark general store and Oark Arkansas. So not Ozark, but Oark. It's kind of confusing. And there's a lot of things like that in the Ozarks where the there's just like a letter missing. And you got to pay attention to what people are saying. But that area, basically, um, to get to the Oark general store and Oark, there is a little side route. And it's route 215 off the pig trail. And it follows the Mulberry River. And this river is just like this crazy turquoise blue, depending on the time of year that you're there. It is super pretty. This area is also known for a lot of like off-roading with like side by sides and whatnot. So you might see some of those in the area. But that road is so cool. You guys can't see it, but David's giving thumbs down to side by sides in our little zoom call here. Which I agree, but we'll save that for another dive. But um, yeah, the Mulberry River in route 215 is so pretty. And because a lot of this area is built on limestone, you'll see kind of like leaky rocks and vines and stuff on the side of the road. And it's just, it's really pretty. It's so hard to explain. But this is definitely a beautiful road to ride. And it's pretty short. It's pretty narrow as well. So definitely be paying attention when you're on this road. But you'll come to basically kind of like a tea in the road essentially. And I believe you go left and it'll take you into Oark. And you will find the oldest, continuous operating store in Arkansas, which is the Oark General Store. And it was established in 1890. So it's pretty old. The building still has its original floors, walls and ceiling according to Google. And I've been there more times than I can count. And it looks like it still has the original floors, walls and ceilings. But they have an incredible cheeseburger if that is something you're interested in an incredible homemade pie. Like I would go just for the pie and skip the burger. But if I can do both, I'm totally getting pie and a burger. Yeah, I tried like I did not make it there. It was on my list. But I was at that overlook. You were talking about along the pig trail. And these little old ladies came up and talked to me, which I love when it's like just old ladies who, you know, they were out on a road trip. And they always like to be like, oh, you're so brave. I wish I'd known when I was your age that this was even an option. Like I didn't know I could do this. Good for you. I love its conversations. But these two ladies were like insisting that I go have this cheeseburgers at Oark General Store. And I'm not gonna just be like, eh, sorry, I'm from California. I don't eat meat. So I just tell them I probably would. But I would have gone, I should have gone for the pie. I'm sad I missed that on that. I believe for future reference, I believe they're closed on like Tuesdays. There is one random day. And that is a, I think that's a good thing to talk about too. In this podcast is a lot of these places are small towns. And so I do think that if you want to really, if you're a foodie, let me just put it this way, if you're a foodie and you're going to plan your road trip out around some of these restaurants and things to check out, you need to look at the hours of operation before you go because it's like they all share different days off. So a lot of things in Eureka Springs are closed like Monday, Tuesdays. And then, you know, I think the Oark General Store typically closes on Tuesday and that's their day off. And then other places will be closed Wednesday. So you really have to kind of pay attention and see what's open, especially on weekdays. You had told me that before I went and I'm so glad you told me because my original route was going to take me through all those places on a Tuesday, where all the places were closed on a Tuesday. So I kind of rerouted it a little bit and went through on a Wednesday instead. And otherwise I would have missed everything. Yeah, absolutely. I did a trip out there back in September. And with law tigers and Adam and we just went, we were supposed to go do the pig trail actually. And this area got like historic rainfall the one day we had to go ride. So I mean, it was like multiple inches of rain in a day. So we just stuck around Eureka Springs and maybe rode like five miles in the pouring rain because that's that was the only thing to do. And it's I was like, there's no point in going all the way to Oark. You guys it's going to be closed anyway. It's Tuesday. So they were like, oh no. And I was like, well, at least we didn't ride all the way down there in terrifying weather for nothing. So I think you warned me about that Tuesday. See, and even in hot springs, there was, you know, wacko days off. So even in the more developed areas and bigger cities, you got to keep an eye on it. Yeah, for sure. But if you continue down, if you want to make basically the pig trail kind of a big loop, a lot of people will turn off that route to 15 go to the Oark general store for lunch and then they'll continue down route 103. And I think it ends down in Clarksville. You can basically take that all the way to interstate 40. And then you can loop back over to Ozark, Arkansas. And route 103 has some pretty wild steep switchbacks on it. And then it kind of opens up into some farm land down there in the valley. So I do think that is another fun road, but definitely definitely one you need to pay attention to for sure. It has some of those kind of pikes peak switchbacks on it. So they're pretty gnarly. But if you really want to make this a whole day ride, which I have done this whole route from your weakest springs and back in a day, and it is a full day, I would really recommend taking another side quest up the Mount magazine scenic byway. This is going to add about 90 more miles round trip to your day from Ozark, Arkansas, the routes about 45 miles. So it's not terribly far, but you're also not going 60, 70 miles an hour. And I think we haven't talked about that yet, but a lot of these routes out here, the mileage is low, but they are true mountain miles where you're not doing highway speeds all the time. I'll always get people online talking about like, oh, what do you mean you only did 200 miles and it took you all day? And I'm like, have you been there? 200 miles in a day in this area can be a lot, depending on what you're doing. So I do think that if you do decide to go all the way from your weakest springs and back, this is a full day. So definitely start early. But Mount magazine scenic byway basically will take you up to the highest point Arkansas, which is Mount magazine, which is 2753 feet above sea level. I believe it's also the highest point from like near the Mississippi river. It's got some extra like little tidbits that I can't quite name off right now, but it definitely offers like panoramic views of the Arkansas River Valley to the north. And basically you can see be up to a force of the the state on a clear day. And I've been up there on a pretty clear day with some humidity in the air and you can see pretty far. All Arkansas state parks are free. So that's another nice thing that if you wanna do anything in Arkansas and I do think that their state parks are pretty cool. Some of them also have some great motorcycle riding in them like Devils Den State Park and a few others. I definitely think they were stopping to check out. So you don't have to pay to enter them, which is really cool. But yeah, Mount Magazine, it can be a quick stop or you can actually stay the night there. There is a lodge and there is a campground, but I would recommend checking that out ahead of time because depending on the time of year or day is definitely gonna be booked out well in advance. - I will add to this that we were talking about riding in the fall, it's like a really good time to go. When I went in November, I do think it was a really good time to go except the one thing is that the days are much shorter. So I had Mount Magazine on my list for the day and I ended up cutting it out just 'cause, it does take a long time to get through all the twisties and then I just didn't have enough daylight left in the day to be able to squeeze in Mount Magazine as well. So if you are going in the fall, just maybe account for the when darkness falls essentially and you probably wanna be off the roads by then. - Yeah, that's a really good point. I normally when I plan road trips out, I think about that but that totally skipped my brain to even talk about in this one. When I did the full day ride from Eureka Springs to Mount Magazine with the Pig Trail and the O.R. General Store and all that combined, I did it in August. So the days were still pretty long and we still got back to Eureka Springs towards dusk. So we still had a little bit of daylight left but not a ton. So definitely something to keep in mind. - Especially in these areas with the twisty roads that go like through forested areas where there's a lot of wildlife because obviously the wildlife comes out at dusk essentially. So that's the worst time to be out writing twisty roads when it starts to get dark. It's up in the mountains like that. - Yeah, 100% and yeah, just lots of little critters. - Not there. - In more ways than one to be honest. But. - Stacey, is there like a visitor center up on top of Mount Magazine? I feel like I've been here but I don't have any photos on my phone map. So I'm like, did I? But I swear like I was at the top of something kind of on a ridge. I could see a lot. There was a visitor center and then like is the campground down the road a little bit from that? Or where the hell was I? Where am I thinking? - You might have been. - I feel like this was it. - You might have been on the telemina scenic by way. - Okay. - I know I've done that. - There is a big lodge there called Queen Will Hummina and it's also a state park. - Okay, maybe that's what I'm confusing. 'Cause I was like, I know I've done the telemina, but okay, that's probably what it was. - Yeah. So Mount Magazine is interesting because it's considered a sky island and people that are from Northwest Arkansas would definitely argue that Mount Magazine is not Northwest Arkansas, but it's also not a part of the washitas either. And the washitas are the next mountain range which is just south of Mount Magazine. So it's kind of its own little place which is really, really interesting. But yeah, the telemina is in the washitas. So it's not too far, but it's one of those technicality like Arkansas kind of things where someone listening to this from Arkansas would be like, Mount Magazine, that's not been Northwest Arkansas, you know? And then, oh, telemina, that's not Northwest Arkansas either. That's West Arkansas. - But if you were planning a road trip to Northwest Arkansas, you should also go ride the telemina and you should go ride Mount Magazine. - I agree. I think actually to talk about telemina really quick, let's just talk about that one while we're here. - Let's do it. - Let's do it. You can get from, so I did this and I ran out of gas. So this is also a good thing to talk about. I had a bike, I stayed in Bentonville, Rogers, picked it up from Eagle Rider. And then I headed down, I was doing a hot springs ride that year. And the telemina scenic byway was the first thing I wanted to do and I wanted to start on the Oklahoma side and then ride it into Arkansas. So this is a all-American road, I believe. I believe the telemina is like one of three all-American roads in Arkansas. Crowley's Ridge, Great River Road, telemina scenic byway. I think those are the three. And I-- - Sounds right. - Yes. - We're gonna say I'm correct. (laughing) We're not gonna fact check it, we're just gonna trust you. - We're just gonna send it. Let's go. - Let's go. - I'm the resident Arkansas expert. So I trust you. - Oh, man. But anyway, this road basically traverses a ridge through the Washtitas and it is definitely one that you should check out. It's technically not in Northwest Arkansas, but you can get there in an early morning from, you know, Eureka Springs or technically Bentonville Rogers if you're not up in the mountains yet. It can be a full day. So you can start in Northwest Arkansas and then end in Hot Springs, but it will probably take you all day to do it, especially depending on the time of year. But I do recommend starting on the Oklahoma side and getting to check that half of the road out. And then doing, I believe it's the 12 or 16 miles through Arkansas. They're equally just as pretty, but I do think that the Oklahoma side is actually the prettier side of the route. - I've ridden it and I want to say it was pretty, but it was so foggy that I could not even, like literally the worst fog I've ever ridden through in my life. I could not see the, my hand in front of me. I was trying to, like, I wasn't gonna stop really on that road. I was just gonna ride it and enjoy the scenery. But because of the fog, I was terrified that I would come around corner and there would be like a deer in the middle of the road and I would not be able to see it. So I stopped at the Queen Wilmina lodge and even finding it, finding just like where the road turned off to go into the state park and finding where the lodge was in that park was almost impossible 'cause of how foggy it was. And unfortunately, it was like super early in the morning 'cause I'm always riding at early hours. So I had just had breakfast and I was not in the mood for pie yet. (laughs) And I'm still bummed that it wasn't even pie a clock when I actually stopped this place that I wasn't even planning on stopping it. That's so funny. I mean, it's funny, but it's not funny because I had the same thing happen to me. I've ridden the telomina four times now, I think. Anyway, I've ridden enough that I've gotten to experience a few different weather activities, but the fog I've experienced twice. And I've actually experienced a tornado warning while staying at the Queen Wilmina lodge. I just got to stay there, I stay there two times now, which I would recommend if you can get a room. It's very nice. But the fog is really bad up there. I don't know why it is such a thing, but it is definitely a thing. And it's kind of like the PCH, right? When we talked about that a few podcasts back, like sometimes you just get really great weather and sometimes you just dull. But the fog up there is, it's I would argue it's just as bad as Karl the fog or the marine layer on like a bad day. - Yeah, I thought it was worse, but I think I was just unlucky. And then I hung out at the lodge for maybe two hours, got to work done, it was fine. And then it cleared up and it was actually, it was really beautiful. I went the other way though. I came from, I stayed in MENA, which is the Arkansas side of Telamena, and then I went into Oklahoma. And it was really beautiful that way too. - Nice, very nice. Yeah, and you got to see it in the fall. - Yeah. - I've heard if there is a fall destination in Arkansas for motorcycle riding, I have heard that the Telamena is supposed to be the best one. - There were so many motorcycles on the road that day after the fog cleared. And I could see them at least. There were so many bikers up. It was a beautiful ride for sure. Nice. - It was perfect to do, I did it. And then when I got down into MENA, it started getting like foggy and drizzly. So I guess I won that round. - Yeah, it was perfect. I mean, it was so damn good cruising through there. The Oklahoma side is gorgeous. And yeah, I'm, Jones, and go back there now that we're talking about it. - Yeah, I think that's one of those roads that if you're in the area and you can swing it, definitely ride it because it's just fun. And I will say, I know I've given Arkansas a lot of praise on how greatly paved their roads are. The Telamena is kind of rough. It's definitely, that's the one negative side of it is at the time this podcast is being recorded in 2026. So if you find this five years from now, who knows what the road will be like, but I've always thought the pavement's just, it's in need of a spruce up. - Yeah. - I agree with that. (laughing) So pros and cons to everything out here. But just like all the other roads that we've kind of briefed on, it's a roller coaster ride and it's a fun one. But yeah, this one has the least best pavement. But going back into the Ozarks, and I will say like you guys kind of talked about Mountain View earlier and that little town, and it's kind of known for its music scene and arts and stuff. And it's pretty tiny. I actually haven't gotten to spend any time there. So unfortunately I'm not gonna talk about that in today's podcast. So I guess it's time to do some more trips to Arkansas and get some more information and make another one of these little podcasts about this area. But I do wanna talk about one other ride that I think will take you deep into the Ozarks and kind of give you like a really good idea what this area has been like. has to offer. And this ride doesn't really have like a specific name. It's kind of, if you look at the Arkansas Motorcycling Guide, this little loop is kind of like a combination of different rides in that guide. But it incorporates the scenic seven and we'll take you through Ponca and Jasper. And the route numbers, if you guys, you're listening and wanna write this down, it's scenic Highway 7, Highway 16, Highway 21 and Highway 74. And they kind of create a little loop through the Ozarks out here. And depending on when you do this, I've done this and it took me a full day basically to go from Eureka Springs to this area and back. And that's with stopping for food, stopping to jump in a swimming hole at the Buffalo National River, which is incredibly beautiful. And you should absolutely check that out while you're in the area. And you know, checking out Boxley and the historic stuff there, this can take all day. So depending on what time of year you go, just keep that in mind as well. But this little route does take part of scenic Highway 7 into the route. And scenic seven was the first Arkansas scenic byway. It's 290 miles long and it actually goes from the Arkansas, Missouri, state line all the way down to Louisiana. So you can ride this entire thing if you want. It'll probably take you a few days. But I've never done that. I've only done parts of it through the Ozarks. And I do think it's really pretty, just like everything else we've talked about, feels like a roller coaster road. And there are some really cool overlooks. And there is one that's worth stopping at. And there's a big sign next to the Cliff House Inn, which is a great restaurant. And it's also a lodge, but there's only a couple of rooms there. And it's the Arkansas Grand Canyon. It's the deepest canyon in the Ozarks. And I do think it's really pretty and we're stopping to look at. So yeah, I took the seven all the way from Hot Springs up north to and did this loop basically that you're talking about through Jasper and everything. It was so beautiful. I stopped at Arkansas Grand Canyon. And I will say that doing that in the fall is it's so spectacular. Just like you climb up into a little tower there and look out over the canyon and when the leaves are changing. And it's just like reds and yellows and golden leaves everywhere. It's so beautiful. And then I did something that was out of the ordinary for me, which is I had not brought an emergency sandwich with me 'cause I was planning to stop at the Cliff House Inn to eat lunch. But when I got there, the weight was over an hour. And I just did not have another hour in me before hanger would set in. So I'm like, okay, this is not gonna work. It's the first time I'm not bringing lunch with me. So I just had to get back on the bike and ride into Jasper. I just ended up at some random little cafe there that was fine. They were super understaffed and it took probably another hour to get food and it was bad. And all this just. - Wow, good. - God, I wasn't there. - No to self. Don't go to restaurants. Always bring a sandwich instead. But anyway, I'm glad it was good for you. Did you happen to go to the Ozark Cafe in Jasper or low-gap cafe? - I think it was low-gap, actually. And I don't wanna talk shit about them. They were so understaffed. They had one person working there and just more and more people kept coming in. The food was fine. I had no complaints. They just, they needed like three more people working. - They needed help for sure. That's kind of the pros and cons of these little restaurants and these little small towns 'cause sometimes they just don't have the staff. And such a bummer. But if you have the patience and I understand what it's like to walk in somewhere and one person's waiting on 15 tables and there's one cook in the kitchen and it's gonna take forever, so frustrating sometimes, especially when you have places to be. But the Ozark Cafe in Jasper is definitely one of those destination spots in the Ozarks. I can't tell you how many times from my YouTube channel and all the Arkansas videos I've done over there. I can't tell you how many people have complained to me that I have not been there. And I'm like, guys, they're never open when I go through. (laughs) Because they're closed, you know, let's say it's Tuesday, Wednesday and those are the days I've been in that area. They're just not open, so I've never gotten to stop there. So again, there's always something new to see out in that area. But I do think that Jasper, like as a hub, that's kind of what Jasper is known for is like these little quaint cafes to stop and eat at, especially for motorcyclists. So. - Yeah, and I do think the cliffhiles in is probably worth a stop if it's not like during the lunch rush, which is probably when I hit it, I guess, it's just, it's perched right on the edge of the canyon. And if you can get it, sitting like at a window, I am pretty sure the view is spectacular from there. - It's incredible. And I would absolutely recommend it just off the views, but I think the food is so great. And they have a pie there called the company's Common Pie. It's like the official pie of Arkansas. Let me see if I can find like a description of it. So the company's Common Pie is the official state pie of Arkansas. And it is made up of a crunchy meringue and basically has pineapple and nuts in it. It sounds shit. - It is. - It's so amazing. - Yeah, so you got to like all of those things in your pie. I'm a weirdo and I like, I don't like crunchy peanut butter 'cause I don't like crunchy stuff in my peanut butter. So when there's crunchy stuff in my pie, it kind of reminds me of that. It's a texture issue. So I'm not the person to eat this. But if you go to the cliffhouse and this is definitely something that you have to try when you're there 'cause they're totally known for it. So if you wanna do a two-hour day Ozarks for pie, this is one of your stops for sure. - Okay, that actually sounds so good. I love pineapple in food. You know, controversial opinion. I'm like, did you put it on your pizza? - I love pineapple pizza. - Yes. - Yes. - Yes. - Yes, it's so good. And I love crunchy stuff in food too. So this sounds like my alley. Yeah, I would go back just for that. And apparently there's black bears nearby because the first time I ever went there, I've only been there one time. But I was talking to the owner. I got there right as they opened and he was telling me about the lodging and whatnot. And we heard some wrestling and the bushes and he was like, oh, maybe the black bears back. So there are bears in this area too. I think they're less of a problem as they would be in the smokies or maybe the Rocky Mountains, but you might see one. So keep your eyes peeled. But there is one other stop on this little scenic seven Ponca jasper loop that I wanna talk about. And that is Ponca. And this little area is known for elk. Elk or not naturally inhabited in Arkansas. I don't think those are the words I'm looking for. But you guys know what I'm talking about. You typically wouldn't find elk here, but they brought them in years ago. And so there is an elk herd in Ponca. And then there is like an old historic like village and boxley and these two little towns are like right next to each other. It's just a couple miles up the road. So I think these things are kind of cool to see. It kind of gives you like, it reminds me of the smokies for a lack of better words whereas sometimes you get to look kind of into years past and I like to think about, what would it have been like to bend this deep into the Ozarks a hundred years ago. And this is where you lived. Like I like to stop and think about that kind of stuff when I'm out here. So no, it's really interesting because of how twisty all the roads are and how long it takes to get from like a big airport hub or something like that or a place with a Walmart, which I guess they're all in Bentonville. But just to get into one of these little small mountain towns where people live, it's so remote and you have to be like really dedicated to just get in and out of these places. So it is kind of like stepping into the past a little bit. - Yeah. But I do think when you get to ride this little loop, I think it gives you a really good idea of just how technical and twisty the riding can be out here. Highway 21 on its own. Like on this little loop, you'll only get to do a tiny stretch of it. But it gives you a taste of what that whole route is like and that's another north to south route that a lot of people really recommend in the Ozarks to do. I've just never done the whole section. But again, I think this little loop is just like the heart of the Ozarks. It gives you such a good idea of what's out there and there is plenty of things to stop and see along the way. - Yeah, the day I did this one, I started in Conway. Had a, you wanna talk about delicious breakfast at the world-renowned restaurants. A little spot called the Waffle House. Has a, they can make a cheese breakfast bowl that I will fight you over. That thing is so damn good. I will go to very great lengths to get myself one of those things and the fact that I didn't stop at the Waffle House last time we were in Texas at dirt bike summer camp. I'm still kind of regretting my decision. I was trying to be nice to Santa. I'm like, "No, we can go summer good." And then I, oh, I still think about that. So, but anyway, when everyone's fine. (laughing) I started off there and I went up to Harrisonville, I think, and then jumped on the seven and came down there and maybe hit like the 123 or whatever. And then I went almost all the way back to Hot Springs, I think. But yeah, it was one of those deals where I took, I had your little booklet. We had texted back and forth a little bit before I went. I've got boiler maps that show me all the good roads. So I'm like, man, every one of these roads up here is yellow. That's-- the best. So I can't do them all. So I just went up and did the 7, 123, and whatever else I hit. And they were awesome. And I got to see another little single lane bridge. This one was a steel bridge with concrete, but it was also very cool, very old. And a lot of those little tiny post office, sizzling little towns, which I absolutely love. So I've got a lot of post office photos from that rip. I really like to stop at little post office, too. I just think they're so unique. They're so cool. And yeah, I will say Arkansas has a lot of them, too. And all the old ones, they're all different. Now they're all like cookie cutter and gross, where some of those old ones are, you know, they could one could be made of red rock. And the next one's made of, you know, local timbers. Yeah, there's just so much. It almost looks like a little church. Yeah, now they're adorable. Yeah, I think they're cool. But I was going to say, is there anything else? I feel like we've been chatting for an hour. I will just add one ice cream spot, because I don't think we can go a full episode and not talk about ice cream ones. Yeah. So I did stop at a place in Eureka in Eureka Springs called the Sip and Dipiti ice cream. It was great. And I will, I love this place so much, because when I went into order and I like ordered the same stuff, the same kind of ice cream everywhere. I want chocolate on the bottom and coconut on top. And the lady asked me which flavor I wanted on the bottom. They never do that. I always have to specify, put the chocolate first. And she asked me which flavor I wanted at the bottom. And that's just like gold star automatically in my bag. Yeah, big tip. I love it. Yeah, I don't know. I don't know if I've stopped for ice cream. I've stopped at the dairy queen in Ozark, Arkansas before I assume it's still there because I feel like dairy queens just never die. They built them 50 years ago and they're still serving up, you know, concrete or whatever they call them. But. Blizzard. Yeah. Blizzard. There we go. And yeah, I just feel like anytime I'm out there, I'm just a pie feed. Arkansas just has their pie stops down. I need to get pie next time. I really I slept on the pie. But I will also just quickly mention hot springs National Park. It is not northwest Arkansas, but it is a national park and it is in Arkansas, which this is like a part of the country where if you look on those maps that people make sometimes where it's like, what are the towns in the US that are the farthest distance from a national park? Like a lot of those towns are in this general area. I mean, I guess there is one in St. Louis, but but a lot of the south and the Midwest don't have easy access to national parks. And so I think just if you're in the area, you should stop at hot springs. It is a weird national park. It's very different from what you're thinking about when you're thinking national park. It is not like a yellow stone or a Yosemite, one of these like grand natural areas. It is centered around a kind of historic town with bath houses. And it's really cool. Like you can go there and get a bath in a historic bathhouse. And there are some hiking trails and a little bit of riding around the area, but most of it is just like in the town of hot springs. And it's it's definitely worth a little detour, even if you're planning to mostly do some of the riding in those arcs. Did you know that hot springs was technically considered like the first national park before national parks were national parks? What? So yellow stone is technically our country's first national park. But before that, hot springs became like federally protected. And so this is before the national park system existed. And so basically when you go into hot springs, there are these bath houses. It's called Bathhouse Row. And that all became like federally protected before the national park system existed. So while yellow stone like gets that title, there is a lot of like historical significance based around this little town and all these bath houses and stuff. So I also think that's kind of cool. And the mineral water there is like it's really cool also. There are little water fountains throughout town where you can come with your own jugs and fill them up and just like drink the cold water or you can drink the hot water too. And you sit for it's healing properties or whatever you believe that that water does. But yeah, it's made. Yeah, exactly. Yeah, yeah, it's a really cool spot. Yeah. And I think from a motorcycle standpoint, there are two sides to hot springs national park. So there's two different little roads within the park you can ride. And they're both like little hairpin turns that take you up to some scenic overlooks. There is a like a like a viewpoint. You can take an elevator up to this viewpoint. I think you have to pay like five dollars or something to ride in this elevator. It was closed when I went because I was there before the season technically started. So it had shorter hours. But just going up that road and there are some little overlooks you can check out. I think that in itself is worth it. And it is free. So unlike some national parks where you have to pay a fee or have a park's pass to get in. Hot springs national park is free to enter. So yes, if you want to do certain things like use the bath houses or if you want to, you know, take a ride up to that little scenic observation deck, you do have to pay for that stuff. But just to visit it's free. So I think that's kind of cool. Hell yeah. Hell yeah, brothers. Shout out to the combined dollar tree family dollar stores too. I'd never saw one before I was in Arkansas. Crazy. Yeah. Arkansas is a special place. I actually do have a love for Arkansas. Like I sometimes I think about places I could live that isn't Colorado and being from Texas. Like I don't know. Arkansas kind of reminds me of Oklahoma and I've also lived there. I lived all over the place. But I feel like I could live in Northwest Arkansas if it didn't get so humid and buggy. Like that is the one thing I do think that that area is it's a place I've never lived but I think I could do it. Maybe 20 years from now. Maybe I'll live out there. But for now, I'm going to enjoy my Rocky Mountains in my backyard. Totally. But yeah, it's an interesting place. And I do think in some ways when you start getting into the hills and the haulers as they like to call it out there where you start finding those dollar trees and dollar general's and all the other stuff. It's definitely different and it kind of has that stereotype where man when someone going to start playing a banjo like Appalachia. But it's just it's just special. I do really enjoy that area. Stacy, are you familiar or I guess either of you because you're both books and this area. But there's a book called When Money Grue on Trees and it's supposedly about this Northwest Arkansas zone. I don't even I don't know what it's about. But I've been told that you got to check this out because there's some crazy shit that went down here back in the day. John the drag specialties rep for that area said to check it out and it's been on a note in my phone for years. But I don't know if there was like a big marijuana thing there for a minute in the 60s or I have to look it up. But that's a that's a little fun side fact about the this area. Are we are we talking about Arkansas Northwest Arkansas or like hot springs. I think we're talking about Northwest. Okay. So I know that in hot springs going back to that and just some more fun historical tidbits is that it used to be so the hot springs have always been the big draw just like Eureka Springs and hot springs used to draw like big mob bosses to town. So like Al Capone is like that used to be like his vacation spot and there were other big mobsters that used to come to town. There's actually a mobster museum in hot spring. So it's kind of cool to check out from the historical standpoint and there's we could be here for an hour. Just talking about hot springs in general and what there is to see. But I could see where maybe that book has something to do with some of that kind of you know money laundering history essentially in gambling. But I'm not sure I've never read that book long story short. I will say that for people who do want to learn a little bit more about the hot springs mob history. There's a really good national park after dark episode on that park that I listened to twice the second time I listened to it. I was actually just walking around hot springs at night with my headphones in and it was just like the perfect place to listen to it. So if we don't do a full deep dive on an ear there are other podcasts that I've already talked about it. Cool. Very cool. Well I think that's it for today. So if you guys enjoyed this episode we would really love it if you could rate and review it and subscribe to the show. Also follow the scenic ride on Instagram TikTok and YouTube and check out the scenic ride.com for previous episodes merch and to sign up for our newsletter. Next time Dave and we'll be talking about another really epic motorcycle road which is the copper country scenic by way up in Michigan's Q&A peninsula so you don't want to miss that but until then. Woo! Enjoy! Wow we nailed it. We nailed that. The scenic ride is hosted by Stacey Wilton, Dave and Warton and me, Sona Bowman. Our theme music is by Ryan Senn. If you like the show please rate and review it and tell your friends to listen. For all the latest updates, follow @thecenicright on Instagram or visit thecenecright.com. Thanks for listening.