Queen Wilhelmina, Arkansas
July 3 & 4, 2009
Planned Trip Summary
Two day ride up to Queen Wilhelmina State Park in Arkansas.
With the trailer fully loaded with camping gear, bed rolls, chairs, camp stove, clothes and all the gear we will be taking on our cross country trip, this is our main conditioning ride before the big trip.
Our schedule is to leave the house before 5:00am so that we can get down the road and place a hundred or so miles behind us before breakfast.
From there we will be looking for nice quite windy roads that will take us into Louisiana and then north into Arkansas.
Once in Queen Wilhelmina State Park, after checking in and setting up camp, it is off to the historical Queen Wilhelmina Hotel for some fine dinning. Once dinner is over, we will be joining up with many others to enjoy the Christian fellowship at the amphitheater for a Gospel Concert. From there, back to the campsite for a cup off coffee before bedtime.
In the morning after watching the sun rise with yet another cup off coffee back to the hotel for breakfast before jumping back on the bikes and heading home.
|
Day One Travel Time: 14 hours Miles Traveled: 540 Average Speed: 39 mph |
Day Two Travel Time: 10 hours Miles Traveled: 432 Average Speed: 43 mph |
Completed Trip
With the day starting early we hit the road headed for Arkansas.
Other than the heat, the ride up there and back with with out problems and was enjoyable. The one thing we did learn was to double check which states have helmet laws and which ones don't. As for this trip, we learned the hard way that Louisiana has a helmet law.
Back several years ago I
rode through Louisiana on my way to Florida. At that time, there was
no helmet law for Louisiana and that is what I based this little ride on.
With there only being three states to contended to, I figured there was no
need to take our helmets with us... I was wrong.
Shortly after crossing the
Texas state border into Louisiana, about 16 miles in, we passed a state
trooper who made a u-turn and pulled us over.
This trooper was very nice and professional. After giving us a ticket and talking for a few minutes, he told us, "We need to find a safe place to secure our bikes and ourselves." He also informed us that he needed to go that way, pointing in the direction we had come from and informed us that the closes motorcycle shop was about 30 miles away.
With that we smiled and
said think you. It was this or being towed away. So we said
good-bye and mounted up for a ride south, away from where we had planned to
make a quick detour for helmets.
From there, we continued north into Arkansas and to Queen Wilhelmina State Park.
Once there, we checked in, had dinner and set up camp.
This being our second time staying there, we must say that we greatly enjoy this state park and the restaurant. We have never had a stay in the hotel but from what we gather, it would be worth the money we would spend to stay.
Now with morning arriving, the sun rising and after Lisa arises from bed, we enjoy a quick cup of coffee and then pack up camp and head up the hill for breakfast. Once breakfast was complete, we headed home.
|
Precious Highlights from our trip…
Childhood Challenge
“Race ya?”…. Do you remember hearing that challenge as a young child? Well, Joey and I experienced a glimpse into our childhood while at the campground. See, there was this precious little boy who had SO MUCH ENERGY… if I didn’t know better, he probably double-dosed on “Hubba Bubba” at the candy counter. This little bundle of energy seemed to enjoy racing up and down the STEEP hill on his bike. He would wait at the top of the hill for a naïve passerby from the restrooms, the lodge or just checking out the beautiful scenery and would ask you the infamous question… “Race ya down the hill?” Meanwhile, the elderly campers who travel in high style would watch from their “lazy boy lawnchairs” and see if there were any takers… Needless to say, on the way out of the campground in the morning, he challenged us… Joey did his very best keeping up with him while traveling in 1st gear… see, we tried to let the little energized boy win . Unfortunately, the two of us reached the top of the hill before he did… but I do agree that in all actuality the little boy wins! He has the heart of a champion, the desire to reach the top and more importantly, his entire life ahead of him to maintain that attitude. |
|
Queen Wilhelmina Trip Videos |
|
|
Mena to Queen Wilhelmina Part 1 |
|
|
Mena to Queen Wilhelmina Part 2 |
|
|
Queen Wilhelmina to Mena Part 1 |
|
|
Queen Wilhelmina to Mena Part 2 |
|
|
|