Coming Back Home - Day 1

I decided to take three days on the ride back home and give my tired, old body a break.  Renee headed for the airport around 8:30 that morning and I took off on the motorcycle.  She had the trip from hell airline experience all day taking about 12 or 13 hours to get home.  I spent about the same amount of time riding back across eastern Oklahoma and Arkansas.  Only this time, I chose a route that took me across northern Arkansas and spent most of the day on US-62.

There were a couple of stops I wanted to make before I left Oklahoma.  One was only 25 miles down the road, but is a place I have passed many times over the years.  It's a Volkswagen Beetle graveyard where dozens of old VW Bugs sit rusting in a field.  I'm guessing they use them for parts, but they've been there ever since we've been traveling on OK-48, so it's become a part of going to Bristow.

The VW graveyard near Castle, Oklahoma.

From the VW graveyard, I had a few miles to go as I passed back through Okemah again (this was the home of Woody Guthrie).  There was another place I wanted to visit in Okemah.  It was the Highland Cemetery on the north side of Okemah.  Why a cemetery, you might ask?  Because I saw a grave site on Roadside America that I thought was extremely unique and wanted to see it for myself.  Take a look at the pictures below.

Barbara Sue Manire apparently had a great sense of humor.  Her headstone reads, "Our mom...her humor lives on".  Note the parking meter on the side.

Here's where Barbara's humor comes in to play.  The meter reads, "Time Expired".  I thought this was a great tribute to what I have to believe was a lady who loved her life.

From Okemah, I jumped on I-40 again and headed east.  As I was approaching Lake Eufaula, I noticed another motorcycle on the shoulder of the highway and the "Code of the West" says you never ride by another rider if they might need help.  So, I pulled off the highway and rode up behind the guy.

I immediately noticed that he only had one saddle bag on the bike which is unusual, but it could have been legit.  Instead, he told me he had left Oklahoma City that morning headed for Eureka Springs, Arkansas.  He was certain he had secured the missing saddle bag to his bike, but there he was with only one.  I told him I got on the freeway at Okemah and hadn't noticed a saddle bag on the side of the road.  He was waiting for a call from home where he hoped one of his kids would tell him the bag was still there.

I don't know how it turned out for him.  He was either going to head back home and get the missing bag or continue on without it.  So, there was nothing for me to do, but wish him luck and get back on the road.  I know he was bummed out because he told me he had his $300 leather jacket in that bag.  Let's hope it was sitting in the garage at home.

I made my way to Muskogee (you remember the old song Okie from Muskogee by Merle Haggard) to pick up US-62 and begin my trek east.  I also passed through Tahlequah.  It was founded as a capital of the original Cherokee Nation in 1838 to welcome the Cherokee who were forced west on the Trail of Tears.

The federal Indian Removal Act of 1830 allowed for the forcible removal of the several tribes of Native Americans to new lands in the Indian Territory (modern-day Oklahoma).  Five tribes (Cherokee, Choctaw, Creek, Chickasaw and Seminole) were forced to leave their homes in the southeastern U.S.  Hundreds of members of each of the tribes died of hardship and disease on the trip to Indian Territory.  The removal of the tribes and their long trek west is memorialized as the "Trail of Tears."  Parts of US-62 traveled over the same area as the Trail of Tears, so this became one of the themes for day one of my return.

I made a lunch stop in Rogers, Arkansas at Ron's Hamburgers and Chili.  Apparently, it's a chain of places in Oklahoma and Arkansas, but I had never seen one before.  I had a bacon, cheeseburger and have to admit, it was pretty good.  It got me back on the road and off to my whole reason for being in northwestern Arkansas...a visit to  Pea Ridge National Military Park.

The battle at Pea Ridge was another decisive victory for the Union in the Civil War.  It was fought over three days of March 6-8, 1862 and involved more than 26,000 soldiers (10,500 Union and 16,000 Confederate).  It was one of the few battles in the Civil War where the Confederate forces outnumbered the Union forces.

The war was in its first year and the victory secured Missouri for the Union and drove the Confederate forces out of northern Arkansas.  The Union forces were led by Brigadier General Samuel R. Curtis and the Confederate forces were led by Major General Earl Van Dorn.

The battle began when Curtis' forces moved south from central Missouri and drove the Confederate forces into northwestern Arkansas.  Van Dorn reorganized the Confederate army and launched a counter-offensive, hoping that a victory would enable the Confederates to recapture northern Arkansas and Missouri.  Curtis held off the Confederate attack and eventually pushed the Confederate forces off the battlefield.

Leetown battlefield at Pea Ridge.

It was near the Leetown battlefield that the Confederates were momentarily brought to a halt by a single man, Captain William P. Black of the 37th Illinois.  Capt. Black stood in front of the battery of six guns that were being attacked by the Confederates and blasted away with a Colt repeating rifle until he was wounded.  His act earned him a Medal of Honor and gave the artillerymen time to save four of their six guns.  The Confederates swarmed over the two remaining guns and, for a moment, it seemed as if they had achieved a breakthrough.  But, Union reinforcements on the west side of the battery came to the rescue and drove the Rebels away from the guns.

Replicas of the six guns defended by Capt. Black.

The battle continued in an area near the Elkhorn Tavern.  The tavern changed hands during the battle and served as headquarters and hospital for both the Union and Confederate armies, depending on the day.  When the fighting around the tavern began, Joseph and Lucinda Cox and other family members hid in the building’s cellar.  They remained in the cellar for three days and nights as the battle waged above them.  When the fighting finally subsided on March 9th, the scene around the tavern was one of devastation, with the bodies of men and horses scattered across the battlefield.

The replica of the Elkhorn Tavern was built in 1865 following the burning of the original building by Union troops in 1863.

It was at the Elkhorn Tavern that I met Mr. Dave Lewis.  Mr. Lewis is an independent historian with the Benton County Historical Society and was a pleasure to talk with.  He had abundant knowledge about the battle, tavern, and the area around Pea Ridge.  He certainly brought the story to life and made the visit extremely enjoyable.

Mr. Dave Lewis, my host at the Elkhorn Tavern at Pea Ridge.

The elk horns on the top of the tavern were the origins of its name. Mr. Lewis likes to tell the children that an elk tried to jump over the building and fell through the roof.  That's why no one is allowed on the second floor because they might get kicked in the head by the elks hooves.

There was an abundance of wildlife at Pea Ridge.  Several deer stood along the road as I passed through, but I wasn't quick enough with the camera to get a shot of them.  But, this little guy was an easy target for my camera.

You see references to the Osage Trail and Butterfield Trail as you travel along US-62 through northwestern Arkansas.  The Osage Trail is associated with the trail used by the Osage tribe.  The Osages were semi-nomadic in nature, resided mainly in the Missouri and Arkansas area and were similar in culture to Northern Plains' tribes.  The Osage were ultimately removed from Arkansas and settled in Kansas.  By the time they negotiated the treaty of 1865, the Osages had reduced in population by 95%.  Only 3000 Osage people walked across the Kansas border into their new land.

The Butterfield Stage Line route was established in 1857 to link the cities of St. Louis, Missouri, and San Francisco, California.  In the 1850's, the mail was America’s lifeblood.  As the new country expanded west of the Mississippi, Congress recognized the need for an overland mail service to the Pacific.  When gold was discovered in California in 1849, bringing over a quarter of a million people to the West Coast, there was a huge demand for transporting mail, supplies, and passengers.  At the time, the usual route was by boat, either around South America or with an overland crossing in Panama, both of which were time-consuming, expensive, and dangerous.  After California threatened to secede if a faster mail service was not established, Congress voted in 1857 to subsidize a mail run from the Mississippi River to San Francisco.  It required that supplies and passengers also be safely carried in twenty-five days or less.  The six-year, $600,000 contract was awarded to John Butterfield, a former stage driver from New York, who was one of the founders of the American Express Company. (above text from the Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture)

Mr. Lewis let me know that the Stage Line only ran through this area for a little more than a year.  The primary reason for limiting the Line on this route was due to bushwhackers along the route.  Butterfield felt he was losing too many horses, men, stagecoaches and passengers (listed in order of importance).

This opening in front of the Elkhorn Tavern is part of the original Butterfield Stage Line route.  The old road continues through the clearing you can see just past the cannon.

I continued my ride down US-62 and thought about my buddy with the lost saddle bag as I passed through Eureka Springs.  I had spent more time at Pea Ridge than I planned, so as it got later in the day I began to wonder whether I should be looking for a motel or just keep riding.  It was too early to stop, but my concern was that once I passed Mountain Home, AR, motels were going to be few and far between.  I decided to gamble and kept riding.  I was hoping Walnut Ridge might offer a place to stay overnight and figured I could get there around sunset.

I had a planned stop in Walnut Ridge anyway, so it was convenient to at least take quick ride up and down the main roads to see if there was a motel.  I didn't find one, so I decided to get a quick picture of the local attraction and get on down the road to Paragould and, hopefully, find a place to sleep there.

My stop in Walnut Ridge was to see the Beatles at the Ridge tribute.  This sculpture was dedicated on September 18th, 2011.  The unveiling last year coincided with the 47th anniversary of the Beatles’ visit to the town.  The story goes like this...

The Beatles landed at the airport in Walnut Ridge late on a Friday night in 1964, en route to a weekend vacation just across the Missouri border.  Their arrival was a secret and low key affair, but word had leaked out in the community by the time they departed on Sunday, two days later, and a crowd was waiting to catch a glimpse of the Fab Four.  The visit by the world’s biggest rock band is now legendary in the town.

The sculpture is 10 feet high and 20 feet wide and is made of heavy weight aluminum.  It was hand etched with over 500 man hours by artist Danny West.  It features life-size silhouettes of The Beatles made from heavy carbon steel plate, and the backdrop of Abbey Road is hand ground on 1/4″ thick aircraft aluminum plates.  The entire street scene is featured, along with more than 30 hidden references to Beatles song titles, and album names.  There are also a few hidden surprises that were added in by the artist, that are unique to Walnut Ridge.  As lighting changes throughout the day, the hidden details in the sculpture can be seen.

The sculpture is on display in Beatles Park on SW 2nd Street.  The Beatles, All You Need is Love, was playing over the loud speakers to give the park a great feel at twilight.  It was actually pretty cool and I was glad a took the time for a quick stop.

The picture doesn't do it justice, but the scheme behind the silhouettes is from the Abbey Road album cover along with some secret additions placed by the artist.  Things like a US-67 sign, a 57 Chevy, etc.

This picture and details of the history of the sculpture are from the City of Walnut Ridge's website.  This picture gives you a better idea of the detail in the etching.

I rode another 25 miles in the remaining twilight to Paragould, AR and found a Quality Inn that could put me up for the night.  There was a Mexican restaurant attached to the hotel, so dinner included a couple of bottles of Coors Light and enchiladas.  It was a nice finish to a long day in the saddle that included almost 12 hours and 469 miles.

Hopefully, I can get the last two days of the return trip posted soon.  Thanks for reading.