Day 15 (29 May). Arkansas

From: El Dorado, AR

To: Mena, AR

Miles today: 206

Total miles: 3560

I got up bright and early to a sky that, like a sleeping dragon, was letting everyone know what was going to come later. Not just overcast, but a blochy mass of stratus clouds that meant highly unstable air.  I am now at the edge of the region that has been experiencing heavy rain every day for weeks.  It was only in the low 80’s, but the humidity had to have been 100%.  For me, this makes riding a challenge; but for those people who live here, it means they can’t harvest certain crops and can’t plant others.  Crop insurance is a mitigating factor. 

The plan was to get as far as I could before the day’s deluge began.  Unfortunately, the Arkansas Museum of Natural Resources was a mere 10 miles from my starting point.  I had to stop in. Built to recognize the oil boom (and bust) in Arkansas from about 1910-1930, my favorite exhibits showed the geology of the region, and real core samples from a mile down.  The exhibits on boom town life (saloons, boarding houses, rigger equipment) were great too.  They also have a nice display of replica dinosaur fossils (not from the immediate region) that are nicely organized.

Next I drove the 90 or so miles to the Crater of Diamonds State Park near Murfreesboro (Arkansas, not Tennessee – how can there be two towns with that name?).  I went via US 278 and 371, cutting over to AR 301.  The roads curved constantly, which was odd since there were no hills to speak of. 

Geographically, Arkansas is a transitional state. Above is Missouri, in the Midwest.  Below is Louisiana, in the Deep South.  To the east are Tennessee and Mississipi; to the west in Oklahoma.  Geologically, it is also a mix of several things.  It was formed by the mashing together of different tectonic plates, and as a result has mountain ranges.  It also has some extinct volcanoes within its boundaries. One of these is a pipe volcano, which are relatively rare and physically small but are known to be a source of diamonds.  Crater of Diamonds State Park sits on the remnants of this volcano.  It never worked commercially as a diamond mine, but now serves as a “dig your own” kind of park where, for $8 (plus equipment rental if you are more serious), you can dig up part of a 37-acre plowed field and sort through it for diamonds and other materials.  Lots of families were happily doing just this.  I did not dig, but found several pieces of green “volcanic tuff” that I consider totally worth the admission fee.

Digging for gemstones in Crater of Diamonds State Park, Arkansas

From there I drove another 50 miles or so, to the town of Nashville (what is it with Arkansas and the names of their towns?), and it was clear that the downpour would begin soon.  I decided to try to wait it out in the Starz Family Restaurant.  On all of the walls were pictures of the owners on their various motorcycle trips. I had come to the right place!  Two hours later, it looked like the worst was over and I headed for Mena some 80 miles away.  It rained for another hour or so, sometimes hard, but the roads were largely empty, the air was a pleasant 75 degrees, and the roads were winding into the Ouachita Mountains.  I cruised along at about 45 miles per hour and actually had a wonderful ride.

  

Ouachica Mountains in the rain