Post date: Aug 14, 2016 7:49:54 PM
Leaving Kansas City, I headed south through Oklahoma and Arkansas into Texas. It was a long day of slabbin' down the interstate with not much to see until I reached Arkansas. The Ozark Mountains were a welcome change of scenery compared to flat fields of Iowa, Oklahoma, and Nebraska.
I took a slight detour and rode what is known as Arkansas's scenic byway, aka The Pig Trail, AR 23 South. The road surface was not very good, but the route was packed with switchbacks and twisties over the mountain and through the woods. Some of the route is canopied by trees reminiscent of the Trail of Trees in Michigan but definitely not as grand. In a couple of places, there are good vistas of the Ozark Mountains. The best part of the road was fairly short though and only about eight miles in length. After that, it's fairly benign.
Eventually, I arrived in Texarkana, TX and dug in for the night. It had been a very long day in the saddle, but I had to call my bank and get a new credit card issued. My card had been put through hell, and the chip had started to separate from the card itself. Any more insertion into a chip reader, and it might have came off altogether. The representative from the bank was to overnight a card to my buddy's house in Austin, TX. The representative assured me that the card in possession would continue to work until I activated the new card. Perfect!