Not sleeping through the night has the advantage of being up early enough to be able to rock and roll at the crack of dawn. Unfortunately, it's a bit too dark to ride that early. So, I bided my time, enjoying my breakfast of strawberries, a banana, nuts and a date-nut bar lacking any place in town to get a decent breakfast.
View from Hwy 309 looking back toward Ozark.
There was a good chance of storms again in the afternoon, this time hitting the area earlier than they were supposed to yesterday. With the early start, I figured I should have plenty of time to reach Petit Jean State Park, my next overnight destination.
The roads were quiet and I always enjoy riding so early in the morning when it feels as if I have the world to myself. The only mild irritant was the low dew point which would cause my glasses and helmet mirror to fog up when I climbed a hill but would clear up when I picked up some speed.
There wasn't much of a sunrise but I came across this incredible sight. Look very closely to see the halo that completely rings the sun. The whole ring was visible for about 15 minutes and parts of it continued to remain visible for well over 30 minutes.
Hwy 309, getting closer to Paris.
Just outside of Paris, AR
Though not elaborate, this barn really caught my eye because of its primitive form. I love the corners and the old thick timbers that make up the rear wall. On Hwy 22, east of Paris.
Another bicycle just outside of Paris.
Hwy 22 near Subiaco, AR which is home to an abbey founded in the mid 1880s.
New Liberty School. There wasn't a town near this old school so I don't know if the the name of the school referred to a town of that name or not. A quick Google search came up empty.
This was on Hwy 153, a very, very quiet road on the way from Dardanelle to Petit Jean. The barn roof at the top of the high grassy bank made for an interesting composition.
On Hwy 154 on the way to Petit Jean.
My ride for most of the day did not offer much of a challenge in way of hills and the wind was in my favor as well. I knew this would not be the case for my last few miles into Petit Jean. After 68 miles, the climb was a bit of a shock to the system but not too bad. The view from the top was that much more rewarding as I leveled off and looked over to my left into the valley. I checked into my cabin, discovering that, yet again, the storms were not expected until much later in the night. That was fine with me as I looked forward to taking a hike on the Bear Cave Trail. Stay tuned for Part 2 of today's post for photographs of that hike.
Today's Ride: 6hrs 53mins. 75.05 miles. 63-86 degrees. Miles YTD: 2,786.87
From what I've gathered over the years is there was once a community called New Liberty there and it's still a local landmark - there is a church to the NW of the old school called New Liberty Church. As usual, it probably never warranted a post office and thus fell off the map.
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