Colors

November 18th 2023 – Clarksville, TX

Homer prepared a farewell breakfast before we took off. It had been a pleasure to stay with him. Anyone traveling through on two wheels are welcome to reach out to Homer. The bunkhouse/shop setup combined with him being a part manager at Lake Hill can really come in handy.

We got back on Natchez Trace, crossed the Tennessee River and continued towards Nashville. Just before reaching the metropolitan area we left The Trace and aimed for Memphis instead.

The sun had set and the temperature dropped when we arrived at @Bobby Nations place in Collierville. It was good to get indoors and warm up. Bobby’s homemade chili helped with the latter.

Another of Bobby’s homemade specialities greeted us in the morning. Cinnamon/raisin bread covered with butter, nuts and brown sugar and heated in the oven. It was a rich breakfast!

Bobby had to work all day but offered that we could take his car and visit downtown Memphis. He had provided us with a list of things to do and see.

First on his list was the National Civil Rights Museum. Our visit unfortunately collided with the one day a week where the museum is closed. We crossed Beale St. as we relocated to Harbor Town to take a stroll. It was a charming neighborhood.

Next stop was lunch at Gus’s World Famous Fried Chicken. Before we got there we made a pit stop at The Pyramid to visit Bass Pro Shop. That store is insane. One of the shop assistants insisted on taking a picture of me with a gun, when he heard that I was from Europe. I picked one that I liked.

We managed to leave the store without spending our lunch money. We appreciated that at Gus’s. They make some fine fried chicken!
Afterwards we needed to burn some calories and went to Overton Park for a long walk through the forest.

Overton Square was our last stop in Memphis. The unique murals are one of the attractions, Sweet Noshings with its homemade candy another.

We picked up groceries on our way back to Collierville so that we could treat Bobby with frikadeller and kartoffelsalat, a traditional Danish dish, for supper.

Katrine and I prepared the food back at the house. When it was ready we left frikadellerne in the oven set to “keep warm” and kartoffelsalaten in the fridge.
It was not supper time just yet. First we had a Baroque & Brazil concert at Morton Museum of Collierville History to attend.
Bobby’s friend Kathy joined us.

This is not something I would normally sign up for, but I have learned the value of accepting invitations like this. The concert turned out to be a good experience – and not only because they served free pies.
A trio consisting of Pedro Maia on violin, Otávio Manzano Kavakama on cello and Jacob Hargrove on percussion performed works by Bach, Lully, Corelli and Pixinguinha. Between acts they explained the different styles and what had influenced the composers.

All 4 of us returned to the house culturally enriched and with an appetite for simple Danish food.

Thomas, one of Bobby’s old friends and riding buddies, had invited us to come and stay with him. He only lived a few hours’ ride away and wouldn’t be home from work until late afternoon, so no reason to hit the road early. 
Bobby had meetings all morning, so no reason for Katrine and me to hang around the house either.
We went for a walk in the neighborhood. It took us past the local activity center. They had a very nice gym and offered us a free day pass.

It was past noon before we took  leave of Bobby. He had been a great host.

From his house we followed a recommended route through some of the nicests parts of Memphis and across The Mississippi River into Arkansas.
West of Memphis we follow smaller roads across the miry river valley.
Aside from an encounter with an enormous flock of geese making a din as they flew overhead it was a rather uneventful afternoon.
We pulled into Thomas’ driveway as the sun was setting. He invited us out for dinner in nearby Batesville. We took the dessert back at the house while Katrine bonded with the dog Ember.

Thomas offered us to stay another night.
He had left for work when we got up the next day. Katrine and I spend the day around the house. At one point we went for a run in the neighborhood. We managed to get slightly lost and ended up running across pastures surrounded by steers and occasionally chased by dogs. All good exercise.

In the afternoon Thomas returned to take us for a ride to White River. We hiked the last stretch through the woods to reach our destination – a spot with an amazing view over the river. We would never have found it without a local guide.

Katrine and I cooked dinner that night. Thomas invited his parents over for a traditional Danish meal. All of them savored kartoffelmos with millionbøf.

We got up early in the morning to say goodbye to our host before he left for work. We had some interesting and enlightening conversations during our time together. It had been a privilege to get to know him – and Katrine had lost her heart to Ember.

Thomas had provided me with POI and suggestions for a route through Arkansas.
First stop was Bridal Veil Falls. We spend some time walking/climbing around the area. Our MX boots sometimes made it… interesting.
We stop in Clinton to fill up the bikes and get a bite before entering The Ozarks. At the gas station we got talking to Martin – a local guy on his way to work on an old school HD that had seen some hard use.
After Clinton the riding improved. Sweeping curves through an undulated countryside.

Running out of daylight we had to deviate from the planned route in search of a campground. We found what we were looking for at Lake Dardanelle State Park Camp in Russellville.
I used the good cell coverage to watch MotoGP practice in the evening by the tent. The season is almost over and nothing is decided yet, so I keep up whenever possible. No other sport captivates me like this.

After a good night’s sleep we woke to a glorious morning.
We picked up Thomas’ commended route and stopped for lunch at a diner in one of the small towns we passed through.

We bring stuff so that we can make/cook simple meals for breakfast and dinner. When it’s just the two of us, lunch is often our main meal of the day – and the only one where we “eat out”. One of the reasons for that is to save money. The same meal is often significantly cheaper at lunch time than dinner time. We have also come to appreciate a good long lunch break. It allows us to recharge, catch up on things and talk to the locals.

After lunch we were in for a real treat. Tarmac turned to gravel as we closed in on Little Missouri Falls. We even encountered a couple of creek crossings. The scenery was beautiful.

It’s late in the season and the days are getting short.
Back on tarmac we located a cheap motel in Clarksville, TX and made it there just after sunset.