From Jacksboro east on US-82 is pretty flat 'n straight but still some nice prairie views. Also I LUV the 70MPH speed limits on Texas rural 2-lanes. All states should adopt Texas speed rules.
On into Aubrey and north on 377 past Annie's Kountry Kitchen. Could'a stopped for aggs but I'm determined to lose some weight this trip. Eating my camp cooking a good way to do that.
Got the old North Texas tag after setting the fiberglass buffalo back on it's feet, then carried on north and east on FM roads 'til I realized, if I'm gonna make it to Moonshine tomorrow better put the hammer down. Did stop in Reno long enuff to get a new tag pic. Also talked to the owner of the shop there. I had seen a flattened garage behind an undamaged house along the way. The owner mentioned they'd had a tornado blow thru just the day before. Yeah, more wind!
I guess a couple inches of sleet is better than getting stuck in a twister so no complaints here.
Hard east and north, paralleling I-30 past Texarkana and on toward Little Rock. Skipped around on the east side and onto US-67. Things were going well until just past Newport, AR when the fuel lite came on. No sweat, right?
HA! Gas stations are becoming more rare, but I motored on toward Jonesboro. Finally found gas with 309 showing on the odo. Tank took 7.005 gallons for an average that tank of 44. The wind was much more friendly on Friday.
Stopped at McD's and poSTed the tag pics for AZ, NM, and North TX, then rolled again on US-49 and 412. It was already dark so jumped on I-35 HIT IT! Stopped for a while just below the Mississippi River and did a real Iron Butt Motel for about an hour and a half but the noise from the trucks and a little chill got me moving again about 1:30 AM. Made it as far as Marion, IL before setting up a real bivouac...
Someone had mentioned over at Motocampers the other day about setting the bike wheels on the edge of a tarp to be sure it all held together. I first folded my 8x10 into a double 5x8, parked the bike, then shoved the mattress and bag in there. Cozy. slept for about 4 hours then hopped over to McD's just across the road. A Mickey's Oatmeal and more coffee and I was ready to roll.
Day 5: Daylight, so got off I-57 and started my favorite back-road action: in this case either North or East at just about any intersection. Up thru Southern IL, past I-64 and US-50 toward Effingham. Finally crossed IL-33 so turned hard east 'til I hit IL-49 south of Casey. Stopped long enuff to get these pic. I'd heard of the mug tree but never seen it. The tree owner came out to yack while I was getting pics and took the third shot. She sez there used to be a log book but someone stole it.
Whazzup with people today?
From there to Moonshine, I arrived about 10 AM to see only a few folks. Got my 'burger and fresh coffee, kibitzed with a few folks and talked to Jackie (Helen's sister) for a while. She said things had been fairly slow over the winter, seldom sold more than a hunnert burgers. I reminder her, just a few years ago, a hunnert was worthy of a celebration. :hamburger
A while later, Bob Ogg (Scout) showed up. I was pleasantly surprised to see him. More folks had arrived, then a tour bus from Mattoon with about 30 people on board, "We're just out for a day of drinking and partying and decided to stop for lunch."
Bob mentioned on face book this morning, Moonshine has become a destination like Disneyland. He didn't see Mickey, but he did see Goofy taking pictures...
That's Bob in the second pic, and the great staff behind the counter in the last. They're always happy to put the sign up at 12:30 (tho they had just served the last customer at 12:45.)
Here's maybe the most important pic of the day, this one specifically for Georgette (Digiamo's lady.
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:strawb1:
hotpepper
Nice spot, with high ridges on either side so the wind was blocked. Sometime during the night a car (Jeep?) went by down hill. I was surprised but no prob. I had fixed a light dinner on Wednesday evening, the simple b'kfast on Thursday before rolling on.
