Push Mountain Photography
Why should riders to the Dragon get all the great shots of themselves carving the corners. Take a ride on AR 341 - locally called Push Mountain - between AR 14 and Norfork. The Dragon has Killboy (Darryl Cannon) and Arkansas has Jack...The Photo Guy. Then go to his site at www.pushmountainpics.com and look up the date your roared by and order a picture. Help Jack keep out there doing what he loves to do. Jack's out there Thur. thru Sun. between 10 AM and 4 PM.
Speaking of Hot!!!
You know, it's not been too hot until this first week of August. July was substantially lower, temprature-wise, than normal. Go figure. Anyway, if you didn't come in July, sorry, because August is very warm, with the temp. forecast for the forseeable future in the mid to upper 90s... lows scattered around in the 70s, so camping out won't be too bad once the evening cools off.
I Don't Like Spieders and Snakes.
I know that most snakes are harmless and actually beneficial, so I don't go'round killing them just because they slither. And most things in the Ozarks that bite or sting won't do too long lasting damage - like ticks, chiggers, wasps, etc - unless you are sensitive to them... or catch tick fever... or Lyme disease. OK, but the odds are most bites or stings cause temporary discomfort. But every-once-in-a-while, we need to remember that there are some some bad animal characters out there and we need to give them a wide berth. Jasper nature photographer Don Nelms recently photographed this rattler on his place a couple of miles from downtown Jasper. So when camping or hiking, be watchful. Look before you step into tall grass, thick leaf carpet, or over logs or rocks... for both rattlers and the more common Copperhead. And around water, for Cottonmouths. Did I mention we also have Brown Recluse spiders. Their bite is probably more problematic because you often don't know you've been bitten until several days later. Especially in rural areas, like cabins, and camping, shake out sheets, your shoes and clothing before putting them on. These little devils just love to hide. Fortunately, they are not aggressive and are quite shy. I'll try to get a picture of this spider - also called the Fiddle Back spider - up soon. To view Don Nelms' other, less threatening work, go to his website at www.nelmsgallery.com. Thanks for the pics, Don.
Traffic Trouble
I don't think we have too many real speed traps in the Ozarks, but do be careful in small towns. They may get you if you speed. But we need to be courtious riders and be careful around these small burgs where people live, work, play and routinely go back and forth across the highway. It's just right to be considerate. BUT, sometimes some places may take advantage of visitors who come to the area and their officers try to squeeze a little more out of their pockets by unreasonably ticketing, not just riders, but cagers, too. If you've had an experience where you feel your were the victim of a genuine speed trap, email me and I'll post what I can. Please don't use this as an opportunity to rant and vent. Let's keep it civil and to the point.
Speaking of Highway Trouble...
There is highway repair work on the Boston Mountain Scenic Loop (Old US 71) south of Winslow. Be ready to slow for slide repair. Also, east of Green Forest, construction continues as US 62 is widened to four lanes, AND, on the west end of Berryville, toward Eureka Springs, also on US 62, the three lane is going to be widened to five lanes. Work hasn't started yet, but will soon and will last for up to three years.
Anyone encountered any other construction issues we should share? Email me.