


Our 700-mile endurance test yesterday has made us weary even after a decent night's sleep. We've lost a time zone, too, which makes it feel even earlier this morning. We hit the I-40 for Arkansas.

We're looking for the Pig Trail Scenic Byway. It sounds like a funny name for a great driving road, right? But Highway 23 is a windy gem nestled in the Ozark Mountains. Officially, the Pig Trail is only 19 miles long, but we continue north up to Eureka Springs at the top of the state. It widens out into farm country in places, and really takes concentration to drive hard. There's absolutely no runoff on the side of the road and there are plenty of hay trucks and tractors sporadically entering the road, so you better be brave if you're going to push to the limit here. We aren't that brave.

We grab a quick but very yummy and very deep-fried lunch at the Catfish Cabin in Eureka Springs and head across Route 62 to Harrison. That's where we pick up Highway 7, which winds us back down to the I-40. We take a detour and visit what remains of the old DogPatch U.S.A., a theme park in Marble Falls that closed in 1993. Today, the park itself is like a ghost town. But take the 7 spur on top of the hill overlooking the park and you'll reach Friend's Motorcycles—a shop that specializes in custom Harleys. We spend a few hours talking about the park's history and checking out the bikes with Friend's owner Ulys Youngblood. We'd like to come back and visit when Friend's holds its next bike rally.

It's dark by the time we head south on 7. The road is tight and there's a rumble strip along the double yellow line in the center of the road. It's infuriating. We're all in favor of proper lane discipline—especially on a mountain road—but this is overkill. These are deep grooves and they sound like someone is whacking the bottom of the Vette with a sledgehammer every time we get close to the yellow in a corner. Eventually we get good at just clipping the strips and maintain a quick pace down this amazingly fun road to Russellville.

We're happy it's only an hour to Little Rock and another good night's sleep.--Ben

Day 1: Los Angeles To Prescott
Day 2: Prescott To Santa Fe
Day 3: Santa Fe To Oklahoma City


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