Day 7: 6/25/24: Bull Shoals - White River State Park to Oak Grove, AR

I was in a deep sleep about 2 a.m. when one of my panniers fell over in my tent and startled me.  I then heard something walking outside my tent and I figured it was an animal that was trying to get to the food in my panniers.  I continued to lay there and drifted back to sleep again when, at a little before 3 a.m., I felt something push on my right foot.  I quickly grabbed my headlight and shined it through the mesh on my tent and saw a raccoon walking away. I have no idea why the raccoon had any interest in my foot.  I went ahead and got up, broke camp, and started my day.

Last night, I looked for restaurants on today's route for breakfast.  There was only 1 and it was in Lead Hill, about 40 miles away.  I quickly scarfed down a banana and a peanut butter and raisin burrito that I whipped up.  I made it to the restaurant about 5 hours later and consumed a filling second breakfast (pics below,).

That is biscuits and gravy in the yellow bowl. You better believe I sopped up every bite of the gravy.  

Today's ride was mostly on a rural roads in the Ozarks with low vehicular traffic.  There were plenty of rolling hills/mountains to be had.  It was a very pleasant, peaceful ride.

Then I dipped my toe into Missouri and the ride suddenly changed.  

For about 10 miles in MO, I was on a fairly busy 2 lane road with very little shoulder and a rumble strip taking up most, if not all, of the small shoulder.  At times, a line of vehicles would get backed up behind me and I would just pull over in the ditch to let them pass.

It was good when I made it back to...

Tonight I'm staying with Warm Showers Hosts Larry and Lajunta (pic below) in Oak Grove.  

Larry is a lifelong resident of the area and Lajunta has been there for years.  They are both very involved in the community and are familiar with the area.  They took me to a Thai restaurant in Eureka Springs and treated me to dinner.  After dinner, they took me on a tour of Eureka Springs.  They are both known by many of the locals.  Larry is a professional photographer and has taken photos for many locals.  He has also taken photos of various dignitaries that were visiting a local college.  Lajunta is retired from the Postal Service and is currently on the City Council of Oak Grove.   Larry also rode out and met me to cycle about the last 4 miles today back to his house with me.

Below is a pic of The Christ of the Ozarks in Eureka Springs.

Total miles today: 86.1