Day 8: 6/26/24: Oak Grove to Bentonville, AR

This morning, both Larry and Lajunta got up to visit with me before I headed out.  Larry made me a very delicious healthy fruit and vegetable smoothie for breakfast.  Out of the blue, Lajunta asked me if I knew anything about pickleball.  A teenage girl that plays in nearby Berryville told Lajunta about it and that Oak Grove needs a pickleball court.  I told of my experience with the game and that Lisa and I have met some great folks at various locations through pickleball.  We discussed the social aspects of the game and the health benefits of getting folks moving and having fun.  As a council person, she is going to try to raise funds to put a pickleball court in Oak Grove.  I showed her the pickleball court rules in Birmingham, AL, that ensures equal opportunity for play for everyone, and the positive experiences we have had where the court rules are the same as Birmingham's.  She is very excited about the possibilities.

We bid our farewells and I left, but not before Larry snapped a photo of me.  

Right after I left, a thunderstorm quickly blew up.  I was riding in heavy rain, strong winds, and something that was stinging me that I think was small hail.  After about 10 minutes, the worst of the storm was over and I only had to ride in rain for about an hour.  The rest of the day felt great.  I believe the storm took some of the humidity out of the air.

I passed through a portion of Eureka Springs and took the pic below.  On the hill in the distance is the Crescent Hotel and Spa  It was built in 1886, and there have been hundreds of tales of paranormal experiences at the hotel. In addition to being a hotel, it has served as a girls’ college and a cancer hospital–where “Doctor” Norman Baker claimed to have the cure for cancer. 

The rest of the day was perfect riding.  Country roads with scenery (pics below) and lower humidity.  There were a fair amount of hills.

I went through Rogers, AR, which is a very nice town (pic below).

Pic below of a lake just outside of Rogers.

Seven tornadoes hit Benton County, which includes Rogers and Bentonville, in the early morning on May 26, 2024.  A tornado hit Rogers that morning and was 1.7 miles wide and rated as an EF-2.  Below are a few pics of the significant damage the tornado did.

 

I saw a lot of work still being done to try to clean up debris from the area.

I made it to Bentonville and will be camping tonight at the Coler Mountain Bike Preserve Campground (pic below), which is a non-profit entity.

Rogers and Bentonville are both very bike friendly.  There were multi-use paths and bike lanes throughout both cities that connected the cities.  Below are a few pics of these trails.

Total miles today:  75.7