The Ozark Moonshine Run

While vacationing in Branson, Missouri, I decided to take advantage of the fact that there was an “Eagle Rider” in town where I could rent a motorcycle for a day. I picked the date and made my reservation, then proceeded to check out where I could ride to. I’d remembered reading in one of my Cruiser magazines that there was some good riding to be had in the Arkansas Ozarks, so that’s where I focused my search. It didn’t take me long to find several possibilities, one of them was called “The Ozark Moonshine Run.” It began and ended in Harrison, AR, which is only about 30 miles from Branson. According to the ride guide I was working off of, this route was 110 miles long with a whopping 662 curves.

The day began at 9am when I picked up my Electra Glide at Eagle Rider. Yes, believe it or not, I paid cash money to ride a Harley for a day. That’s okay; it was an ’08, fully loaded, and ready to roll. As I was picking it up, I saw that I could’ve rented a Gold Wing instead (a fact that doesn’t show up on the Eagle Rider web site) – but I had already mentally prepared myself and besides, I didn’t want to burn any more daylight waiting for any change of paperwork to be processed!

Map in hand, KarenSue and I jumped on and headed south from Branson into Arkansas. We took Rt. 65 down as far as Harrison, AR, where we stopped at Harrison Yamaha where I could redeem myself with the Metric Brotherhood by buying a “Harrison Yamaha” t-shirt. A check of the map showed that we needed to break off onto Rt. 7 and head toward a little town called Jasper.

I really had no idea what kind of scenery we’d experience when we got into Arkansas, so it was a wonderful surprise to see what kind of beauty we were riding through on the way down to Jasper. The rolling hills of the Ozarks are simply beautiful. I can now understand why the CMA rides to Hatfield are so popular.

We pulled into Jasper around lunch so we decided to stop at a local joint that one might see on the Food Network’s “Diners, Drive-ins and Dives.” The Ozark Café fit the bill just right. KarenSue went all healthy on me and had a salad (okay, she had a side of onion rings to balance the meal) and I had a big cheeseburger with a pile of sautéed mushrooms on top. On the side, I had “loaded fries” which included melted cheese and bacon chunks tossed in. The Ozark Café was a great place to stop. They’d been around since 1909 and their walls are covered with pictures and newspaper clippings from the past 99 years to keep the memories alive.

Leaving Jasper after a quick visit to the Jasper “Museum of Junk,” we headed out of town and before too long we came to a scenic lookout over which we could see Buffalo River Canyon, also called the “Grand Canyon of the Ozarks.” The Buffalo River flows 1414 feet below the lookout, and the lookout sign claims that the river is the “…finest canoe waters in wilderness America.” If the canoeing is anything like the riding, then I think their claim is probably accurate.

We continued on, turning east on Rt. 374 for a few miles until we turned onto Rt. 123 which took us south again. As far as twists and turns go, Rt. 123 was probably the craziest road I’ve ever been on. Our sport bike friends would have a field day on this one. Riding an unfamiliar road on an unfamiliar touring bike, it was quite a challenge. There was a sign when we turned onto Rt. 123 that read something like, “Very Steep, Very Curvy, Next 23 miles.” They weren’t kidding. Another one read, “Crooked and Steep, Next 7 Miles, Drive With Care.” I don’t think I got out of fourth gear for any length of time at all, in fact I had to gear down to first several times making uphill switch-backs along the 123. One of the things I read about the ride was that it provided “amazing altitudinal changes” and “captivating views.” They were spot-on.

One of little towns we went through on Rt. 123 was Mt. Judea (pronounced “Judy” by the locals) where we stopped to take a picture of the Jr. and Sr. High Schools. The Sr. High was about the size of our kids’ elementary school and the Jr. High was roughly the size of our house. We learned later that Mt. Judea used to be a busy place up until they put bridges in over some of the creeks and rivers; apparently that afforded folks the opportunity to leave.

We turned onto Rt. 16 and made our way northwest near the “town” of Lurton. Coming across “Nellie’s Quilts” (which we’d seen advertised for many miles), we decided to hop off the bike for a while, stretch our legs, and check out the quilts and crafts that were inside. Miss Nellie was in their already chatting it up with another couple (from Wisconsin) who had ridden in on a BMW touring bike a few minutes before we did. The four of us stood there and were treated to a brief history of the “Mt. Judy” area and Nellie’s life in particular. We heard about how they would feed the chickens through cracks in the floor when she was a youngster, and how she finally had to install locks (that worked) on her doors after her husband passed away last year.

Heading on northwest, we experienced more great scenery as we passed through small towns like Deer, Nail, and Swain. Deer had a decent-sized high school and their mascot was – you guessed it – The Antlers. KarenSue saw a sign on the school as we passed by that said, “Home of the Fighting Deer Antlers.” Opposing schools could have a lot of fun with that one!

The rest of the return ride to Harrison was more of the same: small towns, great scenery, winding roads. There are elk herds in the Boxley area, but we didn’t see any when we passed through. One thing you don’t see much of is gas stations along the route. In the 110 miles of the Ozark Moonshine Run, there are five gas locations, and the first four are within roughly the first half of the ride. The last gas spot before returning to Harrison is at a spot on the map called Compton, about 18 miles shy of Harrison. Unfortunately they only take cash for gas, so the $15 cash we had between us wouldn’t have gone very far for the high-octane requirement of the Harley. The lack of filling stations also reflects a lack of “un-filling” stations, if you catch my drift. Plan accordingly.

We got back into Harrison and relaxed for a while at a restaurant, checking out the map to see what we could do with the rest of our day. Upon closer examination of our “Motorcycle Riding Guide of the Ozarks,” we realized that we’d already done half of the “Peel’s Ferry Route” by just coming down from Branson to Harrison. This route is also listed at 110 miles (with “only” 378 curves), and we’d already done half of it. So, we left out of Harrison and headed north on Rt. 7, and proceeded toward Bull Shoals Lake via routes 14, 268 and 125. We came to Peel’s Ferry and hopped on for a free ride across the lake.

Coming off the ferry and heading north, we soon found ourselves back in Missouri and we wound our way back to Branson via routes160 and 76. Arriving back in town with some time to kill, I decided to get out onto highway 65 and head north to Springfield. We’d been on the curves and hills all day; I wanted to see what the Electra Glide could do. It had taken me a while to get used to being nearly rattled off the bike at the stop signs, but I had no problem with the highway response of this bike. Sixth gear provided a very smooth ride at a decent speed.

Overall, our riding experience in Arkansas and Missouri was spectacular. The condition of the roads in Arkansas was outstanding. Missouri was pretty good, except for the occasional new tar patches they’d throw in with little (or no) warning.

The Eagle Rider store at the Branson airport was great to work with and they pride themselves on having nice, clean bikes for their customers. The price was right, too; $180 for a 24-hour rental (including bike, insurance and taxes). Considering what it would cost to drag our bikes down on a trailer (and probably only get to spend one day on them since we had other events planned), I think we did it right.

So if you ever decide to vacation in Branson, I’d heartily recommend renting a bike at Eagle Rider and taking off on The Ozark Moonshine Run – or any other number of rides that are waiting in Arkansas. You won’t be disappointed!