Hot Springs Ramble 2014

November 1st I traveled up to Hot Springs, Arkansas to visit with friends at the Hot Springs Ramble, a informal gathering that survives the former MOA event of the same name. On the way I passed through Magnolia, Arkansas, where the Cameo Theater building is still in use, but now for a different purpose:

And around the block is this mural in honor of the local 1938 oil boom:

After which I detoured to cross the Ouachita River on this one-lane bridge:

Lots of water flows down the Ouachita River from the hills of Arkansas down to Louisiana:

Before reaching camp I stopped for a pit-stop and look-see at the fish hatchery on the south shore of Lake Ouachita:

And enjoyed the watching the local gaggle of geese swim by:

Rally central for the Ramble is the Gulpha Gorge Campground in Hot Springs National Park:

Ahtho I didn't see any other sidecars this year, there were some nice older bikes, such as Paul's airhead:

And, thankfully, Paul traveled up in the truck and camper, bringing a fire pit and firewood for the cool, well, cold for us Louisiana folks, evening - discussions included amateur motorcycle racing and sidecar mounting & options.:

I traveled back over 1/2 of the way home with (now sidecar-less) Carney, treating him to a good lunch at Maxine's Diner in Prescott, Arkansas.  Carney and I split up in Cotton Valley, Louisiana, where I detoured down some gravel roads in the Bodcau Wildlife Management Area:

For a look at Bodcau Bayou:

Where cypress knees line the bank:

"Bodcau" is a hardwood bottom with a dam for flood control - thus stretch of road sure looked different than it did back last winter:

November 2, 2014:

January 4, 2014: