Sooner State Valkyrie Riders

By: Rumblebee

This ride was actually planned around the Promise Keepers convention in Fayetteville AR. My friend, Bill & I had ordered tickets back in February. Bill had re-injured his back the week before we left on June 10th. Being unsure about making the trip, he decided to bite the bullet and make the best of it.

It was Friday, June 10th for a late a.m. start, we left out of the OKC area and headed northeast via Route 66 to Stroud where we gassed up and grabbed a McD’s burger. At Bristow we moved east on Hwy 16 through Muskogee, which offered plenty of construction for a good 45 minute delay. From this point on, the ride got much better as we took Hwy 62 from Muskogee to Fayetteville, east of Tahlequah the roads got a little twisty, and I got to test out my new 3 day old back tire. I’ve got to tell you, my life being pretty full right now, the appreciation of kicking back, feet up on the highway pegs, and Bob Seger coming through the headphones; life just doesn’t get much better than this right here. Anyway….we arrived in Fayetteville about 6pm and after getting something to eat; we kicked back under some much needed Tom Bodet AC. We did well for not having any reservations; we rode 250 miles and roomed only a half mile from Razorback Stadium where the convention was being held.

Bill made the dreaded decision to head back early Saturday morning due to no sleep Friday night from the to extreme back pain. He knew he couldn’t sit in a stadium all day and ride, etc, all the way through Sunday afternoon. This unfortunate situation put the whole trip into a different mindset for the both of us. I had gone on to the convention and it was very up lifting to say the least. I’d recommend these PK conventions to all husbands and fathers. Next summer, Bill, Bandit and I, and anyone else that would like to ride along, are planning on going again to the closest one to the OKC area.

I later received a message from Bill around noon to say that he made it home and all was good.

I headed north out of Fayetteville on Hwy 62 through Rogers, into Avoca, where I stopped to see some friends that I hadn’t seen for a few years. I ended up staying the night there and come Sunday morning, continued on out Hwy 62/37 north and on into Missouri through Roaring River State Park.

From the park I went east on 112B to Eagle Rock, through Mark Twain National Forest and followed down south on Hwy 86/23 over west end of Table Rock Lake into Eureka Springs. I decided to stop off and see the Christ of the Ozarks statue before riding through Eureka Springs.

There is such beautiful riding country in that area! I loved it! (I think I need more slack on my leash more often…!) I headed east on Hwy 62 to see the town of my family roots, Harrison.

Being satisfied with all that, it was now 3p.m., Sunday and having a lot of miles to cover and knowing there were storms heading for the OKC area that evening, I headed home.

I took Hwy 412 west, back to Fayetteville, and south on 540 down to Ft Smith and finally I-40W on home. I got as close to Shawnee as I could and waited for 2 horizontal storms to pass for a good 2 ½ hour delay. I got home by 11p.m., wet and tired. 750 miles total, with almost 500 all on Sunday. This trip wasn’t one of the longest, but it was a lot of fun and a great experience, (all except for the part about Bill.)

Pictures can be found in this Photo Album.