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Alex · July 14th, 2015, 09:20 PM

Day 6:

Start: Yates Center, KS at 5:01 AM
End: Huntsville, AL at 9:42 PM
Length: 884 miles / 53 mph average

If you take a look at the track above, you'll see something interesting. i checked out of the hotel, headed due east to Fort Scott, and promptly ran into a bridge out / road closed sign no more than a mile from the motel. Damn. I circled back to try and find a way around, and a local walked me through the best detour. I wasn't close to Fort Scott at this point, still 60 miles away, but the detour would still cost me 20 - 30 extra miles to loop around. Perhaps I wouldn't have done much different, but it might have been good to be aware of the issue the night before rather than it being the first thing that greets me in the morning.

I snapped a picture of the Fort Scott bonus (FOSC) at 8:30 AM local time:

This was going to be a busy day, with 9 bonuses on the schedule including that first one. My next one was in the state of Missouri, the George Washington Carver National Monument (GWCA):

I then set off for Pea Ridge National Military Park in Arkansas (PERI). This was off of a road with quite a bit of construction, so the directions from my GPS were somewhat convoluted.

Next on deck was a trip to Fort Smith, Arkansas, (FOSM) where the entire area is generally a park. We needed a picture of the courthouse.

I then aimed for Little Rock, Arkansas (LIRO), at the Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site. One of the park workers immediately pointed me in the right direction, and showed where I could park close to the memorial.

It was about quarter to 4 local time at this point, but I had 3 large bonuses to get to before daylight expired. These were all 900+ points, and they were within a few miles of eachother in Mississippi. It was a bit of a trek, and it took me almost 4 hours to get to Tupelo, MS (TUPE). Arriving at 7:30 PM local time, I was just in time to grab what I needed:

Just a few minutes away, I scored the Natchez Trace Parkway Visitor Center (NATP):

And I then rushed to the Brices Cross Roads National Battlefield Site in Baldwyn, MS, (BRCR) for my last bonus of the night as darkness fell:

Chris Purney and two other riders were in the area, and we were all happy to grab this last bonus to close out the night. I had put in the Shiloh National Military Park (SHIL) as a potential last bonus if there was time, but I clearly wasn't going to be able to make it. I programmed in my first bonus for the next morning (Russell Cave, RUCA), and went for a ride. Along the way it did start to rain a bit, but it wasn't particularly cold or heavy, so visibility was fine. I found myself riding with Chris for awhile through the hills of Mississippi, and it was an enjoyable trip. At some point though, the rain did start to come down to the point that visibility was poor, and I pulled in at Huntsville, AL at 11:42 PM local time to rest for the night. This was only about 60 miles from Russell Cave, so I knew I could grab it early the next morning.

July 14th, 2015, 09:20 PM	#82
Alex ninjette.org dude Name: 1 guess :-) Location: SF Bay Area Join Date: Jun 2008 Motorcycle(s): '13 Ninja 300 (white, the fastest color!), '13 R1200RT, '14 CRF250L, '12 TT-R125LE Posts: Too much. Blog Entries: 7	Day 6: Start: Yates Center, KS at 5:01 AM End: Huntsville, AL at 9:42 PM Length: 884 miles / 53 mph average If you take a look at the track above, you'll see something interesting. i checked out of the hotel, headed due east to Fort Scott, and promptly ran into a bridge out / road closed sign no more than a mile from the motel. Damn. I circled back to try and find a way around, and a local walked me through the best detour. I wasn't close to Fort Scott at this point, still 60 miles away, but the detour would still cost me 20 - 30 extra miles to loop around. Perhaps I wouldn't have done much different, but it might have been good to be aware of the issue the night before rather than it being the first thing that greets me in the morning. I snapped a picture of the Fort Scott bonus (FOSC) at 8:30 AM local time: This was going to be a busy day, with 9 bonuses on the schedule including that first one. My next one was in the state of Missouri, the George Washington Carver National Monument (GWCA): I then set off for Pea Ridge National Military Park in Arkansas (PERI). This was off of a road with quite a bit of construction, so the directions from my GPS were somewhat convoluted. Next on deck was a trip to Fort Smith, Arkansas, (FOSM) where the entire area is generally a park. We needed a picture of the courthouse. I then aimed for Little Rock, Arkansas (LIRO), at the Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site. One of the park workers immediately pointed me in the right direction, and showed where I could park close to the memorial. It was about quarter to 4 local time at this point, but I had 3 large bonuses to get to before daylight expired. These were all 900+ points, and they were within a few miles of eachother in Mississippi. It was a bit of a trek, and it took me almost 4 hours to get to Tupelo, MS (TUPE). Arriving at 7:30 PM local time, I was just in time to grab what I needed: Just a few minutes away, I scored the Natchez Trace Parkway Visitor Center (NATP): And I then rushed to the Brices Cross Roads National Battlefield Site in Baldwyn, MS, (BRCR) for my last bonus of the night as darkness fell: Chris Purney and two other riders were in the area, and we were all happy to grab this last bonus to close out the night. I had put in the Shiloh National Military Park (SHIL) as a potential last bonus if there was time, but I clearly wasn't going to be able to make it. I programmed in my first bonus for the next morning (Russell Cave, RUCA), and went for a ride. Along the way it did start to rain a bit, but it wasn't particularly cold or heavy, so visibility was fine. I found myself riding with Chris for awhile through the hills of Mississippi, and it was an enjoyable trip. At some point though, the rain did start to come down to the point that visibility was poor, and I pulled in at Huntsville, AL at 11:42 PM local time to rest for the night. This was only about 60 miles from Russell Cave, so I knew I could grab it early the next morning. __________________________________________________ Montgomery Street Motorcycle Club / cal24.com / crf250l.org / ninjette.org ninjette.org Terms of Service Shopping for motorcycle parts or equipment? Come here first. The friendliest Ninja 250R/300/400 forum on the internet! (especially Unregistered)