The center of activity at 8:00 a.m. on a Sunday morning in Jasper, Arkansas is the Ozark Cafe.
Coffee cups rattle saucers in the cafe’s bacon-fried air while Billy Bell and his dad, Gene, hold
court at a big checked-cloth-covered table. The family resemblance is clear between the two lean,
sun-checked men gathered with a group of weather beaten locals swilling coffee and swapping the
news of the day.
Speaking of Mountains
A story by Lee Klancher
This has been going on at the Ozark since the place opened in
1909. The red walls of the cafe are adorned with black and
white photographs that chronicle local history, the images
giving life to the words of locals who have made permanent
impressions on the cafe's red naugahyde and chrome chairs.
The men at the table range in age from early 30s to retirement
ready, and they live in this corner of the Ozarks because they
love it.
Both Gene and Billy have made sacrifices to stay in this part of
the world, and their affection for the community is apparent when they talk about it.
One of the men at the table, John Hudson, is a bit of a local legend. John built his home around the
cabin in which his father-a well-known doctor in the middle of the century-was born, thus
transforming the abode into a living museum filled with memorabilia from his dad's career.
After breakfast, Billy and Gene take me on a quick walking tour of Jasper, which includes a visit to the
smallest jail in the county.
"The cells here are known as the worst in the state," Gene says proudly. "You don't want to end up in
the slammer in my town."
We go inside to check out the building, and Gene asks the deputy manning the front desk if he can
show me one of the dank little cells.
"No tours today. We had a helluva Saturday night," the deputy says dryly, "and the house is full."
Serendipity granted me this ride with Billy and Gene. I was in the area with a couple of friends to
join the Wudi Ride, an annual off-road motorcycle ride held in Arkansas each winter. Billy is not only
an off-road rider, but a street rider, too, and when I said I was planning to ride the area on Sunday,
he and Gene agreed to serve as guides and show me the sights.
Jasper is on one of the great motor-cycle roads in the Ozarks, Highway 7, which runs from Harrison,
just south of the Missouri border, to Hot Springs in central Arkansas and down past El Dorado on the
state's southern border with Louisiana. Highway 7 was Arkansas' first state-designated Scenic Byway,
and the road curls through the Ouachita Mountains and north through the Ozark National Forest.
We head east out of Jasper on Highway 74, riding over to Highway 123, a twisty stretch of pavement
winding from Mount Judea to Lurton. Billy tells me that riders come from as far as Australia just to
ride this technical stretch of road. On the other hand, a Gold Wing rider I met at Turner Bend told me
to "avoid 123 at all costs." To each his own!
We loop back north along Highway 7 and come to the Ozark "Grand Canyon," a deep, verdant valley
much smaller than its Arizona counterpart but impressive nonetheless.
Gene and Billy have to return to Jasper that afternoon,
and I decide to join them and take up John Hudson's
invitation to see his home and collection of artifacts.
The place is outside of town, a beautiful farm set along
an Arkansas bluff. John shows us how his immaculate,
white, ranch-style house was fabricated around the
one-room cabin built in 1826 that his father had grown
up in. The original logs are preserved, as is the original
porch, which is filled with old photographs of his father, along with collections of old
medical equipment. John did most of the work on the house himself, from digging out
the basement to laying down the floors. He also talks nonstop about his father's
accomplishments, often with tears in his eyes.
After our little tour, it is time for Gene and Billy to get home and for me to get back on the road. One of those roads, Highway 74,
takes me west to Ponca. Billy had suggested I watch the fields for elk and-sure enough-I spot a few cows and a calf along the way.
Newton County released 112 elk from Colorado and Nebraska in the early 1980s, and that program has paid off with a healthy local
population. In fact, Newton County now calls itself the "elk capital of Arkansas," and the town of Jasper hosts the annual Buffalo River
Elk Festival to celebrate the herd.
I head north on Highway 23 through Forum and Rock House and come out in the town of Eureka Springs. Legend has it that the
springs had magical healing powers, and Indian tribes consider the area sacred ground. When Dr. Alvah Jackson "discovered" the
springs in 1856, he reputedly cured his infant son of an eye ailment with water from the spring. The doc then founded Dr. Jackson's
Cave Hospital.
The town sprang up around Dr. Jackson's enterprise in 1879, and the legend of the spring's powers drew moneyed Victorian-era
travelers from around the world. Elaborate hotels, spas and restaurants were built overnight, and the flood of tourists and
entrepreneurs made Eureka Springs the fourth-largest city in Arkansas by 1881.
Today, the town's architecture is a big part of its charm. In fact, the entire downtown area is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Legends of mystical powers persist, with mystics claiming that Eureka Springs is an Earth "vortex," a place where spirit and body are
aligned.
Mystical or not, this interesting little town is a popular place for weddings, Wiccan gatherings and motorcycle rallies.
I am due to meet friends on the highway in a few hours, and any mystical powers of Eureka Springs have to be absorbed as I pass
through. In my brief tour of the town, I don't experience any noteworthy spiri-tual revelations, but I do get a speeding ticket later in
the day. Perhaps my neurological path is accelerated. Or maybe I'm just not paying attention...
The final leg of the day's ride takes me west of Eureka Springs on Highway 62,
which snakes into the low mountains of Boone County. A scenic drive on 187,
south and west along Beaver Lake, looks like another tempting option for
someone with time and two wheels.
My ride in the Ozarks ends a few hours later, as I turn north to head back to the
frozen pavement of my native Minnesota. I'll soon be back home, telling stories
to my friends and family about the trip. Travel tends to do that-offer up stories
and my favorite trips are those that send you home with great tales to spin.
When I think back on this ride, my favorite memory is of the Ozark Cafe, a place
where daily legends are as deeply ingrained in local culture as the stripes of
Ozark Mountain pavement tumbling across the Ouachita Mountains.
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The center of activity at 8:00 a.m. on a Sunday morning
in Jasper, Arkansas is the Ozark Cafe. Coffee cups rattle
saucers in the cafe’s bacon-fried air while Billy Bell and
his dad, Gene, hold court at a big checked-cloth-covered
table. The family resemblance is clear between the two
lean, sun-checked men gathered with a group of weather
beaten locals swilling coffee and swapping the news of
the day.
Speaking of Mountians
A story by Lee Klancher
This has been going on at the Ozark since the place
opened in 1909. The red walls of the cafe are adorned
with black and white photographs that chronicle local
history, the images giving life to the words of locals who
have made permanent impressions on the cafe's red
naugahyde and chrome chairs.
The men at the table range in age from early 30s to
retirement-ready, and they live in this corner of the
Ozarks because they love it.
Both Gene and Billy have made sacrifices to stay in this
part of the world, and their affection for the community
is apparent when they talk about it.
One of the men at the table, John Hudson, is a bit of a
local legend. John built his home around the cabin in
which his father-a well-known doctor in the middle of the
century-was born, thus transforming the abode into a
living museum filled with memorabilia from his dad's
career.
After breakfast, Billy and Gene take me on a quick
walking tour of Jasper, which includes a visit to the
smallest jail in the county.
"The cells here are known as the worst in the state,"
Gene says proudly. "You don't want to end up in the
slammer in my town."
We go inside to check out the building, and Gene asks
the deputy manning the front desk if he can show me
one of the dank little cells.
"No tours today. We had a helluva Saturday night," the
deputy says dryly, "and the house is full."
Serendipity granted me this ride with Billy and Gene. I
was in the area with a couple of friends to join the Wudi
Ride, an annual off-road motorcycle ride held in Arkansas
each winter. Billy is not only an off-road rider, but a
street rider, too, and when I said I was planning to ride
the area on Sunday, he and Gene agreed to serve as
guides and show me the sights.
Jasper is on one of the great motor-cycle roads in the
Ozarks, Highway 7, which runs from Harrison, just south
of the Missouri border, to Hot Springs in central Arkansas
and down past El Dorado on the state's southern border
with Louisiana. Highway 7 was Arkansas' first
state-designated Scenic Byway, and the road curls
through the Ouachita Mountains and north through the
Ozark National Forest.
We head east out of Jasper on Highway 74, riding over to
Highway 123, a twisty stretch of pavement winding from
Mount Judea to Lurton. Billy tells me that riders come
from as far as Australia just to ride this technical stretch
of road. On the other hand, a Gold Wing rider I met at
Turner Bend told me to "avoid 123 at all costs." To each
his own!
We loop back north along Highway 7 and come to the
Ozark "Grand Canyon," a deep, verdant valley much
smaller than its Arizona counterpart but impressive
nonetheless.
Gene and Billy have to return to Jasper that afternoon,
and I decide to join them and take up John Hudson's
invitation to see his home and collection of artifacts.
The place is outside of town, a beautiful farm set along
an Arkansas bluff. John shows us how his immaculate,
white, ranch-style house was fabricated around the
one-room cabin built in 1826 that his father had grown
up in. The original logs are preserved, as is the original
porch, which is filled with old photographs of his father,
along with collections of old medical equipment. John did
most of the work on the house himself, from digging out
the basement to laying down the floors. He also talks
nonstop about his father's accomplishments, often with
tears in his eyes.
After our little tour, it is time for Gene and Billy to get
home and for me to get back on the road. One of those
roads, Highway 74, takes me west to Ponca. Billy had
suggested I watch the fields for elk and-sure enough-I
spot a few cows and a calf along the way. Newton County
released 112 elk from Colorado and Nebraska in the early
1980s, and that program has paid off with a healthy local
population. In fact, Newton County now calls itself the
"elk capital of Arkansas," and the town of Jasper hosts
the annual Buffalo River Elk Festival to celebrate the herd.
I head north on Highway 23 through Forum and Rock
House and come out in the town of Eureka Springs.
Legend has it that the springs had magical healing
powers, and Indian tribes consider the area sacred
ground. When Dr. Alvah Jackson "discovered" the springs
in 1856, he reputedly cured his infant son of an eye
ailment with water from the spring. The doc then founded
Dr. Jackson's Cave Hospital.
The town sprang up around Dr. Jackson's enterprise in
1879, and the legend of the spring's powers drew
moneyed Victorian-era travelers from around the world.
Elaborate hotels, spas and restaurants were built
overnight, and the flood of tourists and entrepreneurs
made Eureka Springs the fourth-largest city in Arkansas
by 1881.
Today, the town's architecture is a big part of its charm.
In fact, the entire downtown area is on the National
Register of Historic Places. Legends of mystical powers
persist, with mystics claiming that Eureka Springs is an
Earth "vortex," a place where spirit and body are aligned.
Mystical or not, this interesting little town is a popular
place for weddings, Wiccan gatherings and motorcycle
rallies.
I am due to meet friends on the highway in a few hours,
and any mystical powers of Eureka Springs have to be
absorbed as I pass through. In my brief tour of the
town, I don't experience any noteworthy spiri-tual
revelations, but I do get a speeding ticket later in the
day. Perhaps my neurological path is accelerated.
Or maybe I'm just not paying attention...
The final leg of the day's ride takes me west of Eureka
Springs on Highway 62, which snakes into the low
mountains of Boone County. A scenic drive on 187, south
and west along Beaver Lake, looks like another tempting
option for someone with time and two wheels.
My ride in the Ozarks ends a few hours later, as I turn
north to head back to the frozen pavement of my native
Minnesota. I'll soon be back home, telling stories to my
friends and family about the trip. Travel tends to do
that-offer up stories-and my favorite trips are those that
send you home with great tales to spin.
When I think back on this ride, my favorite memory is of
the Ozark Cafe, a place where daily legends are as
deeply ingrained in local culture as the stripes of Ozark
Mountain pavement tumbling across the Ouachita
Mountains.
If you've liked what you've seen here, you can help
us continue to do more simply by donating.
