I have not gotten to make this trip in a couple of years do to a conflict in scheduling! I had gotten an email from my friend Misty wanting to know if I was coming this year they would like to see me! It sure is nice to be missed! I sent her a note saying I was coming. Then the news talked about all the flooding and I was watching thinking they were not going to get to have the party! The last time I went half the camp ground was under water! I looked on Hogrock web site Wed. night and the note said as of Tues. morning no water on the camp the party is on! I got every thing ready on the bike. Or at least I was hoping I did. I got out the door about 8am which was about an hour later than I wanted to leave because I wanted to hit Tulsa right! And Solum Springs too.
 I got caught in Solum Springs traffic but hey you cant hit them all right every time. After working my way thru the stop and go traffic for 10 miles I finally hit open road again man the breeze felt good blowing up my sleeves I began to cool off again and was going to start making some time again! Well that was for the first 20 miles any way then I saw a state trooper ahead of me. I got slowed down before he noticed I had come up on him pretty quick, it is all two lane roads so you cant really pass him so you have to wait till he turns off, my luck was not running like that today! He puttered along at a blazing 45 to 50 mph! If I got a passing lane he would speed up to the 55 max speed limit so I couldn’t pass him and in the curves of 412 where you cant see to pass he would slow down to 40 and some times 35 or less. Most times when I encounter a state trooper 

he is running about 10 over him self so if you stay behind them you can still make a little time and not get a ticket! Well I finally got to a big town and in traffic I got ahead of this trooper and out of his site! Hooray!Almost the last stop light in town I got caught at it and damned if he didn’t pull up ahead of me in the left lane so for another 100 miles I had to follow this same trooper! What normally takes about 5 hours to go across Arkansas took more like 6 ½ because of the traffic and a slow trooper. Now I’m really behind schedule but that is ok , I can make up a bit of time on the interstate later on
I kind of like the scenery across northern Arkansas. The Trooper finally went strait when I turned off in eastern Ark, out side of Jonesboro. I kicked it up on the flats out there and was making pretty good time again. I managed to get to the Mo. Line and now I have to be careful to avoid troopers all together because I didn’t bring my helmet again.
 I only have about 100 miles of Mo. To go thru and it is pretty isolated. I cant say I have not seen a cop out here but have been able to avoid them noticing me with no helmet. I got on I-55 and made some pretty good time for the trip up to the I-57 exchange and off to the home stretch for the last 10 miles of Mo. I finally made it into Ill. And what I though would give me some worry free riding, ok there is no such thing as worry free riding but not looking over my shoulder worry. I rode the 50 some miles up 57 to 146 and was running what I thought was about 9 miles over trying to get to Hog rock before dark. Well about 15 miles out I passed a trooper coming at me, I waved at him and I looked down and saw I was running about 70 so I’m only about 5 over so not likely to bother me,