Red Carpet Regulars - Angelina Jolie

Angelina Jolie rules the red carpet with her breathtaking beauty. She was sensational in yellow at the Cannes Film Festival. She looked simple and elegant at the premiere of The Assassination of James by the Coward Robert Ford. And she awed

Red Carpet Regulars - Reese Witherspoon

Reese Witherspoon always endears on the red carpet. Her charm and sweet Southern-belle appeal make her our favorite girl next door turned glamour goddess. Rocking a punchy yellow dress at the 2007 Golden Globes, an eggplant-colored gown at the 2007 Oscars, and a basic black strapless number at the premiere of her film Rendition, she looked cute, classic, and style-savvy.

Red Carpet Regulars - Katie Holmes

Katie Holmes with or without her arm-candy hubby, Tom Cruise, Ms. Holmes has evolved into a sophisticated, chic, and beautiful star. She looked gorgeous in a Grecian-inspired gown at the Lion for Lambs premiere. She was striking with her new bob and bangs at the Bambi Awards. And her cute classic silver frock was party-perfect at the premiere of her film Mad Money.

Red Carpet Regulars - Eva Longoria

Eva Longoria always looks lovely. The sexy actress simply sizzled wearing a sparkly little number at the Emmys, sporting a frilly minidress at the Victoria’s Secret fashion show, and channeling Old Hollywood at the SAG Awards.

Sexy Black Lace Dresses - Alyson Michalka

Alyson Michalka, of teen pop sensation Aly and AJ, rocks the red carpet at the 15th Annual Race to Erase MS Gala. Los Angeles, May 2008.

Some Missouri twisties and arriving home

The big rain that was supposed to come over night got stalled. When we woke up we checked the weather and the storm was just around the corner. By the time we tore down the tent it was already sprinkling. We grabbed a few items and ran for the bathroom. Within minutes it was pouring.



A huge storm passing over the camp ground in the early morning delayed our departure



Hidding in the bathroom to avoid the rain



Fog hovering over the water after the storm had passed





63 to 19 to I-44

We took 19 all the way from the Arkansas state line to I-44. This is a great road, not a lot of traffic but lots of hills and twists.

I've been on this road before and it's still my favorite road for sport-touring. It's curvy enough but not too much, so you can still make pretty good time on it.



19 started with many hills



And many sweepers



Flossie's Apple Barrel on 19 in Winona, MO



We got here between breakfast amd lunch, the place was empty



Apples on the curtains, how cute



Late breakfast, French toast for me and a biscuit with sausage and egg for Mike



The best part of 19 is between Eminence and Timber



Raining again

The storm had moved out of the area, but about two hours later we found another storm. The rain continued for at least an hour and a half. We took off our rain gear just before jumping on I-44, it was just too hot and muggy. The rain had stopped for now but just before St. Louis we had to pull over again and put the rain gear back on. Not only was it raining now, but it was cold. In one hour the temperature went from 80 to 60 degrees. The rain stopped in the Illinois abut the cold temperatures continued. The temps were only in the low 50’s during the day, then at night they dropped in to the high 40’s. It was also very windy.



A bridge on 19

There is only one Jack In The Box restaurant on I-55 in Illinois, I have always wanted to stop there to eat but usually when I pass it I’m not hungry, but today as we were looking to stop and eat somewhere I remembered the Jack In The Box restaurant.

The Gerbings heated liners kept us warm on this cold, windy and cloudy day. But after a few hours of the cold, we did need to stop at a McDonalds for some hot coffee. We arrived home late, just before midnight. This was a great trip, with great roads, even though it did rain a lot.

Sexy Black Lace Dresses - Thandie Newton

Thandie Newton channels her inner Catwoman at the Metropolitan Museum’s Costume Institute Superheroes gala in a form-fitting Chanel ensemble. New York, May 2008.

Sexy Black Lace Dresses - Emmy Rossum

Emmy Rossum dons a romantic Ralph Lauren gown for the Costume Institute Superheroes: Fashion & Fantasy gala. New York, May 2008.

Sexy Black Lace Dresses - Gwyneth Paltrow

Gwyneth Paltrow shows more than a little leg in her thigh-skimming Stella McCartney number. Paltrow keeps it classy by wearing a tailored tuxedo jacket at the UK Premiere of Iron Man. London, April 2008.

Sexy Black Lace Dresses - Blake Lively

Making an appearance at Tribeca Film Festival festivities, Gossip Girl's Blake Lively puts the prep school style aside in favor of Chanel’s sexy black mini dress. New York, April 2008.

Mammoth Spring State Park, Arkansas

Today we rode the best roads of this trip. The morning started out very nice, but there were storms north of us. After a quick breakfast at McDonalds we headed north where we encountered dark clouds and a chill in the air. No rain but the roads were wet.




7 North to 164 West to 123 Northeast



Dark clouds hanging over 164




Low hanging clouds on 123



A one lane bridge on 123



123 to 16 West to 65 North



Wonderful curves on 16



It seems like 16 is one of those roads that just goes on and on



65 is a major highway, but still fun to ride



Super sweepers on 65



27 Northeast to 14 East to 9 Northeast



Approaching a hair pin on 27



This section of 14 was wide with many awesome curves



Mike on 14







The roads in Arkansas are great and it’s actually hard to find a bad road out here, but today’s roads were just amazing. 123 was really great, although the pavement was a bit bumpy in some places. 16 was very similar to 123, but a bit better in my opinion. The pavement on 16 was better for the most part and the road was very long, it just kept going on and on. But my two favorite roads of the trip have to be 14 and 9.

14 had a bit of everything. There was a section that was narrow and a section that was wide with a shoulder. The wide section was still very twisty but because it’s wider you can maintain higher speeds. 9 was very twisty and slow going, most of the curves on 9 were posted at 20MPH. There are so many great roads in this area of Arkansas that we could have just rode here and spend all the days riding the local roads.


14 to 9 Northeast



9 was one of the twistiest roads of this trip



Most of the curves on 9 were posted at 20MPH



9 to 56 East to 412 North to 63 North



The visitor center at the Mammoth Spring State Park in Mammoth Spring, Arkansas



Mammoth Spring





Ducks and geese at Mammoth Spring State Park



There was no camping at the Mammoth Spring State Park but not too far from there was a private campground called Mammoth Spring Camp Ground. It was located on RT 63 just a few blocks south of the state park. When we pulled in we though the camp ground was closed since there was no one was camping. But there were two people there sweeping up some garbage. We found out they were the owners and they were cleaning up after a very, very busy holiday weekend.

The camp ground was $17 for the night and that included all the fire wood we could burn. The neatest thing was that after the owners left we were completely alone at the camp ground.



Mammoth Spring Camp Ground, that's rain in the distance



Awesome water front camp site



Our camp site viewed from the road



Two cars from a derailed train at our camp ground

The camp ground was located next to the train tracks and a few days ago a train had derailed here. Two cars were still on the ground because they couldn’t be removed. We were told by the owners that tomorrow morning a crew was coming to cut the cars in to smaller pieces so they could be removed.



This camp site also had neat little cabins for rent



Dinner is served

One storm passed not to far from us as we were setting up camp, an even bigger storm was in Oklahoma and was supposed to roll through Arkansas in the middle of the night, so we got the tarp ready for the possible downpour. There was also a flash flood watch in this area from all the rain they were getting. The owner told us that the cam site had flooded before, but the chances of that happening tonight was slim.

There were not many places to get food at this late hour in Mammoth Springs, so we had Sonic for dinner again.



Even though we had all the wood we could burn, the wood was wet from all the rain and it wouldn’t burning. The mosquitoes were really bad again tonight, so with no fire to keep the bugs away we turned in early. Even though the road was just above us and the train tracks next to the camp ground, the noise wasn’t too bad and there were not a lot of trucks and trains running through the night. It was another pleasant night in the 60’s. The rain never came.