Annapolis MO to Booneville, AR

I found some good roads today in Southeast MO and Northern AR, but it was a cold, windy ride.  Temps never got above mid 40's until late afternoon.  I stopped for lunch and a warm-up about noon and decided it just wasn't going to warm up, so I got my jacket lining out of the luggage and zipped it into my jacket.  I had already been using the electric vest and grip warmers, but the jacket lining added some warmth to my arms.

The best road in Arkansas was hwy 7, which runs south out of Harrison.  It is a lot like the Blue Ridge Parkway in that it runs along the mountain ridge tops.  It maybe not be quite as scenic, but there was little traffic and the speed limit was 55 mph.  I saw a lot of bikes on the road and those were about the only motorcycles I saw today.

I fell a little short in my distance today.  I could have gone further, but I searched my Zumo for lodging and there was none in the direction I wanted to go, so I'm staying here in Booneville, Arkansas.  Since tomorrow was supposed to be a really long day already (485 miles), and now I have about 35 to make up, I'm seriously thinking of jumping on Interstate 40 to make up time and get across Oklahoma.  I don't think there are any good roads in Oklahoma anyway. If I do the interstate though, it would mean riding through Oklahoma City, which I don't look forward to.  But riding the two lanes with all the small towns packed so close together makes for slow going.  I stick pretty close to the speed limit when in towns and it has saved me from a ticket several times.

With a long day ahead I should get an early start.  Trouble is, the forecast for 9 am, which is actually later than  I would like to start, shows a temp of 40 degrees with a wind chill factor making it feel like 35.  That's going to be marginal, even with my warmest gear.  Oh well, I didn't sign up for the easy way.