We loaded up with my brother, his wife and my Father and went riding on the Fourche Mountain trails, between Mena and Waldron; we had a great time, but it was hot, damned hot, with temps just over 100 degrees. We brought a picnic lunch and a metric **** load of ice water for the trip; we even had one small ice chest dedicated just for cleansing some of the trail dust off our faces with ice water to help stay cool.

It was my Father's maiden run on the mountain with his brand new Kawasaki Mule and I'm afraid it gave us a little trouble with a bad check valve in the fuel tank vent line going to the charcoal canister, which allowed gas into the canister and caused it to run so rich it would not run. Thank goodness I, the family mechanic, was with him when it happened or he might would have stuck a match to it; he can be a little temperamental in his old age. Anyway, I got him back on the road by draining the fuel from the canister, then bypassing it and venting the fuel tank to the atmosphere. I got with the dealership yesterday, they are ordering a new check valve and will call us when it's in.

Here are a few picks from the ride, probably the last until this heat breaks a little for us here.

 

Looks like a great place we really enjoy riding in Arkansas. How many miles of trails at that location?

 

The big loop is 26 miles in length with loops providing for shorter or day-long trips. The trail system is very isolated and the terrain varies from easy to difficult steep, rocky areas, but the scenery and remoteness of the trail is a bonus; we almost never see any other riders when we ride it.

 

Looks like a good day in spite of the problems.