Toad Suck

October 30, 2011

Somewhere in Arkansas

Spent the night camping in a Motel parking lot, hmmm, let me explain that a little. Earlier I had pulled into a rest area but signs directed me into a wooded area away from the Highway and it was totally isolated, no other cars were there.  I Didn’t feel comfortable with the set up so I drove a little further until finding an exit loaded with motels, gas stations and fast food places.  This is where I found a motel parking lot that could accommodate the Expedition and Trailer.

So what does “camping” mean to me on this road trip?? I’m driving a Ford Expedition

with a 5.4 L engine capable of pulling the 16 foot, double axle trailer that is carrying all my gear and two Harleys, the “Lil Baby” ’99 Dyna Low Rider and Sophia, the ’09 Road King. This Expedition, in addition to packing some horsepower, is a real comfortable living room and bedroom on wheels. When the rear two rows of seats are lowered there is about 7 feet of room to camp out in. So I have these super high quality 3” foam pads laid across the back and upon them I have my sleeping bag and pillows. This makes it a nice little camping arrangement without having to pitch a tent. When I get tired I just pull in to a parking area, crawl into the back of the Expedition and into the sleeping bag…within a few minutes I’m sawing the logs J.

Anyhow, as most of you know, one of my goals is to secure a unique H-D Tshirt from each state of this glorious country. I accomplish this by reviewing the annual H-D provided map book that depicts all the states and their highways/roads as well as the location of each H-D dealership. From the list of dealers I just select the one that seems to have the most unique name.

Well, my first run through the list of dealers in Arkansas didn’t identify any unique names so I decided not to purchase a “T” in Arkansas. Fortunately, about 45 minutes east of Little Rock, where I was camping, I rechecked my next day’s highways and noticed a very, very unique H-D dealership name…..”Toad Suck”

Wow! I gotta have that on one of my T’s for sure !!! And the dealership is in Conway, about a 40 minute drive north of Little Rock. That is a very minimal detour on my way to Austin.

It was easy to find the H-D store and as always, the sales reps are eager to serve their customers. Unfortunately I have forgotten the name of the young lady who helped mr find my ideal Toad Suck” Tee. Turns out she lived in Oceanside while her Marine hubby was stationed in Camp Pendleton. We had a few things in common to chat about…..and she gave me a 10% discount to boot!  Bummer that I forgot to take a pic of the store with its name on the outside :(.

How did “Toad Suck” come about? Historically, the Arkansas River was host to a bustling boat commerce. But when the river was not at a sufficient depth to accommodate the boats, the captains would tie their boats up at Conway and await the rising of the river. While waiting, it seems that the crew would spend their time drinking the local taverns dry….it was so bad that locals would state “they suck on the bottle so much that they swell up like toads”. Hence, Toad Suck…..they even have a park and a 3 Daze Dance named Toad Suck.  Here's a pic of the T.

Anyhow, got my Tee, ugly toad on a bike…luv it…..gotta go now, there’s a wine bottle waiting for me to suck on itJ.

C ya mañana

Gonzo

twitter: @GonzoCrossUSA

email: GonzoCrossUSA@gmail.com