Cherohala Skyway

Today's Mileage: 243 miles
Loop Total:  1891
Quest Total: 3010
Location:  Seneca, SC

I knew there would be no issue with making it back today, so I decided to detour a little and ride the Cherohala Sky way.  This is a road that goes from Tennesee to North Carolina over the mountains.  It is very much like the Blue Ridge Parkway.  I've done this before, and it is one of my favorite rides.  It was overcast today, but the ride was still a good one.  Took some famaliar roads through the mountains to get home. Not all the stretches are twisty turns, but there are a few curves where I feel like I can see my own license plate as I'm going through the turn.  As mentioned I'm famaliar with most of what I did today, and I wanted to get a picture of one of Diana's and my favorite landmarks.  This is not a commentary on the church, but I just wanted you to see Burger King Jesus.  All for now, possibly more tomorrow.

Homeward Bound

Today's Mileage:  464
Loop Total:  1648
Quest Total:  2767
Current Location:  Harrison, Tennessee

I knew I couldn't make it all the home today, but I thought if I pushed it a little I might make it to my brother and sister in - laws house to spend the night.   And that's what I did.  I went out of my way to not have to go through Memphis to cross back over the Misisippi, and actually went through part of Misiouri to do so.  I did travel some on the Interstate today in order to make better time, but I made up for it by cutting back up to McMinnville, TN. In order to travel the state scenic hwy 30.  This is a great twistty road over the mountains that motorcyclists love to ride.  I love this time of year when things are green, but the leaves aren't out yet, so you can still see the distant landscapes thru the trees.  It was a good ride and I would definitely recommend it.  I earlier went quite close to the Jack Daniel's Distillary.  For those of you who aren't aware, it is in a dry county, so they don't give out samples, but do provide lemonade.  I knew this, so obviously I did not stop.  After all, it's a lot better to be drinking your brother's whiskey for free, than drinking free lemonade.  Should be home tomorrow.

Moving On Update

I forgot to post the following.

Today's Mileage:  403 miles
Loop Total:  1184
Quest Total:  2303
Current Location:  Truman, Arkansas

In case you hadn't noticed, I screwed up on the Quest Total yesterday.

Moving On

I spent some time riding around Natchez this morning before I took off.  It's an old city with a lot of interesting sights. 
I've seen the Mississippi plenty of times, but every time I see it again, I am always struck by what a big river it is.  I'm also amazed at the size of the barges that run up and down it.
So I left Natchez and crossed into Louisiana and headed north.  Don't be fooled by TV's Swamp People.  La. Is extremely flat and almost all of it is tilled for agricultural purposes.  I stayed as close to the river as I could, but because of the levees, you could never see it.  After about 125 miles, I left La. And entered Arkansas.  I followed the 'Great River Road but still didn't have much luck seeing the river.  I decided to get off on some back roads for awhile.  I'm riding along when I saw an airplane doing some pretty radical acrobatics close to the ground.  I got closer and realized that it was a radio controlled aircraft, (big one, 5-8 foot wingspan).  I saw a group out in the field so I headed out that way.  Turned out to be four older retired guys and this was their hobby.  Unfortunately they were done flying for the day, but it was fun talking with them and checking out their toys.  Continued on my way further north.  The one thing about the Mississippi being so big, you can't just cross it where ever you want too.  I don't want to ride thru Memphis, so I headed further north.  Will head back east tomorrow thru Tennessee.

The Natchez Trace

Today's Mileage:  401
Loop Total:  781
Quest Total:  2280
Current Location:  Natchez Ms.

I have no doubt that somewhere during my travels, I'm going to have some lousy days.  When those happen, I need to remember days like today.  I got on the Natchez Trace Parkway 20 miles out of Florence, Al.  380 miles later I arrived in Natchez.  The road is a two lane road with no commercial vehicles, no billboards or advertising, and at least for today, very little traffic.  Add a perfect weather day to that combination, and that was my day today.  The dogwoods are blooming, wildflowers are coming up, and thanks to yesterday's rain, the pollen was reasonable.  There is a lot of history to the trace, and I made a lot of short stops at numerous historical sites.  It was just a great day for cruising.

Loop Two

Todays mileage:  380 miles
Total mileage:  1499
Current location:  Florence, Alamba

With the weather being so nice, I decided to take off on another run. Left this morning in nice weather and stayed that way until late afternoon when I ran into rain for a couple of hours.  Again not something you  hope for, but you just deal with it.  Thirty miles out, I entered Georgia again.  I'm hoping this is the last time I have to travel through the peach state on this trek.  One interesting thing though, the route took me pretty close to Carter's Lake where we used to have a cabin, so I took a little detour to go check it out.  No one was there, but it did bring back a lot of memories.  Continued on into Alabama.  There were some good sections of riding, but getting through the Huntsville area was a mistake.  Way too much traffic and stoplights.  Looking forward to some good roads tomorrow.