Spring Arrives
03/22/2011
The Bugsplat Chronicles – the Saga Continues
Spring Arrives
Saturday was the last day of winter but it was unseasonably warm and a great day for a ride. Since my partner Bugsplat was doing the wage slave thingee that has become customary for him on Saturday, I decided to join my SCRC group for their first ever ride to Yoder’s (http://home.earthlink.net/~white_and_gold/Yoders.htm ) in Montezuma, GA. My SCRC group is mostly an eating group that has trouble getting past the first Dairy Queen or BBQ joint they come to so a ride of several hundred miles is unusual for them. Montezuma, GA also seems an unlikely locale for a Mennonite community but there is a thriving one centered there. Bugsplat and I have been going for years since initially discovering it on a MTF ride to eat and always enjoy the back roads and the good food. In season we also make it a point to stop in Musella, GA for the fresh homemade soft served peach ice cream but it is still early in the season for that.
I do not enjoy group riding so I decided to take the back roads and meet the Group there. My first stop was in Warm Springs to take this seasonal photo of an Easter bunny:
I continued south and east making only a gas stop in Ideal, GA and arrived at Yoder’s about 10:30. Yoder’s does not open until 11:30 and the plan was to arrive about 30 minutes early for lying and tire kicking. I was the only customer there so I went around to the side and talked with Ruth who manages the bakery (had to also buy some sourdough bread). Ruth confirmed that the restaurant was family owned by 2 brothers, Michael and someone I did not meet. I asked to meet with one of them and she said she would arrange it when one of them arrived. Shortly Michael came out and introduced himself. I complimented him on his place and told him I was with the motorcycle group coming in today. He thanked us for coming. Turns out this was a multi-chapter ride in with over 400 bikes. I presented the maps concept and gave him some maps to hand out. He liked the concept but said they had never done any advertising and had a policy against it but he would speak with his brother and if it made sense, they would join us. I agreed that they were well known but would love to see them get more motorcyclists. I could see him beaming as he worked the dining room during our meal so it is possible that the ride-in will effect his decision. After lunch Stan, our first officer was talking about the nice back roads they had ridden (I will mark these on a map for inclusion in our next printing) and others were talking about the great food and comely young waitresses while their brides shopped in the bakery and in the gift shop. We had chapters from Valdosta, Macon, South Atlanta, Atlanta, West Georgia, and Athens among others and bikes were still arriving when I left. The group was going by the Cherry Blossom Festival in Macon on their way home and I wanted to stop by Georgia Bob’s BBQ in Byron.
There was a pretty bad accident on I-75 north that required stop and go driving for about 14 miles and it was hot. The air temp was around 85 but it was much hotter on the pavement over a hot engine. I arrived at GA Bob’s but Brent, the owner’s son who manages this location (there are 3 in Byron) was out on family business so I just left some maps and the new pricing. I have not yet met the lady who handles their advertising but have corresponded with her by mail.
On Dennis’ suggestion, I went next door to visit Full Clip but they had closed for the afternoon and I was unable to meet with the owner who has previously expressed an interest.
I continued to make my northward passing yet another wreck and walking the bike for a while. Eventually my fake leg began to hurt and I had to make several stops just to massage the leg. When I got home I took it off and took a Dremel tool to what appeared to be the offending spots and that seemed to work well on Sunday’s ride.
Sunday Bugsplat and I headed north for some BBQ and Ribs at Carolina Smokehouse in Cashiers, NC (281 Hwy 64 W, Cashiers 28717). This is a family owned restaurant (Rob and Tammy) which has absolutely the best BBQ and Ribs you have ever wrapped your mouth around. This was another MTF find and one we return to frequently – 5-600 miles is really not far for lunch when it is this good. In addition to the food, we were documenting this for our Smoke Chasing Tour (15 BBQ joints in 15 states):
Today might be the first day of Spring but no one told the mountains. We had to stop north of Gainesville and add layers. It was a sultry 44 degrees when we arrived in Cashiers at noon.
Our only stop on the way other than gas was to visit River Vista in Dillard, GA. I wanted to pass along a few more maps and meet Vonda who, it turned out does not work on the weekend. The young lady who was working the registration was appreciative of the maps and told me all about the motorcycle group coming next month who have rented the entire campground. It turns out they only have 75 members coming but they need extra spaces for the trailers used to haul their Harleys. This still does not fill every spot but since Harleys are so efficient in turning high test fuel into noise and little else, the park is electing not to rent the other spots.
GA 246/NC 106 on into Highlands is one of my favorite roads and we enjoyed it in spite of the cold temperatures. By now I was using my heated seat but had not plugged in any other electrics.
After another fully satisfying meal I got some sauce to take home (it is among the Bride’s favorites) and Bugsplat got a couple of pounds of ribs to take home for dinner. On a day like today there was little concern of spoilage. Bob gave Rob a few NC maps. I had spoken with Tammy about advertising with us last year. This might be a good follow-up for Jane.
Rain God that he is, Bugsplat summoned a light cold drizzle to welcome us back to GA as we followed NC 28 down to Warwoman Rd and across to Clayton. Fortunately it didn’t last too long and it warmed quickly as we lost elevation. None-the-less, a ride without rain hardly qualifies as a Bugsplat ride. He says the rain helps cool his tires.
We were delayed briefly in Clayton while Bugsplat helped a man who had previously had a stroke maneuver a trailer he had gotten into a bad spot. From there we headed west on US 76 (a great road designated a ‘Southern High Road” as is US 64 just north in NC). The plan was to stop at the Towns County Chamber of Commerce (closed on Sunday at this time of year) and Brasstown Valley Resort and Spa. (Both of these are located on the south side of US 76). The resort and spa proved difficult to locate. This is clearly no Motel 6. There is only a small discreet sign as one comes down the mountain on the east side of Young Harris. You enter the property on Brasstown Way (neither the road nor the street address show on a GPS) and wind for a couple of miles thru equestrian trails, tennis courts, a golf course, and some mansions before arriving at the Lodge. Susan was not there but I left her a good supply of maps. While Bugsplat was wandering around exploring the Lodge, I spoke with the doorman. He said the base price was $160 per night but if you got a “Groupon” it was good for 2 amenities such as horseback riding, the spa, and a breakfast for the same rate. This is still over $700 for 2 nites and the Bride would much rather go to Key West.
From Young Harris it was just a straight shot thru Blue Ridge, Ellijay, Cartersville and home. All in all, it was a good weekend.
21114 Banlynn Court
Topanga, CA 90290
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1St Cherahola Of The Year
02/22/2011
The Bugsplat Chronicles – the Saga Continues
1st Cherahola of the Year
Sunday was a banner day because it was the first time we had gotten to ride together since last Fall. Before I describe that, let me tell you about a wedding the Bride and I attended Saturday.
Our friend Dennis was getting married and we wanted to go over and make sure he went thru with it. It was really a memorable wedding: the bride and groom obviously cared deeply for the each other; the minister was very cool – she did a beautiful job and included some things I had never heard in a ceremony but which truly belonged – all while wearing clown shoes at the request of the bride. At the conclusion of the ceremony, the bride and groom roasted marshmallows on the candles and used the lighted marshmallows to light the Unity Candle. Following that, the bride thru a motorcycle jacket over her beautiful gown and they marched down the aisle. At the reception, she got on the bike with her helmet and gown and Dennis rode her around for a photo op. It was really cool.
The Cherahola Skyway is one of my favorite rides for many reasons. It is about a 400 mile round trip which makes for a nice day ride. It is a scenic and generally a well maintained lightly traveled road with few cross roads for its entire 41 mile length. Beginning at Tellico Plains, TN at around 800’ elevation, it crosses the Snowbird Mountains reaching a maximum elevation of around 5400’ as it rises and falls toward Robbinsville, NC. The Skyway officially ends at the Joyce Kilmer Forest turn off about 12 miles outside of Robbinsville but Santleeha Dr on into Robbinsville is commonly considered part of the Skyway (my GPS even thought so). The difference is that it is not as well engineering and has many more hairpin curves. Where there is only one decreasing radius turn on the Skyway itself (the NC 10 mile mark), Santleeha has an unknown number. One good thing about Santleeha in addition to the challenge and the scenery is that it was resurfaced last year and the pavement is in excellent condition.
First we had to get to the Skyway and other than being cool, the ride began uneventfully. Going up HWY 53 toward Talking Rock the wind blew a branch about 1” in diameter out of a tree and it managed to smack Bugsplat right in the face blooding his nose and chin. As soon as he could safely stop, we did and inspected the damage to see if his nose needed packed or anything. A little clean up was all that was required and we were underway again. How it managed to fall between his windshield and his face was just a matter of luck.
We headed on north toward Tellico Plains. I love TN 68 from Copperhill to Tellico for its delightful twisties and relative lack of traffic. I have actually almost collided with a bear on this road. Usually I have a hard time keeping Bugsplat in sight. He has this theory that traffic lights timed for 35 are also timed for 70 and that roads marked as 35 are actually engineered for 70. I respect his skill but do not necessarily share his theory. Anyway, today was no problem keeping up. The wind was still quiet strong and I think he was distracted looking for falling branches.
We found Tellico Plains to still be on their winter schedule meaning many places have not yet opened for the season. This was disappointing because we were both looking forward to eating at the bakery. We did fuel our bodies and our bikes at the Exxon at the beginning of the Skyway (they have a decent diner inside), Bugsplat bought a sweat shirt for additional warmth and we started across the mountain.
We first hit snow along the road at about 3,000’ elevation. It was quiet significant above about 4500’. We did our usual stop at Hoopers Bald (5290’) where we found over 2 FEET of snow on the ground and also some snow and ice on the pavement. The warmth that we had found when the sun came out in Tellico Plains, the acknowledged epicenter of global warming, was replaced with a cloudy, snowy looking 42*. After a brief stop we continued down toward Robbinsville. This winter has been very difficult for the Cherahola. There are significant frost heaves above 5,000’ and also some pavement damage. The temperature rose fairly quickly as we descended and we arrived in Robbinsville to 55*. We twisted the wick and headed for our normal fuel stop in Murphy where we checked in with the brides to give an estimated arrival time.
We made another stop in Ellijay and got fresh fried apple pies just off the stove then headed for home arriving shortly before 8 PM. We had just shy of 400 miles per the GPS and other than Bugsplat’s cuts and bruises, no real damage. We got home shiny side up and that made it a good ride.
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Bugsplat Chronicles
09/28/2010
The Bugsplat Chronicles – the saga continues
15 Days on the Road and I’m going to make it home tonite.
As motorcyclists we are all familiar with the phenomenon of total strangers coming up to us at gas stations, convenience stores, or restaurants just to ask about the ride. Unlike a car we are all exposed, open, and hence approachable. With my bike clearly packed for traveling I got a lot of that on this trip and always welcomed the opportunity to meet new people. The standard questions are “where are you from?”, “where are you going?”, “what’s the most amazing (or beautiful) thing you’ve seen so far?” That last one is tough. How do you compare the grandeur of the Rockies with the majesty of the Tetons? How can you compare the Trinity Alps with the Cascades? Which is more beautiful and inspiring – the redwood forest or Yellowstone? Where do the deserts of UT, the Great Plains, or the prairies fit? What about the beauty and kindness of the people?
Above is the Emigrant Memorial atop Donner Pass in CA which I saw near the middle of my trip and the Superman Statue in Metropolis, IL from the last day of the trip. It is not a stretch to have these two pictures together. As one crosses this country in the saddle of a motorcycle one cannot help reflecting on the hardships faced by the early pioneers as they crossed on foot, on horseback, and by covered wagon. While these were not supermen, they were incredibly courageous. I could not help but wonder what forces compelled them to face such rigors.
Near the end of the trip I went to sleep thinking of the incredible country I had seen, the wealth of natural resources, and the beauty and character of the people I had met. With all of this going for us, just how did we get so screwed up? The next morning I woke to some politician spouting off about how his party could save the country and I thought ‘there’s the problem.” But he is not the problem, we are. We will continue electing him or people just like him until we take the corrosive influence of money out of American elections. We get the representation we deserve and right now it’s the best money can buy and that is just not good enough. I’m off my soap box, now let me tell you about my trip.
The trip actually had its inception a few weeks before it began. The Bride was flying out to visit with her sister in the Reno/Lake Tahoe area and suggested that maybe I would like to ride out. After about 2 minutes I decided that was a good idea because it would allow me to complete my tour of the lower 48 states. The week immediately prior to the trip I had to be in NC to co-host the MTF Smoky Mountain Ride In but once that was complete I was free. I came home Saturday afternoon from NC, loaded the bike and headed out again the next morning.
Day 1 was simply about mileage. I planned on being in Denver in two days so that meant achieving Columbia, MO on the first day. Bugsplat has two perfectly good bikes that have proven capable of touring in the past but he was unable to make this trip with me due to the wage slave thing. I do appreciate him riding to Nashville with me the first day to get my trip off to a good start. When he turned for home, I continued north to St. Louis where I crossed the river and went on to Columbia. It was an uneventful day of about 700 miles.
Day 2 was another mileage day as I wanted to arrive in Denver by nightfall. Besides, Bugsplat and I have ridden in this area, though not this exact route before. Today was very windy with wind speeds averaging 30 mph and gusting to 50 mph. It was also very hot, reaching about 100° in Salina, KA in the center of the state. There are small hills in eastern KA and something called the Flint Hills which looked interesting and have a lot of history. The elevation gradually climbs to about 4,000’ near the CO border. Most of this day was just spent battling the winds and the heat. Eastern CO is not dramatically different from KA but as I continued westward it was becoming clear that all was not well ahead of me. I should have been able to see the Front Range but all there I could see were dark clouds that almost obscured the sun. As I got into Denver it became clear that the Front Range was on fire. Thousands of acres were being consumed and hundreds of homes had been destroyed. This fire continued to burn for several days.
On Day 3 the trip changed character – there were no more artificial waypoints, it was just travel and look and stop when the day was done. It was quiet cool – 40’s in Denver but in the low 30’s in the mountains where I was going so I lingered over breakfast with the kids. It had been wonderful visiting with them but I still had a continent to see so eventually I set out west again. I saw snow on the ground for the first time when I crossed Loveland Pass, then remembering my goal of riding I-70 all the way across CO I went back down the mountain and rode thru the Eisenhower Tunnel. It was 34° when I fueled up in Idaho Springs but warmed quickly as the day went on. I-70 thru CO is an engineering marvel from the Eisenhower Tunnel, to Glenwood Canyon where the highway is double decked and on thru the numerous passes one traverses. I liked Vail Pass which I had never seen before and enjoyed the ride along the Colorado River immensely. It was close to 100° when I passed thru Grand Junction and on into UT. Gasoline stations along this section of the journey were very sparse and I sweated making almost every stop. One thing for sure was I did not pass an open station.
There was a little rain in UT but not bad and I left I-70 in Salina, UT to pick up US 50. One of my goals for this trip was to ride 50 across NV. This is known as “America’s Loneliest Highway”. If all went to plan I would return to the interstate when I neared Janesville, WI. All was going fairly well until I hit a massive dust storm in western UT. I arrived in Delta, UT spitting mud with a couple of hours of daylight left. A quick look at the map told me I might make Ely, NV which would make arriving at Larry and Diane’s the next day fairly easy.
After I passed the last stop light I did not see another living thing for at least 70 miles. Darkness was falling quickly when I crossed the NV border and continued toward Ely. There was a brothel, a bar, and a gas stop here and nothing else until one got into Ely. I saw elk and deer as nightfall approached and saw about 2 cars in this 80 something mile stretch before I arrived in Ely around 9 PM. I also passed one fairly large wildfire. Ely is on a Shoshone Reservation and does not really have a safe feel but I was too tired at this point to try for the next town. It was dinner from a convenience store and crash and burn until sunlight.
This should give the reader a good feel for US 50. Outside of towns I saw maybe 8 cars in the entire stretch. There were 4 or 5 mountain passes that were interesting and hundreds of miles of absolutely nothing. There was at least one gas station in every town (4) and the people were interesting and friendly. Ely on the east and Fallon on the west were the only towns with 1,000 or more population but Eureka and Austin were the more interesting and scenic – kind of old western mountain towns. I recognized Dayton, site of NV’s first gold strike, and the turn-off to Virginia City as I approached Reno and so made a couple of historical stops and thoroughly enjoyed NV 341 as it wound its way over the mountain thru VA City to south Reno. Here I hooked up with Mt. Rose Hwy and hooked up with family again in the Galena Forest area between Reno and Tahoe.
The original plan had been to stay with Diane and Larry for 2 days then go on my way but as we discussed options, staying thru Saturday to see the balloon race sounded like a fun thing to do so that became the plan. Day 5 was mostly rest and bike cleaning and a trip up to Lake Tahoe. I had not been here for about 45 years and it was different yet very much the same.
After lunch with the girls we went on to visit some parks around the lake and do some shopping. While the girls went down to watch the fish breed I sat with the young park ranger and listened as she explained the differences in the pine trees (the Jefffrey pine which is a 3 leaved relative of the Ponderosa and gives off a vanilla or pineapple odor had prompted the question) and told me how the lake had been formed from the interaction of tectonic plates and an ancient volcano whose lava flow sealed the outlet of what would become the lake.
Diane and Larry have a friend named Chuck who owns one of the big BMW touring bikes and does about 30,000 miles per year. He had laid out 3 separate routes for me to explore in the eastern Sierra Nevada and day 6 was a continuation of this. I had been unable to find the Donner Memorial the day before and wanted to do that plus I wanted to visit Virginia City again and then run some of the passes he had laid out. But first a trip to the pharmacy was in order. In spite of my best efforts, the combination of wind, sun, and dust storms had shredded my skin and my face would bleed at the mildest provocation. A nice pharmacist in Reno fixed me up with some lotion, sun screen, and zinc oxide and it was time to ride.
NV 341 over the mountain to Virginia City was wonderful but the visitor center was unable to locate their National Parks Stamp. From there it was south to Carson City and eventually to Topaz Lake on the CA border. I had planned to ride 89 across to Monitor Pass to Tahoe and beyond but a well meaning stranger suggested I might enjoy Mammoth, CA so I went down there first and then came back to Monitor. This is a really nice, mostly deserted road populated only by sport bikes and a couple of BMW’s from NC. Not too long after crossing the top of the pass I met a flagman who had traffic (me) stopped for road construction ahead so I had to wait about 30 minutes for the pilot car to return. While we waited and chatted he spotted a California Brown Bear (actually same as a black bear, just a different color) on the adjacent hillside and tried to lure it down with his sandwich. I was of the opinion he was a sandwich short of a full lunch box and evidently so did the bear because it disappeared while I was trying to get my camera out of the saddlebags. I need a better way to carry my camera and have it close at hand.
Eventually the pilot car returned and I went on down the mountain and followed 89 across Luther Pass to Tahoe. Again there was road construction and a guy got out of his car behind me to come up and talk bikes. This time I followed 89 around thru Squaw Valley and on to Donner Pass where Jill and I were able to locate the Donner Memorial. From there I shot down Mt Rose Highway which is the tallest pass in the Sierra that is maintained all winter and made my way back for the evening.
The next day was amazing and I’m glad I stayed to see it. The Reno Balloon Races are the largest free balloon races in the country. You are just sitting in this field before daylight and people start blowing up balloons all around you. This is not a race in the traditional sense but a contest where they try to drop a weight as close as possible to designated locations. After the races one could go to the camel and ostrich races in Virginia City (the ostriches pull chariots), but I had a bike to pack for tomorrow’s departure.
Sunday was day 8 of my journey and the start of the 2nd half. Chuck had told me that the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada were much gentler than the eastern slopes and I found this to be true as I crossed thru Susanville, CA and the surrounding cattle country. Somewhere west of Susanville I began to see a snow covered peak that I would come to know was the Lassen Volcanic National Park and decided I would go there. When I arrived at the intersection to turn, the sign in the other direction said Mt. Shasta. Mt Shasta is where the Moto Mags test their bikes and is often featured on Two Wheel Tuesday and was the more interesting of the two destinations so I headed north instead of south. There was snow on Mt Shasta and although there was none on the road, the road was wet in places from melting snow and the road was heavily patrolled as well as heavily populated with sports bikes. I rode up to the top and back and thought it was pretty and a decent road but didn’t care for the wet pavement or enforcement so I made my way on into Redding for lunch with an acquaintance.
From Redding I continued west thru the Trinity Alps. These are beautiful mountains much like our southern Appalachians except a little more arid and a lot steeper. There were also numerous rock slides with associated road closures thru here. Eventually I made the Pacific Coast Highway at Eureka, CA and began to make my way northward toward OR.
I really enjoyed this part of the trip as I made my way north thru the redwood forests, beside the seashore, and past various Indian Reservations. When I arrived at US 199 I turned east because I wanted to get far enough inland to avoid the coastal fog in the morning. This was one of the most visually stunning roads I have ever been on and it was totally unexpected. The Smith River National Recreation area is a real treasure. As nightfall approached I found an isolated motel on Eight Dollar Mountain in southwest OR and made this my home for the night.
Day 9 was to be my last comfortably warm day for several days but I did not know this. My plan was to set out diagonally across the state and cross the Cascades at McKenzie Pass on the recommendation of a friend. I had originally thought to cross at Crater Lake but I have been there before and had not been to McKenzie. McKenzie Pass is located between Springfield and Sisters, OR off OR 126 and on OR 242. Once I turned up the McKenzie River Valley, it was beautiful, lush foliage, moss on the trees, clear water, no traffic. One place I stopped just to look was called Heaven’s Gate. It was right on the banks of the McKenzie and one could see the snow covered peaks of the Three Sisters thru the tops of the trees. I found OR 242 a scenic and very narrow road, hardly wide enough for a car and a motorcycle but I was the only vehicle on the road. Because of the narrowness of the road, there was basalt gravel in many of the curves and this was a problem. I found the summit to be flat and prairie like and was told by the young ranger that the settlers called this “Prairie Summit”. The original road had been built to supply the gold fields in Idaho.
These are the lava fields atop McKenzie Pass and two of the Three Sisters.
From the lava fields it was just go down the mountain to Sisters. The eastern side of the Cascades is very arid and the forests were filled with smoke from a wildfire. When I arrived in Sisters without becoming a crispy critter, I thought it had been a good day. Now it was just a matter of running north looking for Washington State. This was mostly cattle and grain country and very arid where not irrigated. The roads were good-mostly 2 and 3 lane-and there was a small town every hour or so which might or might not have a gas station. Eventually I came to the Columbia River and WA. I had forgotten how powerful that river is. It is an awesome force. I continued north until about dark thru the Yakima Reservation and arrived in the city just as the last light faded away.
Day 10 began with an intermediate objective of Coeur d’Alene, ID because I had heard how pretty it was. Besides, there were back roads from near Yakima that would enable me to avoid Spokane. Perhaps the most important thing I can tell a fellow traveler about WA is that there is apparently a clause in their state constitution that requires two cars traveling the same speed on a multi-lane road (3 or 4 lane) to travel side by side. It was very frustrating. Coeur d’Alene was everything I had heard and more. A beautiful little city nestled on a beautiful blue lake and surrounded by the Rockies. Alas, things were soon to change. I hit active snow a couple of passes to the east and began to fear being stuck until I could be rescued in the Spring. I got on I-90 as my best hope for not getting stuck and continued east toward Montana. After I crossed the final pass into MT, the road was downhill for at least 50 miles and the sky was several dozen different shades of blue. Eventually the blue went away (this is a huge state) and I had a cold rain as far as Missoula. The rain stopped there and I went on to Butte blow drying as I went. Now the plan had been to turn north to Kalispell and Going to the Sun Highway a few hundred miles back but the weather band was reporting possible snow accumulations there so I saved that destination for a future trip.
Day 11 was all about Yellowstone and the Beartooth Highway. This was not a huge mileage day. Unfortunately I was bundled up in almost everything I owned which made it difficult to get on and off the bike so I didn’t get any pictures. I really have to figure out a better way to handle that. Yellowstone was just straight south then I was in the west entrance. First stop was, of course, the visitor center at Old Faithful. After that, one of the rangers suggested I might find the less populated NW corner of the park more interesting and following this loop would take me around to Cooke City, MT and the start of the Beartooth. I saw several eagles and hundreds of buffalo and several of the lesser geysers. I had forgotten the sulfur stench they entail. One of the most amazing sights came as I was tooling along thru the Lamar Valley, rounded a turn, and there was a buffalo ambling down the road in front of me. Etiquette for dealing with buffalo is not included in our driver’s manual but staying back seemed the better course of action. A buffalo in no hurry goes 2 or miles per hour and takes up a large portion of the road. Eventually it got off the road and I went by and looked at some canyons and then on into Cooke City.
Beartooth highway crosses about 11,000’ and is a really scary road. It was made more so by a sign that said “Roads are icy, motorcycles use extreme caution.” They were not kidding. It was best to avoid the shade and keep a steady hand on the throttle. There was also a 40+ mph wind at the top and temps in the low 30’s. This road is intended for summer use only. I got down to Red Cloud which is an interesting town and rolled on into Billings where I called it a night.
Day 12 dawned to a light rain and temperatures in the 30’s. The weather channel reported snow in North Dakota and accumulating snow north of the city. My plan had been to go slightly north into ND then drop down to Sturgis but weather has a way of changing plans. I headed straight south seeking to avoid the snow and find warmer weather. I didn’t see any new snow this day but all I did was change latitude for altitude and it did not get any warmer.
In some city in WY I had my only known close call when a wrong way driver came up my side of a divided highway. Fortunately it was not crowded and I could miss him but it does get the adrenalin flowing. I stopped in Spearfish, SD for lunch, Sturgis for souvenirs, rode the Black Hills and the Badlands and saw way too much prairie but the rain was mostly stopped by the time I stopped for the night. I had planned on Mt. Rushmore and the Devils Tower today but it was just too cold.
Day 13 I passed thru the Bride’s hometown of Watertown, SD and nicked ND before turning south. There was light snow in ND and light rain in SD and MN. I found some interesting little hills somewhere in western MN and eventually stopped for the nite in Austin, MN which is best known as the home of the National Spam Museum and the Hormel House.
Day 14 began with hail and continued as rain throughout most of the day but the temperatures gradually rose as I continued south thru MN, WI and the Wisconsin Dells and on into central IL. I was able to actually shuck all the winter gear at the next to the last stop for the day.
The final day dawned dry and warm and was just a straight run for home from southern IL. I left about 40 minutes before official sunrise when it was just light enough to see the road, fog hung over the fields, and bats were hunting bugs over the highway. This is a good time to ride with few people about. I stopped at the Superman Statue in Metropolis and for grits in Paducah and had no other stops except for gas in this final stretch.
It really was a remarkable trip but the weather over the final stretch was trying. Both the weather channel and the weather band reported temperatures over the Upper Plains and the northern Rockies as 25-30° below normal. Still, this was a little late in the season to try this route.
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Baked Hummingbird And Dead Cow
07/27/2010
Saturday was not an unusual day. Bugsplat had to wage slave. He is on salary so every Saturday is free for his boss. We can almost count on Saturday being a work day. I wanted to go to Hot Springs, NC to meet friends but it looked rainy in NC so I used Bugsplat as an excuse and did other things instead.
I stopped by to check on the progress at MotoMountain (see www.motomountainpark.com )and then went up to Ellijay to restock my supply of peaches from R&A Orchards. I got the last picking of the Red Haven variety and noticed that they have hand made peach ice cream on Saturday and that the apples were beginning to come in. From there I went down to check on Tom at Tom’s Place in Cartersville then went up to meet Bobby and Vicky at Pop’s Place in Summerville. They are cool folks who do a nice spread for bikers and also for folks who do not share our disease. I popped up the mountain to see Ben at Wildflower Café in Mentone, AL just because GA 48 is a terrific road, Mentone is a neat place, and Ben is a cool guy. Then it was back to home.
I contacted the splattered one and after working 7068 hours or whatever in one week he was only up for something short so Hot Springs was out again – that’s OK because it was still raining up there.
Sunday we got up and headed out with no destination in mind. We followed GA 100 to GA 20 west of Rome. This turns into AL 9 when it crosses the state line. Now AL 9 is a road. It begins just west of Rome GA and proceeds south to the state line at Florala, AL. Except for the portion thru Montgomery, it is a charm. The section between Centre and Heflin is especially nice and is known as the Dugger Mountain Scenic Highway. We followed this to AL 35 east of Cedar Bluff and turned north on AL 35. This is another delightful road that scales Lookout Mountain and is relatively untraveled. Atop Lookout Mountain we turned west on AL 176 which follows Little River Canyon for a considerable length. The Little River is one of the longest rivers located entirely on a mountain top and AL 176 is sufficiently challenging. If that happens not to be enough, one can turn south on AL 148 and experience the most scary road I have ever traveled. The warning sign says don’t use this road if you have any sense and they mean it. I have ridden from the top of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison to the bottom in CO over 1000’ drop offs with no guard rail and not been nearly as frightened as on this road. It would be cool on a dual sport but it’s really not suitable for anything but that and a jeep.
AL 176 dead ended at some county road which was part of the Lookout Mountain Parkway (so is AL 176) and we took that road north. The Lookout Mountain Parkway is a series of state and county roads the follow Lookout Mountain north from Gadsden, AL thru AL, GA, and TN before dead ending at US 64 in Chattanooga. It is designated a scenic byway and is certainly that. We followed it north thru Desoto Falls State Park to the falls themselves then on into Mentone, AL passing AL’s only skiing area on the way. One does not go to Mentone without visiting the Wildflower Café.
Mentone is in a time warp. It is an artsy craftsy town populated by people who survived the sixties or who wish to recreate them. I love it. The roads to there are all twisty and when you get there you are someplace different. We stopped at the Wildflower Café because that is what one does in Mentone. There was a folk singer doing her ballads and the usual beautiful waitresses. After a long wait we were seated and ordered an appetizer. Now normal appetizers do not work when one is riding. We ordered from the desert menu – a hummingbird cake for me and a peanut butter pie for Bob. The main course was a sirloin burger on fresh bread with kettle chips. There was no way to eateverything. Bugsplat and I were like two termites choking on a splinter, we had more than we could handle.
Ben was not there on Sunday and Mrs. Moon apologized for any feathers I might have found in the hummingbird cake. Kind of like scaling minnows I guess, anyway it was a nice ride.
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