Sweetwater,TN

Monday, August 11, 2008

Hello Everyone:

Today was a fun day for us. We packed up our bike and left the Comfort Inn in Sweetwater, Tn ( a somewhat less than spectacular hotel) but adequate. We rode a short way down the road to Click..... The Lost Sea Cave. Chriss had a difficult time parking our bike as the parking lot had a very steep grade. It took all of his strength to keep from tipping over when we came to a stop. The main attraction was a cave with stalagmites and stalactites. They were little ones but interesting. The main interest here was the underground lake that was down deep in the cave. The lake is supposed to be the largest underground lake in North America. The lake is 40 feet deep and 500 feet long with live rainbow trout in it. The trout must be feed because there is no living food in the lake except the fish. We walked through the cave and saw formations of rock and stuff. We then took a boat ride on the lake. The boat ride was very interesting. We took pictures but in a dark cave they didn’t come out very well. The one interesting thing our guide did was to turn all the lights out and give us the opportunity to experience complete darkness. They told us that in two weeks we would be completely blind as our retinas would die of overwork trying to find light, just a bit of trivia. Obviously we were glad the lights were out only a few minutes. Chriss gave me a kiss in the darkness…. at least I hope it was him.




When we came up and got out of the cave we were hungry. They had a little restaurant across the parking lot so we had fresh homemade BBQ sandwiches. This was appropriate since it seems down south they have BBQ as often as we serve pizza up north. We then took off planning to do the bulk of today’s ride, or so we thought.

One of the Harley guys that we met yesterday told us about Fall Creek Falls then today at one of our stops a man mentioned it to us again. So we thought this must be something special and set about to find it. There is a town named Fall Creek Falls so there were road signs all over directing us to it. We found the town easy enough but we wanted the water falls itself. After a few false starts and turn a rounds we found the falls after a long ride in a state park. It was sure worth the trip, they were beautiful. Our pictures really don’t do them justice. After taking a lot of pictures it was getting late and we needed to put some miles under our belts before finding another motel. We decided to head for McMinnville, TN. We weren’t prepared for the roads as we went over 3 mountains each with tight twisty curvy roads that required Chriss’s best skill. Chriss told me he is so happy with me riding behind him on the bike. He said that he doesn’t even know I am back there as I am one with the bike. What does that mean??



What a trip. As navigator I selected the road from the map and Chriss really got a work out. It was one turn and switch back after another with very tight turns. Although I told him I was sorry he didn’t complain. I think he like the road as he kept the speed up. The turns seemed to go on and on forever. We finally arrive at a Best Western in McMinnville TN and are we glad to be here. We opted for the deluxe room. We have a Jacuzzi in our room and it sure felt good to relax in it. If you want to Google Earth the roads that we took it was Rte 30 from Athens, TN to Mc Manville, TN and it sure was curvy. We covered the bike tonight because it might rain. 80% chance so we will see Supposed to be just cloudy tomorrow but we could see a front coming in as the sun set.

Will continue the saga tomorrow. Boy are we having fun. Carol and Chriss

Cherohala Skyway

New Motorcycle Friends We Met At The Cherohala Skyway Lookout

Hello again this is Carol:

A day like today makes me realize just how much I love fresh air, sunshine and nature. It was a beautiful sunny warm, not hot, clear day. I have been noticing many black butterflies in the fields where ever we go. They must be migrating by here and stopping at every wild flower possible. Not too many birds or other critters today.

We were on the Cherohala Skyway almost all day, it is Route 143 on the map. The Cherohala is a nice curvy newly paved road great for motorcycles. The main difference between our NJ landscape and NC is that when you view a mountain range in NJ you see a mountain. When you view the same thing in NC you see 6 or 7 mountains gradually getting hazier in the distance. This makes the near mountains appear to stand out separately. Not easy to get on film but very interesting to see.




The air is so different on the mountain. It is clear, fresh and feels like it contains more O2. It smells good and fresh. As you descend down the hill it begins to dark and the air smells moist and earthy, more like dirt and rotting trees. It is cold on the mountain, I mean really cold. As you descend it gradually warms to HOT while in the towns and valleys. Chriss bought me a shirt that says "The Mountains are calling and I must go". It is very appropriate.



We also met some very nice people today, both at the Fontana Dam and on the Skyway at a lookout spot. The people at the Fontana Dam were from NC and very happy to tell us some local folklore about the places we might visit. The lookout people were locals, motorcycle riders from TN out for a Sunday ride. They told us about Sweetwater,TN, where we are tonight. The main attraction in town is a cave with a large underground lake. They take people out on the underground lake in glass bottom boats to see fish and sights under the water. We will do that tomorrow.

We must make some time up going west as we have an arrival date for Lawton, Ok. We have finally gotten out of NC and are in TN and staying at an Econolodge. So far we have done over 1000 miles but have not made much distance after leaving Luray. We find too many interesting back roads to ride leading us nowhere. Because I sit behind Chriss and have limited view. My world has few colors. I see clearly the blue and white sky when I look up, green trees to the side and a black road with yellow stripe when I look down. When I look straight ahead I see Chriss’s black helmet. Overall everything is so pretty. We are really enjoying our trip. The wind just took my Tennessee map, do I tell Chriss?



Our main stop today was at Fontana Dam, the largest dam in the east. I have not seen a dam of that nature before and it sure was big. It is on a beautiful lake with a very meandering shore line. The water makes me really miss my kayak. The people at the dam’s tourist desk were retired volunteers and interesting to talk to. The man was an engineer who worked there before he retired, then they full time RV for 5 years now they are volunteers. We meet another motorcycle couple from Canada. We are really enjoying ourselves, were having fun. We are now headed for Sweetwater, TN. Oh, Oh, where is my Tennessee map????

Love to all, Carol and Chriss

Fontana Village, NC.

Hello from the Fontana Village in NC. The resort is located In the Great Smokey Mountains. How we got here is quite a story. We left Maggie Village today about 12:30 after an adequate free breakfast at the hotel, our destination the Smokey Mountains. The weather was very nice, not hot, as we traveled to the Blue Ridge Parkway. As we traveled to a higher elevation the temperature dropped significantly. Knowing the weather had been in the +100*F we were riding with our summer mesh gear which allowed masses of air flow through our clothes. We soon became cold. We stopped to put more (all) the clothes on we could, dressing by the side of the road.... no class. The Blue Ridge ended in a Cherokee Indian Reservation. There were all kinds of shops, junk yards and stuff. We only stopped for gas as we had a hard arrival time scheduled for Lawton OK and needed to keep going.

We followed our plan to head for the Cherohala Skyway.
We missed the turn but found ourselves on a very nice country road. We decide that it may be best to find a motel before getting on the Skyway. We continue on towards the town of Robbinsville but didn't see any motels that were suitable. Carol wanted a restaurant and high speed Internet connection. Chriss drove on and soon saw a lake appear on the GPS screen. We continued along the shore of Lake Santeetlah. Thinking we would surly fine a nice motel near a resort lake or at least something better than we saw in Robbinsville. WRONG, We found nothing.

Soon we realized we were heading for the Dragons Tail. It has 318 curves in 11 miles. Check out this link!!! I said to Chriss....please don't take me over the "tail" in the dark. He nodded OK in return. We agreed to stop for the night at the first suitable place. As we approached the "Dragons Tail" we saw a country restaurant/ Inn that looked descent so we pulled in and after 5 hours on the bike. We crawled off and Chriss went in. I should have known something was wrong when I didn't see any cars in the parking lot. The place was closed with the owners on vacation. A couple that was working there operating only the hamburger grill said that about ½ hour up the road was a nice resort called Fontana Village. They thought maybe they would have a room. Chriss and I looked at each other and said OK so they called for us and said they had a room left. We didn't ask how much but said hold it for us and off we went. We had a long ride on a very windy road from Tampoco NC to route 28 to Fontana Village. We found a nice rustic resort. The biggest surprise of all was$89.00 per night for our room. We were very happy to have a nice room and decided to have dinner in the dining room that just about to close. In we went with all out black leather riding gear on and helmets in hand. Yes, a lot of heads turned our way.

We were seated next to a very nice couple from Florida. We introduced ourselves and soon developed a nice conversation. Made some new friends we did. Chriss and i always seem to meet such nice people when we travel together. We both like to talk with people. We decided to spend Saturday night here also. We needed the break and then we will move on. There is no phone service here in the mountains and the Internet hot spot is up by the pool, so I am typing this in word and will send it later. Will take pictures of the place, to show you.
To be continued tomorrow…..Carol and Chriss .

The second day

Our next day at the village has turned out just great. There were professional mountain bike races at the resort today. The riders were well built young men and women who participated in a long hard race. They had a booth set up to give the racers a massage or acupuncture. Chriss has had much pain in his neck while riding our Sport Touring bike so he opted for treatment. He said it helped for awhile. The racers also had a spaghetti dinner that we were invited to for only a $7.00 donation. After dinner we walked over to the general store for ice cream. Oh those calories!!! There was also a square dance in the big hall, we really wanted to go but we had to pack for an early morning departure and couldn’t participate this time.

There is no internet in our room I have to go to the main lobby to get this sent. You will my lobby office in our pictures. Chriss will spend some time in the children’s “craft” room successfully repairing a rubber part for our motorcycle top box. A very relaxing time we have had.

It is getting late tonight so this will be short. We are packing to hit the road again tomorrow. This was a nice break and we met so many nice people and enjoyed the change of pace but now are anxious to return to our journey.

Carol and Chriss

Smoky Mountains

Chriss Horstman & Carol Ann Hoff

(Double click picture to enlarge, back arrow to return)

About Maggie Valley

Who was Maggie?

Maggie Mae Setzer Pylant, for whom Maggie Valley is named, was born December 21,st 1890 in a small log cabin that still stands in altered form at the foot of Setzer Mountain.

In the early 1900s, Maggie's father, Jon Sidney Setzer better known as "Uncle Jack", grew tired of riding his horse several times down the mountain to the old Plott Post Office to get the mail for residents of the valley and decided to do something about it. He wrote U.S. Postmaster General Frank Hitchcock in Washington D.C., asking for permission to operate a post office in his home. He was told he had to prove the need for one; and so, for a period of several months, Uncle Jack kept records of the mail that passed through his hands, the amount of stamps, postal cards (which at the time cost 1cent each), etc.

He then applied again and obtained permission to operate a post office in his home. Thereupon Setzer submitted four names, one for the creek running by his home (Jonathan), and one for each of his three daughters: Cora, Mettie and Maggie. Maggie was Washington's choice, and thus the Maggie Post office opened May 10, 1904.

Maggie helped run the Post office in the Setzer home while her father delivered the mail until 1907, when she married Ira M. Pylant and left her valley. The young family moved to Tennessee, then California and finally Texas, where Maggie died in 1979, at the age of 88.>While Mrs. Pylant lived an ordinary life away from the public eye, she became a celebrity of sorts with the expanding fame of the mountain resort area that bears her name, which has been publicized on radio and TV, in books, magazines and newspapers. She was perhaps the only woman in the United States for whom Uncle Sam has named a post office.

Chriss and Carol

Maggie Valley

Blue Ridge Parkway to Maggie Valley

Thursday, August 7, 2008

Hi All:
Most of these words are from Carol, some are from Chriss.

Each day has been a little different but still we are still doing well on the bike, amen. We really enjoy exploring the Blue Ridge Parkway. It is such a great motorcycle road. Today the Parkway will share some of its own surprises with us. We got back on the Blue Ridge Parkway in Asheville, NC, about 1 mile from our hotel. During our late morning start (a bad characteristic of mine, Carol will soon say) has the sun out but with big building clouds visible. Once on the parkway for 20 miles or so we pulled into an overlook area , one that already has three bikes in it. The riders were all young men on crotch rockets. One was using his cell phone try to locate service while the other two were hovering over a bike. The parking grade was quite steep with a slope running down from the viewing area. Once stopped I quickly told Carol “DON’T MOVE” as I was having trouble keeping the bike upright due to the steep grade. We finally got parked and off the bike. We stood aside for a few minutes then asked if we could help. It seems one of the riders had his bike leaned over due to the steep grade a little too far after coming to a stop. When he attempted to dismounted he dropped his bike and broke off the hydraulic clutch lever. They all were having a problem as they couldn't start the bike or shift it. I helped them figure out a way around their problems. Eventually after a "bump"start they were off in search of a motorcycle repair place down the mountain. We all had pushed the bike to start it. The other riders had to move fast to catch up. Down the mountain the first rider went with his buddies in hot pursuit. The last we saw of them was their wave "thanks and goodbye" as they were rounding the first steep sharp corner.

We then continued on our ride. At each new overlook stop we will meet additional interesting people. It is fun to be with Carol. Everyone seems to enjoy meeting us. They usually ask if we are newlyweds. At the next stop one nice couple took our picture for us. We in turned did the same for them. We have a nice chat with them while exchanging trip stories. During this trip we have met such interesting people. So much fun we are having.


Amazingly there is little traffic on the Blue Ridge Parkway. After reading about the crowds we are surprised. As we continue south we are now running from thunder storms. Today we are lucky and will stay dry. Carol is very interested in nature and finds the cloud formations fascinating. She will even take pictures of the clouds while we are underway. We see some wet areas on the road ahead of us and we are lucky again as none of it lands on us. Tonight we will end up in Maggie Valley, NC. It is located on route 19. We enter town from a long steep mountain grade. Over the intercom Carol and I discuss how it must have been for travelers during the “old days.” We make it a special point to have dinner at a local restaurant named “Maggies.” Tomorrow will peruse some of the local places including a Motorcycle museum and the house that Maggie lived in.Maggie Valley seems to be a pretty historic town.

After dinner we ride back to our hotel . We are staying at the Comfort Inn which has high speed internet , a new requirement of Carols to write our blog. We use the pool and hot tub which felt marvelous. Rain is in the forecast so we park our bike under the hotel lobby front entrance overhang and cover it up good for the expected rain. Tired from our long day we turn in early but happy. A good trip so far. Carol is always excited about the up coming new day. A good passenger she is. We are having a lot of fun.
Chriss and Carol

Blue Ridge Parkway To Ashville, NC

Dinner At The Top Can't Go Any Higher

Chriss Horstman and Carol Ann Hoff

Wednesday, August 7, 2008

Hi Again:
We woke up at about 6:am to thunder lightening and RAIN. Went back to sleep very depressed. Woke up again about 8:30 to sun shine. Happy Day. We had a wonderful day. Got up repacked our three motorcycle hard bags, showered, dress and had a very nice breakfast (FREE) supplied by the hotel. We got on the road at 11:30. Since the day was a surprise for us we decided to have some fun and throw plans to the wind. We headed back toward The Blue Ridge Parkway in NC. We rode some nice back roads and picked up Spruce Pine, NC Route 261. It was a fantastic ride with nice wide sweeping turns and it was an extremely clear day with great panoramic views See this map, click........ BRP.

Quite warm in the valleys but nice and cool and sometimes near cold on the mountain. We started this trip with summer "open mesh" riding clothes. We stopped a few times to put on an extra shirt. We were expecting temps near 105*F, what a mountain surprise. While on the parkway we pulled into one of the overlooks..... what a view. While there we talked to a bunch of Harley riders. I asked Carol if she would like to get off the bike and stretch, she said no? I don't know why she didn't get off as the Harley riders looked like a nice bunch of guys. We wave goodbye to them as they ride off. From there we rode to the top of Mount Mitchell 6800 feet up and had dinner at the restaurant overlooking the valley. The view from our table was beautiful mountain ridges and we had a great fresh trout dinner. While at our table we talked to some natives and a few travelers like us. The restaurant wasn't crowded because the parkway was closed to the south of the restaurant due to a mud slide. All of us had to back track back down the hill the same direction to the north as we came up. It seems the landslide was early in the year and the road has been closed since.

After we ate we rode the rest of the short way to the very top of Mitchell mountain, just because we could. On the way back down we saw a narrow local side road called 80. It was like no other road I have ever been on with many switchbacks and twisties. It was a difficult ride but Carol took it in stride, what a great passenger she is. We decided to head for Asheville, NC to find a room for the night. Once we found a place Carol again stayed on our bike as I was checking us into our hotel at the Quality Inn. When I came out there were a few of the same Harley guys we had met up on the mountain talking with her and laughing. They were with good nature, teasing Carol about staying once again on the bike. Surprise, Surprise they are staying in the same hotel and just checked in before us.....small world. They had heard about Rte 80 and didn't want to ride on it as one of their members did a tip over while attempting the first tight turn on the entrance ramp. They all decided to completely backtrack to the north entrance of the parkway and didn't have the time to stop and eat as we did. We told them all about our ride to the top and dinner. We all laugh about it and finally say goodnight. More adventure tomorrow I am sure, but for now we are exhausted and ready to sleep.
Chriss and Carol