Russellville, AR.

Hello again:

Once again we are on the road traveling west. The scenery is very pretty. It is is very flat at first but then it turns into hills like we have in New Jersey. Later the scenery will once again turn back into curvy hilly roads and I mean curvy. The temp drops 10 degrees as we go into the mountains.

Our interesting event today was lunch. While traveling through the town of Yellville, Ar on Rt 62 we passed, then turned around and came back to an interesting roadside restaurant. It is called the Front Porch. This nice eatery is owned and operated by a lady who was a biker herself when her husband was alive. She was into her 70's and very fit. She is operating this restaurant by herself. We spend some time chatting with her, a very interesting person. The food was very good and cost only $7.00 each for a hot buffet dinner with dessert and salad bar.




We are now at a Holiday Inn tonight in Russellville, Ar. We are too tired to go out for dinner so we had a large salad with grilled chicken here in our room. The hotel had to make it up special for us. Chriss made a comment about how nice the desk clerks were while he was checking in. Old men and young women I tell him. It's true, everyone treated us so well.

Now we are ready to go to sleep. I will write more tomorrow. Our plan is to go to Hot Springs, Ar. in the morning.That is if it doesn't rain. However rain is predicted, so we will see. We have been chased by the rain during all of our trip. So far we have been lucky and stayed dry. Tomorrow we may be held up here for a while. In the morning we will tape up our knees again as our armor pads in our motorcycle riding pants are rubbing blisters on our knees. We are traveling so well on the bike. Chriss always ask me if "I am ok, and do I want to continue with our trip?" I tell him "of course I want to continue, I am having fun." He say he is too!!
Good night for now,
Carol & Chriss

Route Map To Mammoth Springs, MO.

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Mammoth Springs, MO.

Hello Again:
You know how is is when you wake up in the morning and you just never know what will be in store for you that day. Well today has really has been an amazing day for us. We left Dyersburg, TN today about noon. "This seems to be Chriss's earliest time he can get going." The day before was very frustrating for me as Best Western had a poor wireless hook up. Chriss and I had a very hard time hooking up my PC to write our daily blog. All this in spite of help from their tech person. Anyway it is a new day and we will move on. We had breakfast at Perkins which was connected to the Best Western. After packing the bike we were off again once more. We started on Rte 155 heading toward Arkansas in nice bright sunshine with temps in the 80's. Crossing the Mississippi was interesting. I did take a picture while in motion the same as with most of my pictures. No, I didn't dip my toes in it, the bridge was too high. Almost our whole trip today was on Rte 412 and it was a nice ride with multiple stops for gas and Gatorade. We asked at a gas stop if there were any other bridges south that we could use. We didn't get much of an answer, the only un-friendly time on the whole trip.

After crossing the great Mississippi we took highway 412 to Hardy. There a road sign told us we were close to Mammoth Springs State Park. Once again Chriss is always open to adventure. He told me over the intercom he would like to take me there to see the sights. You don't need to ask me twice, so off we went in search of adventure. We made the detour to view a new wonder. Very interesting, no gushing water but some very pretty water falls from ponds that in turn were fed by the spring that overflowed. This made for some gushing falls to view. A lot of history, a good diversion.

Then we returned to the town of Hardy, Ar to stay at a Best Western. It had a Kopper Keddle restaurant across the street. We dumped our stuff in our motel room. Got the bike parked comfortably under an overhang with the help of a very nice motel owner who kindly supplied an old shower curtain to protect our bike from any rain. Nice lady she was, very helpful.

The resturant was about to close so with no time to spare. We quickly stripped out of our outer summer mesh riding gear and off we went....... climbing an embankment, running across a main thruway to the Kopper Keddle resturant. We were in for a tasty Chicken Cesar Salad and a delicious choc. pudding, cherry, and crushed oreo and whip cream concoction that was called dessert.


You need to visualize our appearance. We only had time to shed our leather motorcycle summer mesh outer garments. Now we were dressed in our black silk shorts and black shirts with black knee high socks and black high motorcycle boots. We looked like a team of Russian Gypsy folk song dancers. When we walked in everyone in the restaurant including the owner and other diners turned and looked at us in amazement. One person asked if we were some sort of a dance team performing in town. Yeah, sure! not in these boots. Anyway after a good laugh we just said we were on a bike and it was too hot to wear our whole motorcycle riding outfit to dinner. We explained that because the restaurant was closing soon we were in a hurry and left our hotel in what we were wearing underneath our outer armor riding gear.

There were two couples about our age at a table in back of us that started to talk to us as we were getting ready to leave. We all ended up sitting down again and began telling them about our trip and Blog. Chriss always brags about me and what a great companion I am. They all smiled and said they wanted to read about our adventures. I took e-mail addresses and names. Seems they were vacationing at a nearby time share. They originally met at the time share and had been coming back for a get together for many years. One couple from Kentucky and the other from Chicago. They were really nice people and very interesting. When the restaurant closed we went outside and continued talking in the parking lot. They Then asked us to come to their time share house for dessert. We agreed and they drove us in their car about 5 miles to their place. We spent the evening and had peach pie and ice cream. We had a great time with some wonderful people. Now it is 1:00 AM and I am typing and Chriss is doing laundry in our Motel room. See what I mean, life on the road is so unpredictable.

We only got half way across Arkansas today but I did see Cotton growing and also soybeans. After a few mountains in the eastern part of this state it is very flat with huge fields that go on for miles and miles. Now however, we are back in the hills and I like it much better. It was a great day. Tomorrow our plan is to continue on Rte 412/62 to Harrison, Ar. then south on Rte 7 to Hot Springs. Rte 7 is supposed to be a very scenic road. We will see.

Will write more tomorrow,
Carol and Chriss

Dyersburg,TN.

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

Hello again.

Today was a good travel day for us and we are just about out of Tennessee. It sure is a beautiful state but we must move on. Because bad weather was predicted in Memphis and possible flooding we chose to move north and cross the Mississippi into Missouri rather than Arkansas. Well we just about made it. We are now in Dyersburg, TN with just a few miles to go. to make the crossing. But we are too tired and it is getting late. So here we sit at a Best Western still in Dyersburg,Tn. At least the sun came out late in the afternoon, our plan worked we beat the rain once more.

Although the weather was overcast this morning during our travels the temperature was great. It must have been in the high 70’s. The roads were nice although not as nice as in a park way. the roads were scenic and easy to drive. We ate breakfast at the hotel before leaving but by 2:00 we were in need of a break. We made a wrong turn, a right instead of a left. My bad as I am the navigator. Chriss's GPS was correct and mine was out to lunch. Chriss finally pulled into the entrance of Henry Horton State Park where we could park and check our map. I stayed on the bike and he went to buy me a coke. He came back without the coke but told me there was a park building that looked like a big restaurant. Chriss said there was a sign that said it only served lunch from 12:00 until 2:00. It was now 2:02 PM. There was a coke machine on the side so we proceeded up the stairs to get a coke. The door was open and we peeked in and asked if we could get something to eat. The lady said “oh sure, come on in”, more Southern Hospitality for sure.

Well it seems this State Park had a restaurant that was an open buffet of hot food and salads. They were just about to close down but welcomed us to have lunch for the cost of $6.75 per person. The servers and cooks proceeded to sit with us, get acquainted and tell camp stories. What nice people. We spent at least 1 ½ hours with them laughing and telling stories about all of our experiences during our wild motorcycle travels. This park is gorgeous has camping sites, a hotel, a restaurant, trails, and educational opportunities for just the price of camping at at state park, amazing. After that we left and continued on our preplanned route.



We were hoping to stop two towns before we actually found a town with an acceptable motel. Dyersburg would have to be it. So far we have traveled 1400 miles since our departure last Monday 8/4. As the crow flies I am sure the number is much less because we certainly have not traveled in a straight line. If someone told us of a nice motorcycle road to try we took it regardless of where it was going to take us......what fun. We have met some very interesting and nice people along the way. We have seen some beautiful sights, much more enjoyable on a motorcycle. Since Missouri is the Show Me state we are hoping to be shown some more. We are tired tonight after all our travels but will start again tomorrow.. The pictures are of the State Park and Lunch, what nice people they were.

Good Night,
Carol & Chriss

Minniville,TN To The Mississippi River

Leaving McMinnville, TN.

Hello:
We will be leaving McMinnville, TN soon. We will travel on route 55 South to 24 N to 64 S to 50 N through Columbia, TN up to 40W the #1 exit to 13 N to 70W to 77W to 104W to 182 N to 155 W then across the Mississippi. ....Trip map Click here to see our route.

I doubt we will make it all today but we must try as there is a storm south of us that is sure to hit Memphis by nightfall. We are avoiding the storm by crossing the Mississippi to the north in Missouri instead of Arkansas. We have once already delayed our trip due to flooding. Anyway that is the plan for now, more zig-zaging. Oh what fun, more adventure on the horizion.
Carol and Chriss

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