Happy great nieces and nephews heading off to their last week of school for the year! Havanna, Haddon, Helene, Haley, and Hudson. The children of Kelly and Harley Bryant and grandchildren of Terry MacAllister.
We got off from Knoxville at about 10 am after a trip to the Harley store to purchase a suspension air pump. We were at 10 psi and Allan pumped us up to 50 psi and we could notice quite a difference.
We may look like we both have white goatees. Let me assure you that only one of us does! However, both of us had condensation inside our face shields. We are such hot stuff and the air temp was about 50 foggy degrees. The forecast was favorable but be started another day in our rain pants.
We traveled back through the Great Smoky National Park toward Cherokee, NC and the start of the Blue Ridge Parkway. I took this picture of Dolly yesterday and was holding out hope that I would get a better one today when we went back through Pigeon Forge but it was not to be.
Today I did get this great picture of King Kong in Pigeon Forge. Who knew he was hanging out there these days.
This is the sign that went with the corkscrew curve that I mentioned yesterday.
A last look at the Great Smoky Mountains between Cherokee and Gatlinburg. I find it interesting that this national park has no entrance fees, due to deed restrictions imposed when the Park was established 80 years ago.
Yesterday I posted the sign about elk crossing. What I didn't write was that I didn't know that there were elk in the east. I thought they hung out in the west.
Today within a mile or so of that sign this big fella was having some roadside lunch. As with most of these pictures they were taken while we were moving but some folks had pulled off and Allan had slowed some to navigate through the traffic.
We were happy to see this sign and begin our next 469 miles of our journey. It should be easy to stay on this road and keep tracking north.
I should share that for years now we have traveled on our motorcycles quite extensively from our former home in Hancock, Maine throughout Quebec and the Maritime Provinces of Canada with the assistance of "Rhoda Lottamiles" Allan's motorcycle GPS. This current trip was somewhat of an impromptu trip compared to most. We were in FL with a new motorcycle and our motorcycle gear was packed away in Maine. We had some stuff mailed but neglected to have Rhoda sent down. It is much different traveling without a handy GPS to reference as you are riding along. Allan is not only a great chauffeur but a great navigator as well.
Why did the "chicken" cross the parkway...
We saw lots and lots of butterflies today. I got this shot when we stopped at an overlook after chasing it about from hither and yon.
FYI the overlooks are prolific but do not have bathroom accommodations. I was tempted at this stop to make a dash for the woods but since everything drops off dramatically I thought better of it.
We rode through many tunnels today. I didn't get a pic of the name of this tunnel because we were passing it when I realized that I needed a photo. So when we got to the other side of the tunnel I turned the camera around and took this. Yes, I didn't turn just turned the camera and got a lucky shot which includes the exit of the tunnel but unfortunately I didn't get the sign on this side either. This was the Rattlesnake Tunnel.
I knew that there would be tunnels but I had it in my mind that they would be like cartoon railroad tunnels. You know, straight. We would go in one side and come straight out the other. Oh no not these, they curve this way and that while going up or going down and they don't end on a straight away, there aren't really any straight aways. These tunnels end with another curve going this way or that. There are 25 tunnels in NC and only one in VA. The mountains here are higher and more rugged than VA or so the information booklet says.
This pic is for our granddaughter Maggie! We were thinking of you today.
The forests seem to be mostly deciduous trees but at the highest elevations there are some spruce. We also noticed that spring is in full swing except again for the highest spots. Up high the leaves are just beginning to unfurl.
OK we have been on the parkway for miles and miles and now you want us to slow for dangerous curves. We would not have made it this far if we hadn't slowed for the dangerous curves.
You just don't see this sign every day.
We were really high up.
I have been enjoying the radio. I am pretty much a rock 'n roll / blues kinda gal. If you ever wondered what kind of music is played on the radio in the hills of western NC I am here to tell you it isn't what I am used to listening to. I am enjoying my immersion into country music. Sometime I just have to share the lyrics with Allan.
Rain is a Good Thing
Rain makes corn,
Corn makes whiskey,
Whiskey makes my baby feel a little frisky...
Play It Again
She was sittin' all alone over on the tailgate
Tan legs swingin' by a Georgia plate
I was lookin' for her boyfriend...
I have decided that I like the fact that I can make out most of the words in the songs and that they tell a sincere story. The twang of the music I still don't like so much.
I should mention that today we traveled on many sections of road where you glanced to the right and saw vistas such as this and at the same time you could look to the left and see vast arrays of mountains. I guess you could say we rode the mountain tops.
We made it to Asheville about 5 pm after a lengthy stop at the Visitors Center on the Parkway where we watched an interesting film about the parkway and figured out where we would spend the night. We had another great day on the trail. It was overcast and 50ish when we left Knoxville and through the mountains it ranged up and down between the high 50's and high 60's. The temp was dramatically impacted by the elevation and the cloud cover. Late in the day as we neared Asheville we topped 70.
We have seen and enjoyed the aroma of honey suckle for the past two days. I have taken picture after picture of it in passing but you just couldn't make it out. This was in the wilds of the back parking lot of the hotel tonight and every bit as aromatic as that on the parkway.
Day 4 - 170 miles today and a total of 960 miles and we've had outstanding weather.
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