Weekend Motorcycle Ride

This past weekend, Frank and I went for a ride on the motorcycle to check out the fall colors. Our intention was to go to Cades Cove and see the leaves, some deer and maybe some bears. We started out on 25 going North through Asheville and into Hot Springs, where we made our first stop. We could hear bagpipes playing as we went through and were told they were in honor of the owner of the Paddler's Pub who had died in a car accident on Tuesday. We also got to see a really old fashioned pedal powered cider press in action. It smelled so good. We didn't press our own though because 1) I had no cash and 2) there wasn't much room to store it on the motorcycle. It was still really a neat sight.








Our ride continued on 25 NW to Newport, Tennessee, where we stopped at a Food City for gas. It was only $1.99! Wow! We left Newport and headed towards Hwy 411 that would take us into Sevierville. Once we got to Dolly Parton Parkway the traffic stalled and we were stuck inching along the highway. Idling like that is not good for the motorcycle so we decided to venture off course a bit, assuming we could find our way back to the road that would lead us to Cades Cove. WRONG! We drifted so far off course that we actually went about 20 miles too far, ending up in Maryville. It was actually a very nice rural ride but I was anxious to get to Cades Cove before dark. We finally made it back on track and when we got to Cades Cove is was about 4:45. The first thing we say was this:

There were a lot of deer. The sign said the the loop was 11 miles. There was a lot of traffic so I decided it would take too long and probably just get dark on us anyway. So we made our way back to the picnic area and a brief visit to the restrooms (which were extremely warm and hard to leave.) While in there a lady told me it was really pretty and we would see lots of deer at this time of the day along with the possibility of some black bears and coyotes. I decided to tell Frank maybe we would give it a shot. When I came out, Frank had my camera and was taking pictures of the deer that were lingering around the picnic area:




Okay, so that did it, I couldn't wait to see more! So we hopped on the trail and took off! Well, not exactly took off:



We actually started our next game of "hurry up and wait." By the way, if you don't know that I am a very impatient person, you probably don't realize just how much I HATE this game! An hour after we had gotten on the loop, I took these photos and after that I just complained and griped and whined. It's a wonder Frank didn't leave me in those fields that were so full of deer ... NOT!




I got this one last shot which I think was the best of the day before it got so dark that all we could see were the extremely slow moving headlights ahead of us on this 11 mile torture route (are you getting that I was not a happy camper?)



I must say, even in the midst of a terrible traffic jam, God managed to open my eyes up enough to see His majestic beauty revealed. How many colors does He have on his palette? Amazing!

Thank goodness, there was a shortcut through to the other side about half way through the loop. We took it, even though it was graveled and we were on the bike, we decided the bike needed a bath anyway. When we got to the other side of the park an older couple who was walking told us that the traffic had come to a standstill because of ALL the DEER over here on this side. People were stopping instead of slowly driving as the sign recommends. No one had pulled off in the spots designated, they had just STOPPED. So there were deer and there were lots of people who were inconsiderate of all of us behind them. Another couple told us they had never seen traffic this bad or this slow. Of course not.

Footnote: I had taken just my second shot of Enbrel the morning I decided to take this trip. Frank is convinced that one of the side effects listed should be "may be unable to make clear and rational decisions concerning travel."

Well, needless to say, by the time we got to Gatlinburg, we were both freezing and starved. Not sure if you noticed, but I hadn't mentioned stopping to eat anywhere in this essay before now. We were definitely hungry and I wasn't about to travel down I40 in the cold.

We decided to stay the night in the Super 8 Motel. We went to find dinner. We finally settled on the Bear Creek Grill. I went to check out the menu (quite pricey) and decided to ask an elderly couple who were leaving, "How was it?" His reply, "The worst service in my life. I have been coming to Gatlinburg for 20 years and this is by far, the worst service. We waited 2 hours for our food and then it came cold!" Wow, glad I asked. I think I could have easily gone postal if I had been forced to WAIT for anything at that point. We ended up at McDonald's. Double cheeseburgers never tasted so sweet!

I'm sure you are bored with this by now, but know that I keep writing as much for my sake of memories as to share with you who can stick it out!

So, let me ask you, what do you think $50 during leaf season in the Great Smoky Mountains will get you when it comes to hotel rooms? Frank and I have a limit when staying overnight on the spur of the moment - no more than $50 or we ride through the night. Well the Super 8 had a room for $54 so we went over a little bit, but my AAA card saved us 10% so we gave it a shot. The rooms were clean enough, two double beds, a remote Frank had to program and hair dryer. We do keep a baggie with deo and powder for occasions like this so we weren't completely roughing it. The next morning when we got ready to shower, all we could do was laugh!



I am a little more than 5'5". The shower was barely 5 feet, if that much) from the base of the tub. The water pressure was null. I laughed the whole time I was squatting to wash my hair. It was just too funny.

Outside the hotel were these trees with enormous squash or gourds or something hanging from them. The trees also had little red berries on them. I think someone had taken a vine and thrown it over the tree because I have never seen a tree bear two kinds of fruit. If you know what these are, let me know.




We ate breakfast at Flapjacks and then decided to check out the Beneath the Smokies store. Frank loves this store because they have great big gigantic (his words) wind chimes. Today they were closed though so we decided to move on to Cherokee. I did get this beautiful shot of the fall trees just before we left Gatlinburg:



The ride to Cherokee was filled with scenes like that. As we got higher, 4826 feet higher, the leaves were gone but as we descended, the color started coming back and last night's torture circle was quickly forgotten.

I was eager to get to Cherokee in hopes of finding some of the tribe in full dress. As soon as we got there we saw two and they were getting ready to do some of their tribal dances. The lead guy was pretty funny. He told some corny jokes, "You know why I know we Indians are going to get into Heaven?" "Because we have reservations!" Haha, that was funny, corny, but funny. Both Indians were veterans of the United States Army and told us they would happily go wherever their country asked them to go to serve. So today, Veteran's Day, I salute them and all the other Veteran's in my life by saying, "Thank you for serving, thank you for my freedom."

The pictures that follow are of the Eagle Dance and the War Dance:







After Cherokee, we took Hwy 19 across the Soco Mountain, through Maggie Valley and Canton and made our way home. It was a very pleasant trip, after all.