Turns, Twists and Treasures

Beth — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 18:40:00 +0000

If you’re looking for some gorgeous scenery and nice roads to ride, a trip through the foothills of the Smoky Mountains is a great place to start.
On our recent trip, we took mostly state and county roads; riding the interstate can help you make good time, but it’s the most boring thing I can imagine. All those miles, with hardly anything of interest to see – just mileposts, billboards and gas stations. If I’ve got time to make up, I use the interstate; otherwise it’s the regular roads. To quote Daniel Meyer, “sometimes the journey is the destination”.
The final leg of the trip on the way up was from Townsend to Pigeon Forge on Highway 321. It’s about 18 miles, and there are some very nice twisties, plus one switchback, turning sharply to the right and climbing an incline at the same time; if you’ve got time to really look, you can see that the vehicles ahead of you are almost over your head. I always get my heart in my throat during that kind of switchback, so I really had the adrenaline going.
There were lots of long slow curves as well, which are just as much fun to ride, even if it’s not so exciting. Lots of other bikers have discovered this little piece of road, so we were meeting them regularly. Even as tired as I was (at that point we’d been on the road for most of 12 hours), it was enjoyable.
During Friday’s ride, we headed out from Pigeon Forge, planning on riding up towards Rutledge, TN. We had found a route on Motorcycle Roads and Trips that sounded great. The description was very good, and the directions were wonderful, but we made a few changes and ended up seeing some other lovely country. We rode about 70 miles on that ride, and saw some very nice curvy roads, hilly country and lots of beautiful water and trees.
Our last stop before heading back to PF was at a combination general store/deli/parts store/garage. We just meant to stop for a minute, take a bathroom break, get a drink and head back out, but as most bikers know, it hardly ever works out that way.
When we first pulled up, we noticed a beautiful old car sitting near the entrance to the garage. I got my Elph out and walked towards it to take a few pictures, and the mechanic came out of the shop and asked if we’d like to see the engine. Of course, we said yes, and he popped the hood. While we stood and talked, he told about buying the car from it’s original owner; it had less than 8,000 miles on it. He also had several other antique vehicles that he’d gotten from other local folks over the years – he maintains them and works to improve them, but he uses them as transportation too. These cars don’t just sit up somewhere to be admired- they were designed and created to carry people from one place to another, and they’re being used that way.
The owner and some of his buddies also told us about several other good rides to make, on another day; it’s always nice to have local folks tell you good places to ride and see things, so we’ll keep that in our ride idea list (getting longer all the time).
When we went inside the store to get a drink, we had some more pleasant surprises: I found a Sunkist Orange (one of my favorites) in a real glass bottle, not the plastic kind we usually get. The decor inside the store was one-of-a-kind: someone’s old toy trucks, cars and machinery had been set up along the counters in the deli area, and it brought back lots of childhood memories – I saw some of the same toys my brothers played with, as well as some that looked like the ones my sons played with.
There were also all kinds of “kids treasure” on the walls – some still in it’s packaging.
We finally dragged ourselves away and got back on the road – another 30 minutes or so and we were riding by Dollywood. Dolly Parton has really done a lot for the area – it’s grown up beautifully, with lots of nice businesses serving customers. The small-town kindness is still there, even in three and four-lane traffic- I don’t think I ever heard someone blow their horn in anger at another driver, and I never saw someone giving the one-finger salute. And southern courtesy was in evidence as well- several times when we were trying to get back on the road in heavy traffic, someone would motion for us to come on out, even though it held them up for a minute.
It was an enjoyable day all the way around; I’d suggest a trip to the area for anyone who wants to see beautiful country, ride some fun roads and get treated with some of the best southern hospitality you could ask for.

Interesting/odd/weird things on the road

Beth — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 21:51:00 +0000

Between the time we left Rutledge and the time we got to Pigeon Forge, we had seen all kinds of great/interesting/odd things.
We saw:

a full-sized horse statue on top of someone’s house
a combination adult bookstore and fruit stand (I don’t even want to think about it)
more carved bears than I would have though imaginable
Elvis’ white Caddy (at least, one of his white Caddy’s)
a lighthouse sitting on top of a garage overlooking a lake
old tricycles used as garden decorations
a ‘Dam Store’ (general store near a hydro-electric dam – can you imagine what you’d find in a store owned by someone who has that sense of humor?)
a Bush’s Baked Beans factory (didn’t see Duke the dog though)
some type of farm equipment that was tall enough to easily drive my bike under it- hubby says it’s used to spray corn – we met it on the road
an upside down building (Wonderworks)

Wild and Crazy

Beth — Fri, 29 May 2009 22:23:00 +0000

It’s always fun to add to my list of people who know I’m crazy.
We left out for Pigeon Forge around 7 am, and stopped in Montgomery at the Waffle House for breakfast. After we ate, we got back on the road, and as we stopped at a light, I started cutting up at my daughter, who’s riding behind my husband on his bike. They’re to my right – I’m waving my arms, ‘dancing’, making faces, pretending to talk on a cell phone (my hand), just generally acting crazy. I hear laughter to my left- I didn’t realize we had company. The guys in the pickup truck in the next lane were enjoying my little show… they asked where we were headed, and we told them Pigeon Forge. They wished us a safe trip, and we were on our way!

» pigeon forge

Turns, Twists and Treasures

Interesting/odd/weird things on the road

Wild and Crazy