MyIronHorseJourney

I made it to Roanoke, Virginia and they were predicting heavy rains for a couple of days.  After breakfast I went to extend my room and they didn’t have any rooms available – ugh!  I went back to my room and found another room a few miles away – phew!  I’m in no hurry, so I’m not driving all day in cold damp rain.  Spend one day catching up on instagram (I hadn’t put anything from this trip on there) and a few other things.  For some reason I have been putting off working with Instagram.  A lot of the younger people I have met ask if I use it.  So it’s to my advantage to start using it.  Like anything once I get into it, it really isn’t difficult!

Hopefully the rain stops, and I can get back on the road!

Love and Light to you all!

The other day I drove over to Winchester, Tennessee to meet up with a childhood friend.  She works at a local school, so I met her there just before school was out.  When I got there she was with her 6th grade class.  She introduced me and I told them what I have been doing for the last six months.  They asked all kinds of good questions and then we went outside so they could see my bike.  I told them I was blogging my journey, and handed out a business card to each of them – they were very excited to check it out.  The kids were so polite, and thanked me as I left.  Such a fun experience, made my day!

I was hoping to post a picture that we took of the kids and me by my bike, but because of confidentiality laws I’m not able to post it.

When we got to my friends house, we sat and talked about what we remembered from growing up in the neighborhood.  She and my brother were in the same class together, and they graduated in 1977.  We then started figuring out when we saw each other last, it’s been 41 years!  She graduated and then left for college, career and family.  We went out to local BBQ place for dinner, then did a little sightseeing of the area.  I can see why she enjoys living in this area, the scenery with farms and fields are beautiful.  I had a wonderful time visiting and catching up, next time will be sooner  – not 41 years!

Love and Light to you all!

Today I drove to Chimney Rock, South Carolina.  I walked around the town before heading to the state park and climbing Chimney Rock.

You drive up the mountain about three miles before you get to the parking lot to climb Chimney Rock.  I had asked a clerk in one of the stores about the parking, and they said it was paved and flat….  I really shouldn’t believe what non bikers say about the parking.  The whole parking area was on a pretty good slop and it had been patched a lot so nothing was smooth or easy to maneuver.  I parked where I would be able to drive forward and leave, basically over to the side of the roadway.  You will see in the pictures that climbing consists of stairs.  I believe they said 500 steps up which equals about 38.5 flights of stairs.  They do have an elevator, but it wasn’t working.  The views were amazing, well worth the climb up.  I don’t know if going up is harder or going down.  My legs were shaking by the time I got back down to the store at the bottom.  They had picnic tables and a few rocking chairs, so I sat for a little bit before getting back on the bike.

While I was there, two bus loads of 9 year olds came on a field trip.  Boy are those teachers brave!  The kids were very good, and still had a lot of energy by the time they got back down to the bottom.   I’m sure they will crash either on the way home or when they get home.

There were a couple different hikes around the chimney, and a hike over to some waterfalls.  The waterfalls would have been neat to see, but it was about a mile away and I still needed to ride a ways to get to a hotel.  Maybe I will plan another trip there to do that.

Love and Light to you all!

Third day is a charm, I finally got onto the Blue Ridge Parkway!  I got on in Cherokee, North Carolina and rode to Asheville, North Carolina.  Parts of this just opened this week.       Another perfect day to see for miles.  The temperatures we a little chilly, only hitting the mid 50’s.  I had about a half a tank of gas, which was enough to make it to Asheville, but I was drawn to go get gas.  I took the next exit and headed down the mountain with sharp twist and turns all the way.  There were absolutely no side roads, driveways or anything all the way.  Was beginning to wonder if I shouldn’t have left the parkway.  Finally I started seeing a couple of houses, then there was some road construction going on to a bridge.  Around the corner and I see a small store with two gas pumps out front.  I stop, and go inside to pay as they only do cash.  I use the bathroom and bought some water too.  I got talking to the couple who own the store about how décolleté the road from the parkway was, they said the population in Transylvania County is only 600!  I mentioned that a couple was at one of the lookout spots sitting and enjoying the views.  They said they go up to the parkway and watch sunset and star gaze – how cool is that!

In that stretch of the parkway I went through a bunch of tunnels.  When I knew there wasn’t anyone else behind me, I got a couple neat pictures!

By the afternoon the wind was picking up and it felt a lot cooler.  All in all another fantastic day riding.  I didn’t get that many miles in, as I was stopping and getting off my bike to take pictures.  I drove into almost every single lookout spot to see what the views were.  Just before I got off the parkway a red cardinal flew right in front of me.  It’s interesting, I had never seen a cardinal before, and now I’ve seen them almost weekly since February.  Long day, I was very tired by the time I checked into my hotel for the night.

Love and Light to you all!

The higher I got on the mountain the colder it got, and the more snow you could see on the sides of the road.  The last couple of miles before the road to the dome had quite a bit of sand on them.  Between the wet road and the sand it kept me attentive around all the corners, couldn’t sightsee as much while riding.  When I got to the access road to the dome it was closed because of ice and snow.  I turned around and stopped at the next lookout spot.  I offered to take a picture for a family, then they took the picture above for me.  When we got talking they were from Bridgton, Maine.  My parents are both from Bridgton, so I asked if they knew any of my family that are still in that area.  They didn’t!

The Next Day

I put in my GPS Cherokee as I knew that was the starting town for the Blue Ridge Parkway.  It took me back up the same mountain to Clingman’s Dome.  Today the access road was open, so I figured I’m supposed to do it.  A little change in plans!  By the time I got up to the parking lot, I was chilled.  I debated putting my chaps on, but didn’t.  I climbed the .05 mile hike up – it was quite steep.  I wasn’t cold anymore!  The views were absolutely beautiful, perfectly clear day.

When I got to the top, just before doing the ramp of the dome there were 5 to 6 hikers with packs.  I didn’t think much of it until on the way down I saw the trail sign that said Appalachian Trail.  On the way down I talked to one of the volunteers, she drives more hours than she works that shows how much she loves what she’s doing.  Like she said what better office could you have!

Love and Light to you all!

On my way to catch up with friends in Gatlinburg I want to Cade’s Cove in the Smokey Mountains.  It was a one way road around fields and mountains.  One spot had a brook that was overflowing across the road.  With the snow and rain that came the day before it was running pretty good.  Being on two wheels I hesitated thinking about seeing cars getting washed away during big floods.  I made it through with no issues, just my imagination running a little!

Check out the orbs in front of the cabin!  They have been showing up in some of my pictures, this one really shows, so I thought I would share.  They are hanging around the farm house, protecting it.  As I was driving through the park I saw turkeys, deer and by the cluster of vehicles there were two baby bears and a mama up in a tree.  I didn’t stop, if mama got mad I didn’t want to be around!  Beautiful views, another great day of riding!

Love and Light to you all!

I can’t believe it, I am almost at 20,000 miles since I got my bike.  My next ride here will take me over, so I’m getting my bike serviced today.  It usually takes about 4 hours – hate sitting around, but it needs to be done.  It’s a cloudy, windy day and tomorrow it’s supposed to rain.  It will be nice to have a down day, I need to get caught up on things…journaling, download and file photos, laundry, and rest!

The dealership got me right in, I’m always grateful as I never have an appointment.  It was big, with a restaurant/pub and large area for bands and dancing.  I picked up electric gloves as they were on clearance since summer is on it’s way!  I may be using them soon as a cold front is following the rain.

Now that I’ve got that done, I’m ready for the next set of adventures on the road ahead!

Love and Light to you all!

The Cherohala Skyway is another great ride in this area.  The views are unbelievable, the pictures don’t do it justice as to the beauty of the land.  I absolutely love all the layers of mountains in the top picture.

When I was at one of the turnoffs admiring the beautiful views I could here either metric bikes or sports cars coming.  It was about 15 sports cars racing by – I felt like I was at a race track watching them go by.

The temperatures at the top of the mountains were 20 degrees cooler today with some wind.  Coming down over the mountain there was a sign for smoke or fog.  I could smell smoke, and the news talked about some controlled burns going on.  The above maps shows all the turns of this road, to give you an idea of what it’s like.

Another fantastic day riding!

Love and Light to you all!

I stopped in to the museum of Wheels through Time, motorcycles, motorcycles and more motorcycles.  Along with a few cars!  The history of motorcycles was neatly displayed in a garage like building.  They had all kinds of extra parts all over the place.  Very neat to see all the old, old bikes.

When I first arrived the cashier at the front asked where I was from.  When I said Maine, she said a couple just came in, no one I knew, but how cool is that!

I got chatting with a couple of guys, when a couple walked by and said did you say you were from Maine. We got talking and I worked with the wife’s cousin, and they knew my cousin and father – small world or what. Oh and the best part, they knew I was at the dragon the day before – they were there too!

Most bikers know of the superstition around green bikes.  That superstition is that green bikes have more accidents/fatalities.  The statistics that bring that number up is green motorcycles were used during wars.  Makes sense when you hear that.

Fun place to visit, and it’s right in the middle of all the great riding in this area.

Love and Light to you all!

I did the “Tail of the Dragon”, “The Dragon”, “Deal’s Gap”, seems to have multiple names.  This is a ride that most bikers know about and dream of doing!  The Dragon is located in the middle of Route 129.  It’s 318 curves in 11 miles long.  It’s pretty intense, but extremely fun to do.  Some say I started from the end, I came in from Asheville and just before I started it there were a couple of stores with souvenirs and a restaurant.  I stopped and looked around and then ate lunch.  The owners of the restaurant race bikes on the side, and serve a great lunch.  I chatted with them and some other folks that had just come through.

The speed limit was 15 to 30 mph.  The Dragon is also a popular spot sports cars, they like to race through all the curves.

I pulled over twice to let a bike and a truck by.  I didn’t want to feel pushed or to slow them down, so when I could I let them by.  I had heard that the weekdays are a better time to go as it’s not as busy – perfect!

At the other end was a motel and a couple more souvenir shops.  I walked around and then sat down on the porch.  There were a couple of guys resting as they had done it a couple of times already today.  One of the guys said are you the one that’s been on the road since October?  That really surprised me, someone I was talking to at the other end mentioned me before I got here.

I had a gentleman the day before saying that my bike was to heavy and it would be difficult doing the dragon with all that gear.  I guess he didn’t think about all the miles I have already done with my bike loaded and have had no trouble….

I had a fantastic day of riding and meeting people!

Love and Light to you all!

I met up with friends that just moved to Chattanooga, Tennessee from Maine.  When I drove into there development the first thing I though was Mayberry, such a cute place!  We went into town and ate at a restaurant that a friend back home recommended, The Terminal.  Great little pub with great food.  There is a neat walking bridge that we walked and overlooked the river.  The other side we crossed another bridge that you could look down onto the highway below.  The architecture and sculptures around the town was neat to see.  Most weekends the town is hopping with all kinds of live music.  One of the signs outside a restaurant/pub showed Vince Gil was coming!

The next morning before I headed out we went over to the battlefield of Chickamauga and drive around.  We got out and walked on little area.  The statues and monuments are just amazing.  With the trees and fields around, you can just amazing what it must have been like during the fight there.  I think taking a day with a bicycle going around to all the different fields and areas would be a great way to learn more of this battle.  We also saw three deer as we were driving around – they are so small compared to Maine deer.

It was so fun catching up and sight seeing with my friends.

Love and Light to you all!

This morning when I left the hotel it was 44 degrees out – brrrrr!  I drove over to Rock City and hiked around following all the paths.   The ride up the mountain on my bike was fun, twists and turns all the way up, and you could preview what was to come with the views.  Being the weekend, there were a lot of families with lot of kids!  As you will see in some of the pictures, you follow paths that take you in and around large rocks.  Some of these places were extremely narrow.  It was a lot of fun to see what was next.  I went around and didn’t take the wire bridge at first – glad I didn’t as some of the boys got bouncing it.  When I did go across, just walking normal across it would get it going.  I stopped a couple of times to stop it, then moved on. When I get to the lookout rock, the views were beautiful- perfect day for this!  You can see seven states, Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama.  I took a panoramic that I will post on MyIronHorseJourney Facebook page so you can view all the states like I did.

I followed some more paths, and it took me through rainbow cave, and then to the walk out platform to see the waterfalls.  The last cave that we go through has crystals all over the walls (I would have loved to have a few of theses).  This cave is really long and has displays of all the different nursery rhymes.  The little kids loved this.  At the end of this cave was a waterwheel and shops before you exited out of the park.

Just before the last cave I got another message of love from above!

Love and Light to you all!

I was getting antsy waiting for the weather to warm up in the Carolinas and up to Maine.  If I leave Florida to soon I will be traveling all the way back in colder weather, and I don’t want to do that.  I left Zephyrhills about 10 am and headed north towards Georgia.  About 20 miles out I was finally starting to feel better, I guess I just needed some windy therapy.  After about 100 miles it just felt relaxing riding and enjoying the scenery.  I decided to call it a day when I hit Tallahassee, Florida.  It was 240 miles from Zephyrhills to Tallahassee.  Tonight I will look the map over to decide which way I want to go tomorrow.  As I was checking into the hotel I noticed a local restaurant right next door called Backwoods Crossing from Farm to Table.  I decided to eat there for dinner, and glad I did!  They grow all the vegetables right there and you can view the gardens before you eat if you like.  There were a couple of people there when I sat down, and before I was done the place was full.  Great local restaurant!

On my way back to the hotel I got a message from above:

I also had a male cardinal fly right in front of me today.  The cardinal means it’s a creative time, along with someone you know needs some compassionate loving attention.  The energy from the second full moon in March was strong, I believe we all need to be compassionate with ourselves and others.  Messages are all around us, we just have to notice them.

Love and Light to you all!