Saturday morning, 4-11-15, temp in the low 50s, high in mid-60s, blue sky, sun's up and it's going to be a beautiful day, all day. Met with bike buddy Paul at 7:50 a.m. to ride south today. About 50 miles south of where I live is the small quaint town of Philadelphia, just north of Sweetwater, TN. No, not Sweetwater, TX as that's west of Houston. Sweetwater Farms is the maker of many cheeses. Went there about a year ago and bought a variety of cheeses and some cheese curds. Today was going to be another such run. This time I took along a small cooler that would fit into my saddlebag.
Now the 50 miles is about as the crow flies. In other words, the most direct route. But Paul and I never seem to take a direct route to anywhere. I suppose when we croak we will take an extra loop around somewhere before we call it quits. This trip was no different. It took us a hundred turns, well, maybe 75, to do a 50 mile trip that was 70 miles for us.
As usual, Paul was right on time, 7:50 for an 8:00 meet-up. I had been there about 15 minutes already. Early start, longer ride.
Not too many miles from our meet-up was several turkeys crossing the highway. The last one was almost an Albino as it had a little coloring but mostly all white. First wild one I've seen. A little later we saw another bunch and then a deer. Helps to keep you really alert.
Then for a narrow 2-lane road with a bunch of twisting turns. It was really more like a lane and a half but it did have a center line.
The tree on the right is some kind of fir tree while the one that looks dead is a hardwood that is just starting to bud out with leaves. Mother Nature has some really funny ways.
And whoever owns this beautiful old spread must also have ownership in a paint store. Lots of white fencing around the place.
And just down the road was another large horse farm with lots of white fencing.
Sort of reminds me of an old Country Western song, "Don't Fence Me In". And those horses inside the fenced paddock aren't nags either.
Hedge row and tar snakes. What a combination. But isn't the sky pretty. I didn't have my camera turned on for the better picture which had hedges on both sides of the highway.
Another old farm house. If you come to this part of TN and then go to Williamsburg, VA you will see a lot of resemblance in architecture. They didn't waste a lot of lumber building porches.
As we neared Tellico Village we passed by a marina. Water is a little low as they're waiting for the heavy spring rains to build up the lakes.
Lots of blue wildflowers along the roadway. Also a lot of yellow flowers of some kind. Not planted by people, just grow up on their own via birds and wind.
It was kind of funny to see green every where and all of a sudden up comes this farm where portions of it were plowed for planting leaving a tan streak across the earth. Made the roof of the barn and shed blend in more.
Another finger of the lake this time running parallel with the highway. You could see the ripples in the water from currents and the wind.
This is the entrance to Tellico Village, a nicely developed piece of property with some very nice homes.
Mother Nature sure has a paint pallet to choose from. Her are light greens, dark greens, white, reddish brown just to mention a few of the abundant colors of spring time.
Hooking it up the road toward Sweetwater Farms.
And we finally arrive at Sweetwater Farms. The view from the front of the house is looking toward the mountains across a large green meadow.
Entering the farm, the building on the left has meeting room facilities where they give talks and demonstrations on making cheese, a painted cow with a milking stool so you can get a picture of family/friends milking a cow (except this cow doesn't swish her tail and doesn't kick) but Bossy doesn't give milk either.
Looking out from the front of the farm.
Inside are a couple of very long coolers with an abundant supply of cheese. They make about 30 or more different cheeses here and some additional cheeses are made for specific seasons. Let's see, I left with 5 different kinds of cheese and a bag of cheese curds that Paul had them to save for me via a telephone call the day before. Good friend he is.
And beside this cooler is one two the left also filled with cheese.
Leaving the cheese farm we headed out on another scenic back road. The flox flowers are really brilliant this year. A lot of people plant them on bluff sides where mowing is an issue or let them drape over stone walls.
Just one of many little fixer-uppers along the back roads.
That large pile is ground/crushed granite and limestone. This is a very large rock quarry. Vulcan Materials have a number of such quarries in this end of the state.
You can tell it has been raining lately as the rivers and streams are dark with run-off silt suspended in the water.
Just another curvy road. Nectar to a biker like pollen to a bee.
Our route back took us up US 129, the road to what is known as The Tail of The Dragon, but we didn't get on the dragon portion. We turned off onto the Foothills Parkway over to US 321 to Walland, TN. This is a very big TVA lake for a Hydro generator.
There's that squiggly sign again.
The Foothills Parkway is a very pretty ride. Especially today with the weather so clear. It has a number of pull-offs for resting, picture taking, picnicing, etc.
These folks were eating food out of their trunk. A nice way to enjoy yourself and eat in the outdoors at the same time.
Notice the Redbud trees on both sides of the roadway. A natural tunnel of pink.
Even bikers like to stop and check out the scenery every once in a while. Especially when your butt is becoming numb and your legs need to stretch. But whatever the reason, you would have to say the vista is very pretty.
Stopped at Walland to get a cup of coffee and stretch. Then we pulled out on more back roads headed toward Seymour. You could probably purchase this place fairly reasonable. It did need a little TLC. Especially the lawn mowed.
It's just something about country churches. They seem so stark white against the background. And there's bunches of them around here.
Getting closer to the house with a good view of the mountains and the local Black Angus cattle feeding on fresh grass.
This old farm has two large silos beside the very large barn. It was once a dairy but now just raise cattle. In fact, there were a lot of dairies in this area but costs and regulations put most of them out of business. One day we will regulate ourselves out of milk, butter and cheese.
It was a great day to ride, a great ride and now there is an abundance of cheese in the frig. Back around 2:00 p.m. and then off to mow lawns. What a day. Total mileage: 171 miles, all fun.
So, until the next Valkyrie Adventure, I pray that you pick and choose those things that are right for you and your family, enjoy your friends and be Blessed with what you have earned and been given. Drive/ride safely.
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