Upper Sequatchie Valley and Black Mountain

Thursday, November 19, 2015.  46 degrees, almost clear at the house but ran into fog just down the road.  Meeting up with Paul at 7:45 a.m. at Wiegle's at the corner of Chapman Hwy. and Boyds Creek Hwy.  Leaving there to ride south to Decatur, TN to meet up with Marc at Hardee's.  Route was too much for my memory so no map this time.

Pulled away from the house at 7:15 and about a block away noticed the fog over the land areas but not on the highway.  Light fog but no worries.

About 1 1/2 miles farther down Boyds Crk. Hwy. is "The School Zone".  Four schools, two on each side of the highway and always a traffic issue in the mornings and afternoons.  Worked out okay, only lost 10 minutes.

Suns coming out bright, sky is clear blue, what more does a biker need to start out on a good day's ride.

Oops.  Spoke too quickly.  I call this Ghosts Of The Yard.  This cemetery dates back to the late 1700s.  Fog hovering over the grasslands.









I can't remember how many times that I have photographed this farm but that big red barn and silo look even more photogenic with a light fog this morning.  We're running US 411 south from Seymour to Vonore, TN.













The fog does have some nice qualities about it as it provides moisture for the grass and crops and it makes some plain scenes nicer to look at.

But then it does have some negative qualities as well.  Like riding into a fog bank not knowing how thick it will be and how many crazy drivers will be running without headlights on.

About 12 miles south of Seymour on US 411 you hit a stretch of switchback curves referred to locally as 11 in 3.  This means 11 curves in 3 miles.  This shot is set on infinity and is not as far as it looks for that left hand curve.  This is at the southern end of the switchbacks.

Then we're back to some additional foggy moments both on and off the roadway.

Just keeps you alert and aware of your surroundings.  Slight moisture on your windscreen but the wind and air soon dries it off.

Comming into Vonore you cross the end of a lake.  Out on the still water a nice sailboat was anchored.

About 200 yds. after the sailboat the scenery turned foggier.  Wierd.  Just shows how fluctuating the temperature is between the land, air and water.








At Vonore we turned west onto TN72 for a few miles.  Clear with lots of pasture land.  We're between the mountains to the East and the Plateau to our West.

And like a lot of other places in East TN, a lot of small churches dotting the landscape.  Some very old and very pretty.

And there's some fool riding a motorcycle and taking pictures of a soybean field ready for harvest just beyond the border of a hay field.

TN 72 is a great sweeper ride.  Nice surface, wide lanes and it goes from rolling hills, valleys to the mountains.

And yes, there was some fog on it also but not heavy, more like whispy mist hanging in the air.

Then you would pop back into the sunlight and see a little foggy mist out over the fields.

 On a fourlane stretch I pulled up to take a profile picture of my biker buddy.  Today he's riding his Burgman 400 Scooter.  He also rides a Honda CBX500 or something like that.  Puts about 25,000 miles plus on these two each year.

Here you can see that I've dropped back to get a shot of him in front and the mountains in front of him.

Not to far out of Vonore we turned onto TN322 which took us over to Sweetwater where we caught I-75 for a few miles south and then onto TN 30 over to Decatur.

This is TN 30.  Basically riding through a valley for a good part of the ride.

I-75 was very light on traffic this morning.  Gives you a chance to air it out a bit.

We finally arrived at Hardee's in Decatur.  Marc was waiting for us on his Goldwing Trike.  He also rides a two-wheeler.  After a quick bite to eat and down some coffee we mounted our trusty steeds and took numerous backroads up to and through the mountains to finally come out on US127 which is in the middle of Sequatchie Valley.  As mentioned in an earlier article, Sequatchie Valley starts around Ft. Payne, AL and ends at Crossville, TN.  

It is the longest valley in East TN and I must say very beautiful.  Lots of rolling hills, huge farms and beautiful mountains.

One of the famous 1 1/2 lane roads we took over the top of the mountain to the Plateau.

No, that white behind the power pole is not a lake, it's fog laying in the valley below.

This little trick wasn't too bad.  Had some rough spots along the way but very ridable.  Just needed to keep your mind on the job at hand.

And then there was a sign, Next 2.2 Miles Gravel.  And downhill to boot.  That is the road that leads down to the left corner of the picture.  Marc is in front, no big dill for the trike but my 800+ pound Valkyrie is another matter plus the weight of my carcass on it.

Paul has negotiated the second switchback and Marc is going into it.  I must say, it was hairy as it was heavily rutted from rain runoff and the high side has a lot of loose gravel.

In a right turn I stopped to take this picture of a waterfall from high up on the mountain.  It had rained a lot the night before so the fall was running nicely.  In a day or two it could be just a trickle or dry.

Here is the same little stream from another location closer by.

Did I fail to mention while riding on this wet gravel road we also encountered fog?  By the way, it is a 2-way road and shortly after this we met a pickup truck.

That was a long 2 miles but it felt good to get back onto a more secure hard surface road even if it wasn't a real two laner.

The fog finally burned off and we were now riding toward the Plateau to catch US127 North toward Crossville, TN.

But first a short leg stretch, eat a snack bar and chat for a moment by this swollen creek.  It was moving fast enough that you could easily ride a surf board.  Maneuvering it around the curves and driftwood would be another thing.

We hit US127, ran it to near Crossville and then did a little loop ride around the town catching US70 Eastward to Crab Orchard, TN.  There we gassed up, grabbed some coffee (except Paul who always gets 2 scoops of ice cream) and stretched.  Our next leg would take us up to Black Mountain.

After our Crab Orchard stop we headed up to the lookout on top of Black Mountain.  This was another of those two way traffic one lane roads.

Nice scenery going up.  In the summer the leaves keeps you from seeing much farther than the edge of the road.

We reached the top, parked the bikes in the parking area and started hiking to the overlook.  Paul knew the way, we thought.  We finally found the path.  Other than fighting the branches of the trees if you walked East you would come to it or fall off the edge of the mountain.

Looking up the valley from Black Mountain.  It is really interesting as there once was families living up in this area.

Huge rock outcroppings were all around.  In my younger days I would probably have jumped over this gap between the rock formations but age has added to my senses a bit.  So we walked around to get to the other side.

The various rock formations were very interesting.  You could see where the softer minerals had eroded leaving large pock marks on the boulders.

Another view of the valley looking more southeastward.

Not the best picture because of the location of the sun but you can get an idea of the expanse of the valley below.

Now take just two more steps back so I can get a better shot of you.  My friend Paul who was taking a picture of Marc and I.

The rock wall of the valley could be seen from far away but looks so much grander close up.

Makes one wonder how these large boulders got to this place, where did they come from?

This appears as two boulders meeting and apparently over time there was some erosion at the bottom.  Now a small spring runs through the opening.  We would normally go through there but at this time if was water from rock wall to rock wall.

Maybe the beginning of an amphitheatre.  Anyway, it would make a great place to get out of a downpour or a snow storm.

Making our way back to the parking area we came across the remains of two houses.  All that's left of them now are the chimneys and a bit of the foundation.  They shared a common spring house for water and keeping food cool.  The spring was about 50 yds. from the house.

Back to Crab Orchard to catch US70 but first a picture of a limestone mining operation that can easily be seen from I-40.  We were going to ride right past it on US70.  There are 4 or 5 mining shafts that go straight back into the mountain.

A closer look at the limestone tunnels.

Seems these Bradford Pear Trees are running just a tad late in their Fall colors and in fropping their leaves.

We turned onto Firetower Rd. to take a quick ride to the top of a very tall hill filled with a fire tower and plenty of radio/telephone/microwave towers.  The crew there was installing a large star for Christmas lighting.

A vew of the TN River from the fire tower site.

Back down the Firetower Rd. to US70 and onward toward Rockwood but not actually go into the town.  We would skirt it.  Marc would leave us and head south back to his home.  Paul and I would continue eastward to Seymour.

We would pass some nice lakes off the TN River, some farmland, some developed house locations and so forth to eventually get onto another back road avoiding the Interstate.

Turn here turn there here a turn there a turn and we would almost go everywhere until we finally hit Seymour, TN. 









This was a great day with great weather.  It allowed us to see some interesting sights, meet some nice country folks and enjoy ourselves to the fullest.  Life is grand even if it does have a few rough spots.  We don't get to ride with Marc often due to his work schedule so today was rather special.  In fact, every day is special when you can ride and enjoy what this world has to offer.

Door to door, 234 miles.  Fun account, marvelous.  What more can I say.  So until the next Valkyrie Adventure, take a few minutes to be thankful for what you have and where you are.  We came by it the hard way at a great cost of lives and sweat.  So don't just waste it.  Ride/drive safe.