Tuesday, April 26, 2016. Temps today start in mid 50s and end in low 80s. No rain today. A great day for riding. Early meet-up this morning for today we're going to head up to VA for some different sights and scenes. About 7:30 a.m. I pushed Little Hoss out of the garage and headed up to the Exxon Sta. to meet biker friend Paul. Arrived there about 20 minutes early, grabbed a cup of coffee and actually finished it before he rode up about 10 minutes early. So off we went.
Gonna be a nice day, just got that early morning feeling.
As we ride by my favorite school, Seven Islands School.
A bit farther up Boyds Creek Rd. the sun is highlighting the old farm house and barn, both now just relics of time.
We get to TN 66, make a left turn and now we're in the continuing construction zone for several miles. I'm sure one day it will be complete as it's been dragging on for over 3 years. And it is 35 mph and often patrolled.
Looking out over the hills in the early morning light. Love the pattern clouds make in that big blue sky.
This partially hidden brown brick and roof building is for you chocolate lovers. It is loaded inside with condiments made by Russell Stover. And they're goooood.
To speed up getting to our destination we hit the interstates this morning. First it was I-40 and then I-81 heading Northeast to the Land of Lovers, Virginia.
We don't normally do a lot of interstate highway riding but when you want to get some place quicker to enjoy more time there it becomes a necessity.
Clouds look as if they have been fluffed and the water was a smooth as a mirror this morning.
You can see the water level in the lake is down by the amount of red clay you see along the shore line. Time to start filling them up again so as to make that hydro-electric power.
That speck in the lower left is a Great Blue Heron. It's either had breakfast or going to get it.
Far off in the distance you can start to see those VA mountains appear.
A band of freshly plowed earth just inside the fence row. Maybe a bit of produce or maybe a crop for the animals feed. You can smell the freshness of the dirt.
Peaks to paradise, these old mountains contain a lot of history and much of it people just look at and drive on by.
We eventually turned off the interstate and now are on some good sweeper roads still heading for VA.
There are some buildings along highways that make you wander why they were built and/or what were they used for.
There was a lot of earth removed making roadways in the mountains. But it took all of it to fill in the hollows between the hills.
They said it wasn't going to rain today but those clouds look a little suspicious even if they are reflected in the water from the river.
This old barn couldn't have gotten much closer to the highway. It's been there for a long long time.
One of those old houses that you hate to see slowly deteriorate.
We stopped in Sneedville, TN for a quick breakfast and coffee. Then within 20 minutes we were back on the road again.
Still heading for VA.
No, it wasn't a funeral, a church service, a wedding, nor a flea market. It was merely a junk yard on both sides of the highway.
We came to the VA state line and low and behold, the pavement turned into about 3 miles of gravel. Good surface, much better than the last dirt I was riding on.
It meandered over the mountain and through a valley before it ended back to a paved road.
Pavement, no dust. Aromas of sweet smelling flowers and barnyards. All mixed together in some places. But a beautiful valley we rode through.
This area of VA borders along the coal country of the state. Here it is lush and green but over by the coal area it gets rather dismal, just like TN and KY.
Some nice country roads, new to us.
Nice rolling hills and pastures. To the right that object is normally used for storing whole ears of corn after they have been harvested and schucked.
Old farm buildings, electric fences, and old farm houses dot the landscape along this route.
A nice view of the forested mountains.
Country living means making a grocery list because it was tooo far to have to drive back into town for something you might have missed.
The litter patrol had come along ahead of us. Thank goodness, for if they were still along the route Paul and I might have been considered "biker trash" and placed in one of those orange bags to be later thrown in a truck or trailer and hauled to the landfill.
Just a grazing.
Paul and I stopped every so often along side of the road to snap a picture of the landscape. The picture doesn't do justice to the layers of mountains in the background nor the valley below.
Looking down into the valley between the mountains.
At Duffield, VA we decided to take a break and grab a bite to eat.
Coming into the edge of some coal country in VA. Not many people working coal these days thanks to the EPA. Lots of people out of work. About all that's left is logging.
We rode to the Natural Tunnel State Park. We were going to go down and look at the train tunnel which was a natural tunnel but we didn't.
It was a steep downhill uphill trail to the tunnel and the chair lift was not operating today. So we moved on.
We did get a picture of the train that was donated to the park.
The "Money Shot", Little Hoss next to the Little Engine. And it is little.
A placard telling about the donation of the steam engine to the park.
After a bit we were off heading back towards TN.
This old railroad trestle bridge was picturesque. I'm sure many tons of coal has crossed those steel girders over the years.
House of vines on left, farm house on the right.
We stopped on the Clinch River bridge to take a picture. Then I took a pic of Paul and the camera shook. Thank goodness it didn't break.
A little white church on the hill.
Another one of those rock farms.
On our way back we rode a ridge that had a nice valley on each side. Wasn't an exciting road but it did have some very pretty scenery.
Looking from the ridge to the valley below.
The road we're about to travel is down below us. A very sharp bend on a downhill run and a house built in the curve with very little usable land.
That red barn really stood out against the green background as did this old house, big for its day but now on a downhill run to destruction.
Taking a leisure ride along one of the lanes feeling the warm sun, smelling the sweet smell of flowering shrubs and just chilling.
This school is well over 65 years old and is now used as a community center. Not many children in the area back then. Not too many now either.
My batteries died right after I took this last picture, no applause needed, The stream looks inviting. May have to do a bit of skinny dipping when it gets hotter.
After this we continued heading back to Morristown and then grabbed the interstates back to Kodak, TN and a stop in at Mountain Motorsports looking for a free cup of coffee. They were out but we enjoyed stopping.
The ride ended with 234 miles of travel in two states by two old guys that were out having a good time. Ever since Paul fell in the mud hole we have renamed him. His forum name is PaulRides, but now it's either PaulSplashes or Mudcat. The way he was wriggling around in that mud hole I prefer "Mudcat".
It was a fun day. A beautiful day and a safe day. We enjoyed it to the fullest. So until the next Adventure ride, have some fun but be careful when doing it.
Far off in the distance you can start to see those VA mountains appear. 
There are some buildings along highways that make you wander why they were built and/or what were they used for. 
They said it wasn't going to rain today but those clouds look a little suspicious even if they are reflected in the water from the river.
This area of VA borders along the coal country of the state. Here it is lush and green but over by the coal area it gets rather dismal, just like TN and KY. 
Some nice country roads, new to us. 
Nice rolling hills and pastures. To the right that object is normally used for storing whole ears of corn after they have been harvested and schucked. 
Old farm buildings, electric fences, and old farm houses dot the landscape along this route. 
Paul and I stopped every so often along side of the road to snap a picture of the landscape. The picture doesn't do justice to the layers of mountains in the background nor the valley below. 
Coming into the edge of some coal country in VA. Not many people working coal these days thanks to the EPA. Lots of people out of work. About all that's left is logging. 
We rode to the Natural Tunnel State Park. We were going to go down and look at the train tunnel which was a natural tunnel but we didn't. 
House of vines on left, farm house on the right. 
We stopped on the Clinch River bridge to take a picture. Then I took a pic of Paul and the camera shook. Thank goodness it didn't break. 
The road we're about to travel is down below us. A very sharp bend on a downhill run and a house built in the curve with very little usable land. 
That red barn really stood out against the green background as did this old house, big for its day but now on a downhill run to destruction. 
