Touristing In TN and Sightseeing in TN and NC

Arrangements made.  Meet up at Exxon (now open again) at 7:50 a.m. to ride with biker friend Paul today.  Temp in mid-50s with a high in the upper 70s.  Partly cloudy with a 40% chance for rain (somewhere).  Paul has 2 coupons for a $2 pancake breakfast at the Farmhouse Restaurant in Pigeon Forge.  We shall partake of those round layers of carbs before we get serious about the rest of the day.  So off we went, pancakes dancing in our minds and then on to Ober Gatlinburg to play.

Just outside of my subdivision heading to the meet up point.

At the meet up point.  Sky doesn't look any happier.

I'll have to be very careful but I may just need to check this place out.

On TN route 66 heading for the Tourist Spots in the Smokies.  Sky looks more inviting.

Playing in the traffic on the Spur, that span of highway between Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg.

For a $3 donation and if you were from Sevier County, TN you could ride the Tram from Gatlinburg to the top of the mountain to Ober Gatlinburg.  And we did.  This is looking toward NC from the tram.

Up at Ober Gatlinburg we went to the nature center after we got our wristbands.  One of these pictured here is Paul.

Two of the three bears here.  One is 34 years old, close to max for a bear in captivity and about twice as old compared to living in the wild.

There were two Bobcats, born in Arkansas and brought here to stay.  One weighs about 5 lbs. more than the other.  Beautiful cats.

This is the oldest bear.  And I forgot his name.

Here's another old bear and I do know his name, it's Paul.

There were several Otter but tis one was taking a sunbath.  Later they let everyone know they were about to feed them.

When the feeding started they went after that food lickity split.

Then like all good tourists, we had to ride the chair lift to near the top of the mountain and take the Alpine Slide back down.  No more Alpine Slide, these old bones won't bend enough to wad up inside of that small sled.  The other ride they have there is new but it wasn't running today.  Of course, it also didn't come in the package we were privileged to.

A shot of the ice rink.  Two of my grandchildren use to come here on Monday's for private skating lessons and they performed in the Annual Christmas Show.










Leaving Ober Gatlinburg heading back into Gatlinburg, notice the brown spot on the side of the mountain.  That's from the forest fires we had up here.  Looking from an elevation you can see the fires ringed the city in spots as hot embers were blown by the high winds.  Still amazing the city center escaped destruction.

Our bikes were parked in front of a business and this wagon was used as a flower urn of sorts.  A BBQ restaurant.

Then we saddles up and off we rode into the Smoky Mountain National Park to cross the mountain into North Carolina, henceforth mentioned as NC.

A pretty drive from Gatlinburg to the Sugarlands Visitor Center.

Alas, going up the mountain the clouds began to look a wee bit furious.  In fact, down right threatening.  We just may get wet, soaked even.

But nonetheless, we pursued our quest to ride some NC backroads today. wet or dry.

And then you break out into a clearing and it looked more like a beautiful day in the mountains.

Did I mention that we might get just a little damp today.

And into Cherokee we rode with the river on one side and our destination ahead.

We would be riding toward Franklin, NC but not actually to the town.  Our turn off was on the Cherokee side of Franklin.  

But as we rode, depending on the direction of the road, the clouds kept getting darker and more threatening.  We caught NC 28 and believe me, this was one of the most crooked roads I have been on.  From the time you hit 28 you flip flopped until you reached the end of it.  And the curves were not steep banked.  However, should you depart the roadway there was plenty of Kudzu you could grab hold of as you left the road.  Maybe.

On our way out and back toward Cherokee we crossed a nice river.  The bridge had an emergency lane so we used it to take this picture of a raft floating downstream with some guys fishing from it.  Now that is how to have a relaxing day.

The scene was so nice that I thought it would make a good backdrop for a picture of Redbug, my faithful steed.  Sort of like a Mustang horse, good spirit, tough as nails and run baby run.

We came upon a construction where a new bridge was being constructed.  The old bridge shown here is a single laner.  Being that Paul is older than I, I found it fitting to let him cross it first and if all went well I would follow.

We scrambled on a road here and a road there heading back into Cherokee and on to the house.

A good surface, dry and curvy.  Great way to spend the miles.

Mountains in the background, we must be getting closer to Cherokee and the clouds don't look so threatening either.

Just another old tumbling down barn showing its many years of use and now neglect.

Closer and closer we come yet still miles to go.  Who wouldn't like that scene.  Peaceful at its grandest.

Then we cross another river or it may have been the same river at another area.  Anyway, we crossed it.

Another country church, small, but meeting its requirement for its Believers.  Tranquil spot.

We get back to Hardee's in Cherokee, check the weather maps and Paul decides he will put on his rain pants.  I decided it was too much trouble for me so I was going to stay as I was.  After we rode off heading back into the Park, the roads were soaked.  The time we spent checking the weather and putting on rain pants let us miss a pretty good rain cell so all we got was road spray.  Shortly after that the roads were dry again.


We rode back to the house without another drop of water touching us.  A miracle at its best.  A great road to remember riding, a great day playing tourist, and good time with a friend.  Total cost for the day, approx. $10.  Total value for money and time spent, 100% payback.

Total mileage racked up for today was 196 miles for me door to door.  What a day.  Bending curves, playing the the out of towners, and dodging rain storms.  But then, that's just an average day for a biker.

I started this the yesterday and am finishing it Sunday, June 11th.  I just found out this afternoon that a biker/church friend, Ron, got killed yesterday/last night while riding with a friend. Please watch for motorcycles and bicycles.  They're not as big as a car and have a lot less protection.  And remember, the highways belong to all of us, not just cars and trucks.  If otherwise, I'm buying a tank and you may be sorry.  Prayers for Ron, his wife Wendy and their family.  R.I.P. Ron.  He's now a Rider In The Sky.