House Hunting Near Asheville, NC

Saturday morning was cool as a front had come through the night before.  It was to bring some cool air and some well needed rain.  And it happened.  Biker friend Paul had set up a ride over to Asheville, NC via back roads to check on a house he had rented for a family gathering some time later.  It was to celebrate he and his wife's 60th wedding anniversary.  All I can say is she is a hell of a woman to put up with this old crotchity goat.

Anyway, a little before 7:00 a.m. I pulled out of the driveway headed for the Exxon meet up place on Boyds creek.  Meet time was 7:30.  I got there a bit early and topped off Redbug's tank and had about a half cup of coffee before he rolled up.  He topped off his tank and we pulled out about 7:20.

Right out of my subdivision headed up Boyds Creek Hwy.  Wasn't foggy in my subdivision but this highway is somewhat unpredictable.

A bit farther up the highway.  Sun is trying hard to burn through the mist.  Makes a bit of a Biblical appearance.

One of my favorite shots is the old school house along the way.  They are doing some repairs to it and have rehung a bell in the bell tower.

Some recently rolls of hay.  Farmers are going crazy trying to get their hay in between the rains lately.

We turned up TN 139 headed to Dandridge and passing along the edge of Douglas Lake.

A morning serene look as we rode among the shadows of the trees alongside the lake.  Most of the fog was gone.

Yep, would make a good picnic site.  As long as the owner didn't care.  With all of the rains we finally got the lake is FULL which means my electricity bill will be based on the cost of hydro power.

Even at an angle it looks good.  Not all shots from a motorcycle are true and exact as for position.  It's done on the fly most of the time.

 On our route out of Dandridge we pass this old Methodist Church.  it is being refurbished.  It's a big wooden structure.

We're now on I-40 for a short run and then we'll get off for the back roads again.  Crossing a finger of Douglas Lake.

I-40 West bound and down.  Very low traffic today.  And it's nice and cool.  Redbug is running smooth and peppy.

Just a bit farther and we will exit from the interstate for some more back roading.  Main roads but at least off the interstate.

On our main back road I kept looking at those big clouds over the mountain.  They didn't look too friendly.

We had already run through an area that had a recent rain.  Didn't bother us as all we did was drop some speed due to the dampness of the highway.  We didn't get wet or I wouldn't be writing this.  Sugar melts.

Crossing the French Broad River near Hot Springs, NC.  And those clouds still look grumpy.

Maybe we should stop and put on some rain gear.  Wait, what's this we as Paul has his own already.  Maybe he read something in the weather that I didn't.

I know this is blurry but I believe it is actually better looking this way as you don't get the full shock of the scene.  Yes, people actually live here and it has never been any better looking than it is right now.

I wish I could have captured this picture with the barn in the center.  I love the wisp of cloud over the top of it.

The rivers are running muddy today.  Heavy rains last night and they are full too.

A nice array of clouds tinted with bits of white along their edge and beyond is blue sky.  Nope, not an artist, just love the way a lot of natural things look.

This is a nice smooth highway heading for Hot Springs, NC with Marshall, NC for our first stop of the day.

Crossing the border.  No passport needed here but a gun may not be a bad thing to have.  Of course, a gun may not be a bad thing to have in TN either.  Therefore, both of us have carry permits and weapons.

Mountains on the horizon, still headed in the right direction.

Coming down the hill into Hot Springs.  It's a small community with a large spa.  And some dang good MC roads to ride in the area.

And that darned river is still muddy.

After leaving Hot Springs the road gets even better.  Some good sweeping curves in the mountains as you head toward Marshall, NC.

Entering Marshall, NC is a "must stop" requirement, morning or afternoon.  Paul peeling off some of his riding gear all the time thinking of what he's after inside this place.

The deli/bakery here makes delicious Apple Fritters and they have a decent cup of coffee also.  When our bikes come across one of these stores it is a hard task to keep them from turning in.

After a breakfast snack at Ingles we pull out heading for Asheville, NC to try and find the rented house.

Recent rain here as you can see the dampness on the asphalt.  River to the right of me, hard rock mountain and trees to the left.  Let's not make a mistake today.

A nice motorcycle road.  Good road surface and some nice curves.

Just some rugged mountain sides instead of guardrails.

And again we cross a river with muddy water.  What makes those whitecaps or rock and/or stones in the river.

Beautiful farm land in this area.  

They grow a lot of hay, corn and tomatoes.

They also grow headstones here too.

And they have churches as well.

A nice field of corn.  And I've eaten about an acre of microwaved corn in the shuck this season.  Yum yum.

Making our way to the rental house we go winding along the curvy roads and looking at some of the Crepe Myrtle bushes that are blooming.

A tobacco barn but I didn't see any tobacco plants in the area.  Probably used for hay storage these days.

A nice Crepe Myrtle blooming.  And they seem to come in many colors.

Barns, sheds and houses of a gone era in history.  Just decay, rot and rubble today.

They were doing a bit of highway construction along our route for several miles.  A good day for it as there was no dust in the air.

Down in the valley stretches a very long tomato field.  Lots of hard work to make those round red things that I like to eat.  Acres and acres of them.  And lots of staking also.

That meadow looks like a great place to just sit with a book and a large jug of iced tea and meditate.

But then some noisy motorcycles would come along and mess up the quietness and peaceful atmosphere.  I'm sure glad our bikes are not noisy.

Rolling hills and round tomatoes.  I wonder if the environment being hilly is what makes them so round.

This road goes to heaven.  Well, not really but it sure seems to head in that direction.  I will tell you it is heavenly to ride it.

A house of unusual features.  I saw it from three views and all three were different.  Odd design.

After we found the house and Paul took several pics of it we pulled out and headed back West.  We pulled into a Pilot Truck Stop, ate a free hot dog thanks to a friend of Paul's that gives him baseball ticket stubs with the offer. 

Paul and I split at the truck stop as I needed to be back at the house by 2:00 p.m. and we were 85 miles away.  So at 11:30 I departed and ran the interstate back to the 407 exit at Sevierville.

I love this stretch of I-40 as it winds its way through the mountain gaps back to the TN state line.

Starting to get in the groove but have to watch the speed limit as it slows to 55mph through the mountains.  Seems to have a number of truck/auto accidents in this stretch.

I twisted the right handlebar grip a bit to make it more exciting to ride and clipped along until I made my exit.  There I ran TN 66 to Boyds Creek Hwy., made a right turn and headed back to the house.  Then I noticed the gas gauge had started to flicker meaning I had about 0.7 gals. left.  I stopped at a gas station about 5 miles from the house, tanked up, calculated the mileage (72.6mpg), closed the passenger seat, patted Redbug on the butt and headed out for the house.

It was a great day to ride.  Cool in the morning and not too hot in the afternoon.  No rain to worry with and a good taste of Apple Fritters to boot.  Door to door for me was 220 miles of absolute fun.

So until the next Valkyrie Adventure, think of someone other than yourself that you really like and pay some extra attention to them.  Remember that today is today and tomorrow is not a sure thing.