Loop Along Edge of the Park and to Dollywood

Tuesday, June 26, 2018.  A good day as it is my son Ian's Birthday and a good day for a bike ride.  Wendy and I left around 10:00 a.m.after having breakfast at a local cafe, Connie's, and took the back roads from Seymour down to Walland, Townsend, Gatlinburg, and onward to Dollywood in Pigeon Forge.  Wanted to catch a couple of shows today.

A shot over my shoulder at Wndy riding her Glidetrike down Boyds Creek Hwy. to Chapman.

A little overcast but suppose to be nothing to worry about, like rain.

High fog or low cloud but still nothing to worry about.

I'm riding Redbug today as Sweet Thang is in the shop getting some maintenance work.

Wendy trying to get off her trike while I'm making fun of who knows what.  Anyway, she did dismount and we whipped up on some pancakes and coffee.

Seymour First Baptist Church, where we go, looks like a cloud is laying on the roof.  And that is the direction we're heading.

Zipping along on one of the backroads heading toward Walland, TN.

It was nice and cool this morning.   Partly because we have had some rain lately that cooled things off a bit.

The University of TN Agricultural Center.  Lots of green things grown here.  However, today about all you see is the fence and the mountains.  But that's okay with me, still a nice view.

Left turn at the end of the fence and you're on the Old Walland Highway which follows alongside the Little Pigeon River.

A nice mountain and cloud view looking across the Ag Ctr. field.















We entered the Park at the Townsend entrance point.  The river was flowing rather well with all of the recent rains.

Still there were some nice pool areas where the water looked like a mirror it was so smooth.

You had to be careful of the damp or wet sections along the way.  Some of it was seepage from the mountainside along the edge of the road.

We did see a few Kayakers but not as many as I thought I would see.  Usually after a good rain they all run to the river to ride the rapids.

Very serene today.  Very few cars coming or going.  Lets you enjoy the views a bit better.

This particular area had some great changes to it a few days later as it did some major raining up in the mountains the the island in the middle of the river was more like a tree standing alone.

It's hard to believe that many years ago this winding narrow road was the bed for a narrow gauge railroad that hauled huge logs cut from the area to a sawmill located at what is now the Elkmont Campground.

If you drive along the river at low water you can get a better look at what you're going to hit if you tube or kayak it in high water.

Nothing extreme today but let a couple of days of heavy rains up in the mountains come and the little ripples become nice rapids.

Unfortunately I was facing into the sun and way off in the distance is a nice waterfall.  Today it was only a few feet wide.  I have seen it about 30' wide.  It all depends on the amount of rain.

Maneuvering around some of the huge boulders in the river can be a real task.

The drive is nice and easy and cool and quiet.  Just the whir of Redbug's engine.

A nice view of the mountains in the background.

In Gatlinburg we made a turn and went up the Orchard Park Rd.

They are rebuilding one of the houses that last year's fire destroyed.

There's still places that is evident the fire came through.  It is good to see how well Mother Nature makes a comeback.

Trees damaged by the fire but the scrub brush is holding the soil in place.  Time will tell on when the trees come back.

On the way to Dollywood we passed this nice pasture where two horses were grazing. No fighting, just eating. 

We went to Dollywood, caught a couple of shows and then headed back to Downtown Seymour.  It was a very good day, temps not to bad and no rain.  For me it was 122 miles door to door.

So until the next Adventure story, ride safe, visit your friends and neighbors and take a look at this USA.  Peace.

Del Rio, TN and Some New Back Roads

Wednesday, May 23, 2018.  Upper 60s at meet up and upper 80s at the end of the ride.  Today Biker Bud, Paul, and I were heading to Del Rio, TN for a breakfast and then return via some mountain back roads, some of which I had not ridden.

We met at 8 a.m. at the Exxon on Boyds Crk. Hwy. and departed riding TN 139 up to Dandridge and continued on to Newport and finally arrived at Fox Den Restaurant for a delicious breakfast which we split a portion of, the biscuits and gravy portion.  They make delicious omelets if I do say so myself.

Lots of moisture in the air with some heavy clouds but weather forecast said no rain until late afternoon.  Love cloud pics.

I almost clicked this pic to soon.  It's my old favorite, the Island View School on Boyds Crk. Hwy.

The sun  looks like a fireball on the power line, which I have seen once or twice with my 42 years with a power company.  But here it was just the sun.

Crossing a finger of Douglas Lake in the early morning light.

Running up a portion of the I-40 heading toward Newport and places beyond.

Crossing the French Broad River, which was flowing well after the rains of late.

Coming to the end of an era, this old house could probably tell a lot of stories.

Continuing on our way to Del Rio.  Love the mountains close or far off.

Clouds hanging onto the top of the mountains makes them look like they are on fire.

This was definitely not I-40 but it did have a name because Google said it did.  I just followed Paul and yes, sometimes he does lead me down the wrong path.

Small country homes almost hidden among the foliage.

Barns in some places were multi-use buildings.  Top stored tobacco to cure and the lower part was for the animals and feed.

And the roadway doesn't get any wider.  However, the Kudzu does grow well around here.

Then we turned onto this road which was about 6 ft. wide.  By the way, it is a two way road.

We pulled off to look at a bridge crossing the river with an intent to climb the tower.  It was for a Zip-line ride which lasted about 45 mins. total.  That handsome devil on the bridge was moi.

Just as we dismounted our trusty steeds a voice rang out "East TN Bikers".  It was Daryl, one of the members, better known as Sarge, Semper Fi.  He works here during the summer.  Besides Zip-lines they also do rafting down the river, in groups or solo.  A fleet of buses transports the rafters back to this starting point from the end of their ride.

We left Sarge after a little BS session and jumped back on the interstate for a few miles.

I-40 is very scenic running through the gaps in the mountains.  This section is between Asheville, NC and Knoxville, TN.

The speed limit is somewhat restricted and even slower in places but it is still a great ride.

We diverted from the wide lanes of the interstate to a narrow gravel road traversing through the mountains.

All total, we ran about 15 miles of gravel today.  This road would take us over to Catalooche Valley.

After the rains the gravel was pretty well packed.  Then the gravel ended and we were back onto an asphalt surfaced two lane road.











Farther and farther we rode

and we finally broke out into the valley.  There are a lot of Elk here but we didn't see any today.  

Years ago the valley had several families and even a church.

Some pretty areas here in the valley.

We stopped for a bit and I noticed a large group of butterflies milling around.  It could well be mating season.

Paul trying to tell them to be still so he could get them all in a picture.  It never happened.

Some were this color

but most were the yellow trimmed in black variety.  I didn't major in butterflies so I'm no expert.  I just like to watch them as they are very pretty.

On our way out we had to cross this bridge over a stream.  The sign stated that all traffic had to alternate.  We didn't have that problem today.

Another gurgling mountain stream.  A good place to bring a chair and a good book.

On the way out we passed this small waterfall.  The number of waterfalls is determined by the amount of rain.

This old house is typical for the area and was across the highway from the 

Big Creek Country Store, established in 1927.  Had to stop to see what they had.

While sipping our coffee, I bought because it was over a dollar per cup, I took a few inside pics.

These stores are not all that big but they carry a little bit of everything.

Having a wide variety of stuff in stock comes in handy when you live over two hours from a Walmart or hardware store.

One way in and one way out.  Exit is plainly marked.

Came across some rafters on the way back home.  Need a thrill, jump in one of these right after a big rain.

You don't want to see the bottom of these streams when the water is at low level near the end of summer.

We crossed several rivers during today's ride, some more than once.  Still a cooling effect when the sun is beating down.  More mental than anything unless you're right beside it in the shade.

It was a great ride today.  Good friend, good food, and great scenery.  Have to say some good roads also.  Today's ride was 197 miles door to door.  Redbug had a work out.


So until the next Valkyrie Adventure, take ten and smell the roses.  Be Safe.