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Simmons1
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- Rich
- Last Name
- Simmons
Last year about this time Linda and I took my trusty old ST1300 to Arkansas and Missouri for a week.
When we returned Linda said we needed to have a more comfortable bike for her if I wanted her to do any more multi-day trips with me. Within a month we bought a used Goldwing.
Last week would be our first real big trip on the Wing. Deals Gap has been on Linda's motorcycle ride Bucket List for many years. So we put together a plan that would take in Deals Gap, and the Bonus Pie Run, plus do other site seeing along the way.
Day 1 Fort Worth to Hope, Arkansas.
We both worked a ¾ day at work and then hurried home to hit the road . We would Interstate it to Hope since we were leaving in the afternoon.
At our gas stop:
After finding a room for the night we headed for supper. Had a great meal at Jakes. We highly recommend it if you are ever passing through the area.
Day 2 Hope to Batesville, MS
The plan for the rest of the ride was to stay on secondary roads and stop more often to see things.
Linda ready to roll
Our first stop was 5 minutes after we left the Hotel. Bill's house is much bigger than another celebrities house we would visit a couple days from now.
We rolled on having a great ride through Arkansas until all of a sudden the scenery really flattened out and all the trees disappeared. We were closing in on the mighty Mississippi River.
Our next stop would be at “The Crossroads” in the Mississippi Delta town of Clarksdale to see where legend has it that Blues great Robert Johnson sold his sole to the devil to achieve success.
We then headed to the Ground Zero Blues Club for lunch. The food was good and the atmosphere great.
After lunch we walked next dore to spend some time in the Delta Blues Museum.
Unfortunately, we weren't allowed to take pictures inside, but the museum was really neat if you are any fan of the Blues at all.
http://www.deltabluesmuseum.org/index.asp
After the museum we continued East to Batesville, MS and called it a day.
Day 3 Batesville to Fayetteville, Tennessee
We got up early and got rolling so that we didn't waste any cool air to ride. Our stop was to visit the birth place of The King Elvis.
Linda greeting a young Elvis
Back on the road we go
We saw this character at our next gas stop
He walked over to chat with us and we both had a real hard time understanding what he was saying.
After gassing up we were headed for a short stretch of the Natchez Trace.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natchez_Trace
But not before we took a wrong turn and took the “scenic” route to back to where need to go.
After getting off the Trace we had a short ride to Fayetteville. The town was very nice especially the town square where we stopped to see what kind of lodging was available.
Day 4 Fayetteville to Athens, Tennessee
Today would be a pretty short mileage day so we had plenty of time to visit Lynchburg. First stop would be for a Tour of the Jack Daniels Distillery. The tour was very interesting enough for those that are not Whiskey drinkers
Charcoal used for mellowing is made from the wood in the background.
Where the magic water comes from to make Jack Daniels
After the tour we went to Historic downtown Lynchburg to check it out. Since it was Sunday morning there was not a huge amount of activity.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lynchburg,_Tennessee
An hour or so after leaving Lynchburg we decided to stop for a snack and a drink. Shortly after we pulled in two DR650's and Triumph Tiger pulled in loaded for bear. They told us they were from North Carolina and were going to see how far they could get on the Trans America Trail (TAT) in 2 weeks. They were on the second day of their trip and told us they had been having navigation problems between Sams roll chart and their GPS's. Since we road on the same road they were on can I claim I rode on the TAT on Wing?
Day 5 Athens to Gatlinburg, Tennessee
It was cool and sunny when we left the Hotel for Gatlinburg. Before getting there we had some great roads to ride starting out with the Cherohala Skyway. While not technically challenging the Cherohala has nice sweeping turns and great scenery.
Since Linda is a Graham birth this photo was special for her.
Click next one for video
Next stop would be Lynn's place for the TWT Bonus Pie Run. We waited around until the appointed time and then when in ate. The pulled pork special was good the peanut butter pie even better.
We would late find out the that the Pie Man and crew were delayed due to the case of the missing fingers.
We were asked to sign the dragon before leaving Lynn's
Across the street from Lynn's was the old Court House.
Next stop Deal Gap for Linda cross out another bucket list item.
There would plenty of these on ride through the Gap enforcing the now 30 mph speed limit.
Next up would the Foothills Parkway on the way to Gatlinburg.
We arrived in Gatlinburg and found a pretty nice old Hotel in the middle of the tourist area. After cleaning up we went for a stroll and immediately found my favorite beer that unfortunately you can't buy at home in Texas.
We called it an early night and got a good nights sleep.
Day 6 Gatlinburg rest day.
Today was a planned day off the bike to walk around do some touristy stuff. We started off by walking to the Aquarium.
After the Aquarium we walked back towards the Hotel on the opposite side of the main drag.
Had lunch and a rest and then checked out some cool TV Show cars
After a quick walk through the Guinness Records Museum and our short visit to Gatlinburg was finished.
Day 7 Gatlinburg to Roswell, Ga
Today we would take a ride through Smoky Mountain National Park on the way to my brothers house.
We would soon be back in North Carolina at Newfound Gap.
While at this stop we saw a strange thing happen considering where were standing. A Taxi cab pulled in and three people got out with big pack backs. They were being dropped off to do a little hiking for the summer. They were headed to Maine.
The views from here were just gorgeous.
Next up would go check out Clingman Dome which is supposed to have a 360 degree view of the Smoky's. To get there was a 7 mile twisty road to the parking area and then a ½ mile hike to the overlook.
Back on the road to Roswell.
After this stop I made a bit of a boo boo and tipped over the Wing in the middle of the road. A couple cars stopped and a very nice guy helped me pick up the bike. Linda said she hit her elbow and my right foot really hurt bad. After we collected ourselves we continued on.
We crossed over in to the mountains of North Georgia and the roads were still awesome. 197 on the West side of Burton Lake was one of the better roads. It was almost 2pm so we decided to stop for lunch. My foot was really hurting but I decided not to take my boot off until we were in Roswell.
We both had the special Prime Rib French dip that was excellent.
We pulled into my brother Steve's garage and I soon had my boot off to inspect my foot. Only damage was to my big toe.
We had great relaxing dinner and visit with Steve and Anita and then hit the hay.
Day 8 Roswell to Jasper. Alabama
We left Roswell around 9am headed West to work our way back home. Linda and Anita when we were departing.
My foot was throbbing pretty good we had stayed up late visting the night before so we stopped earlier than planned. We both took long naps and then walked next door for supper and then to see the new Star Trek movies. All in all still good day.
Day 9 Jasper to Crossett, Arkansas
After riding for an hour or so we did another 30 mile section of the Natchez Trace to connect a couple roads together.
After a quick stop for gas in Greenwood we headed to Indianola to check out the BB King Museum.
The museum was very well done with a lot of history about BB King and about living in Mississippi during the birth of the Blues era. Unfortunately, like the Delta Blues Museum in Clarksdale no photos were allowed inside.
It was pretty warm steamy outside when left the museum. After yesterdays short day Linda said she was good for a couple more hours of riding to make up a little for yesterday. We crossed back over the Mississippi on what looked like almost a new bridge and finished or day in Crossett.
Day 10 Crossett to Fort Worth
Since there was a 60% chance of thunder showers we decided to take I-30 when we got to Texarkana to make a little better time getting home.
This was our basic route:
https://spotwalla.com/tripViewer.php?id=6af251992a3ac5233
With the exception of the tip over in the Smoky's it was a great trip. There were severe storms all over the place while we were traveling and we only managed to get sprinkled on a couple times all week. The Wing worked very well for Linda and I on this trip.
When we returned Linda said we needed to have a more comfortable bike for her if I wanted her to do any more multi-day trips with me. Within a month we bought a used Goldwing.
Last week would be our first real big trip on the Wing. Deals Gap has been on Linda's motorcycle ride Bucket List for many years. So we put together a plan that would take in Deals Gap, and the Bonus Pie Run, plus do other site seeing along the way.
Day 1 Fort Worth to Hope, Arkansas.
We both worked a ¾ day at work and then hurried home to hit the road . We would Interstate it to Hope since we were leaving in the afternoon.
At our gas stop:
After finding a room for the night we headed for supper. Had a great meal at Jakes. We highly recommend it if you are ever passing through the area.
Day 2 Hope to Batesville, MS
The plan for the rest of the ride was to stay on secondary roads and stop more often to see things.
Linda ready to roll
Our first stop was 5 minutes after we left the Hotel. Bill's house is much bigger than another celebrities house we would visit a couple days from now.
We rolled on having a great ride through Arkansas until all of a sudden the scenery really flattened out and all the trees disappeared. We were closing in on the mighty Mississippi River.
Our next stop would be at “The Crossroads” in the Mississippi Delta town of Clarksdale to see where legend has it that Blues great Robert Johnson sold his sole to the devil to achieve success.
We then headed to the Ground Zero Blues Club for lunch. The food was good and the atmosphere great.
After lunch we walked next dore to spend some time in the Delta Blues Museum.
Unfortunately, we weren't allowed to take pictures inside, but the museum was really neat if you are any fan of the Blues at all.
http://www.deltabluesmuseum.org/index.asp
After the museum we continued East to Batesville, MS and called it a day.
Day 3 Batesville to Fayetteville, Tennessee
We got up early and got rolling so that we didn't waste any cool air to ride. Our stop was to visit the birth place of The King Elvis.
Linda greeting a young Elvis
Back on the road we go
We saw this character at our next gas stop
He walked over to chat with us and we both had a real hard time understanding what he was saying.
After gassing up we were headed for a short stretch of the Natchez Trace.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natchez_Trace
But not before we took a wrong turn and took the “scenic” route to back to where need to go.
After getting off the Trace we had a short ride to Fayetteville. The town was very nice especially the town square where we stopped to see what kind of lodging was available.
Day 4 Fayetteville to Athens, Tennessee
Today would be a pretty short mileage day so we had plenty of time to visit Lynchburg. First stop would be for a Tour of the Jack Daniels Distillery. The tour was very interesting enough for those that are not Whiskey drinkers
Charcoal used for mellowing is made from the wood in the background.
Where the magic water comes from to make Jack Daniels
After the tour we went to Historic downtown Lynchburg to check it out. Since it was Sunday morning there was not a huge amount of activity.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lynchburg,_Tennessee
An hour or so after leaving Lynchburg we decided to stop for a snack and a drink. Shortly after we pulled in two DR650's and Triumph Tiger pulled in loaded for bear. They told us they were from North Carolina and were going to see how far they could get on the Trans America Trail (TAT) in 2 weeks. They were on the second day of their trip and told us they had been having navigation problems between Sams roll chart and their GPS's. Since we road on the same road they were on can I claim I rode on the TAT on Wing?
Day 5 Athens to Gatlinburg, Tennessee
It was cool and sunny when we left the Hotel for Gatlinburg. Before getting there we had some great roads to ride starting out with the Cherohala Skyway. While not technically challenging the Cherohala has nice sweeping turns and great scenery.
Since Linda is a Graham birth this photo was special for her.
Click next one for video
Next stop would be Lynn's place for the TWT Bonus Pie Run. We waited around until the appointed time and then when in ate. The pulled pork special was good the peanut butter pie even better.
We would late find out the that the Pie Man and crew were delayed due to the case of the missing fingers.
We were asked to sign the dragon before leaving Lynn's
Across the street from Lynn's was the old Court House.
Next stop Deal Gap for Linda cross out another bucket list item.
There would plenty of these on ride through the Gap enforcing the now 30 mph speed limit.
Next up would the Foothills Parkway on the way to Gatlinburg.
We arrived in Gatlinburg and found a pretty nice old Hotel in the middle of the tourist area. After cleaning up we went for a stroll and immediately found my favorite beer that unfortunately you can't buy at home in Texas.
We called it an early night and got a good nights sleep.
Day 6 Gatlinburg rest day.
Today was a planned day off the bike to walk around do some touristy stuff. We started off by walking to the Aquarium.
After the Aquarium we walked back towards the Hotel on the opposite side of the main drag.
Had lunch and a rest and then checked out some cool TV Show cars
After a quick walk through the Guinness Records Museum and our short visit to Gatlinburg was finished.
Day 7 Gatlinburg to Roswell, Ga
Today we would take a ride through Smoky Mountain National Park on the way to my brothers house.
We would soon be back in North Carolina at Newfound Gap.
While at this stop we saw a strange thing happen considering where were standing. A Taxi cab pulled in and three people got out with big pack backs. They were being dropped off to do a little hiking for the summer. They were headed to Maine.
The views from here were just gorgeous.
Next up would go check out Clingman Dome which is supposed to have a 360 degree view of the Smoky's. To get there was a 7 mile twisty road to the parking area and then a ½ mile hike to the overlook.
Back on the road to Roswell.
After this stop I made a bit of a boo boo and tipped over the Wing in the middle of the road. A couple cars stopped and a very nice guy helped me pick up the bike. Linda said she hit her elbow and my right foot really hurt bad. After we collected ourselves we continued on.
We crossed over in to the mountains of North Georgia and the roads were still awesome. 197 on the West side of Burton Lake was one of the better roads. It was almost 2pm so we decided to stop for lunch. My foot was really hurting but I decided not to take my boot off until we were in Roswell.
We both had the special Prime Rib French dip that was excellent.
We pulled into my brother Steve's garage and I soon had my boot off to inspect my foot. Only damage was to my big toe.
We had great relaxing dinner and visit with Steve and Anita and then hit the hay.
Day 8 Roswell to Jasper. Alabama
We left Roswell around 9am headed West to work our way back home. Linda and Anita when we were departing.
My foot was throbbing pretty good we had stayed up late visting the night before so we stopped earlier than planned. We both took long naps and then walked next door for supper and then to see the new Star Trek movies. All in all still good day.
Day 9 Jasper to Crossett, Arkansas
After riding for an hour or so we did another 30 mile section of the Natchez Trace to connect a couple roads together.
After a quick stop for gas in Greenwood we headed to Indianola to check out the BB King Museum.
The museum was very well done with a lot of history about BB King and about living in Mississippi during the birth of the Blues era. Unfortunately, like the Delta Blues Museum in Clarksdale no photos were allowed inside.
It was pretty warm steamy outside when left the museum. After yesterdays short day Linda said she was good for a couple more hours of riding to make up a little for yesterday. We crossed back over the Mississippi on what looked like almost a new bridge and finished or day in Crossett.
Day 10 Crossett to Fort Worth
Since there was a 60% chance of thunder showers we decided to take I-30 when we got to Texarkana to make a little better time getting home.
This was our basic route:
https://spotwalla.com/tripViewer.php?id=6af251992a3ac5233
With the exception of the tip over in the Smoky's it was a great trip. There were severe storms all over the place while we were traveling and we only managed to get sprinkled on a couple times all week. The Wing worked very well for Linda and I on this trip.
