CONUS Conquered...September 4, 2012...Day 6

(Kim's Perspective)
Today was highly entertaining.  We woke up, did the morning dog/trailer routine, geared up and headed to the Flint Creek ORV trails.  It took us awhile to get there - we didn’t take into account the fact that most of the roads leading to the trailhead would be dirt.  :)  We arrived and were slightly surprised to see that there was NO ONE there.  Well, actually, there was a work crew there cleaning up the trailhead parking lot, but they pulled out quickly and we were left to enjoy the trails all by our little lonesomes.  I guess that’s not a word.  I’m using it anyway.  

We paid our $3 per person fee and took off.  The trails were in great shape aside from a fair amount of mud puddles.  You can’t really expect anything less when a hurricane just passed through.  We were just glad to have nice weather and the whole place to ourselves.  

We stopped a few times to rest and get hydrated.  

I’m not usually a big sweater but with the humidity, black gear, and exhaustive efforts, I was drenched in sweat in no time.  It really is exhausting.  It makes road riding and 600+ mile touring days look like a cake walk.  It’s not like you can put your feet up on the highway pegs and ride one handed while you’re jamming to your MP3 player.  I suppose you can jam, but the only reason your feet would be up or you’d be riding one handed is because you’re wrecking.  :)
We rode both loops.  One was a little more technical than the other, but it was also much drier with far less 12"+ deep mud bogs to venture through.

I had far better luck successfully maneuvering the steep, rocky sections than the filthy mud pits that had an amazing way of taking all of my forward momentum and propelling it sideways in a flash.  Let's just say that the bikes are incredibly resilient to damage.  :)
We eventually made our way back to the trailhead and tried to clean the dried chunks of mud off the motors as best we could.  They are air-cooled after all and we had 20+ miles of gravel/asphalt roads to ride on the way home.

Again, Bill was having a great time and was super happy.  See?  He's SMILING. (gasp!)

We were both starving so after finding a restaurant recommended to us by one of the fine folks on STN and seeing they were closed, we headed down the road a piece... :)...and had lunch at Smith's.

When we walked in, there were four people in the whole place - and two of them were the staff.  They were also sitting there in the middle of the restaurant chain smoking.  What?  Oh, right.  No smoking in restaurants is not a rule around here.  The food was decent though it was hard to enjoy it given my disdain for consuming carcinogens with my meal.

We headed back to the campsite and spent a considerable amount of time washing mass quantities of mud off the bikes.

We took the Boys for a walk, came back and had dinner.  It was a pretty great day despite my gravitational challenges and frequent occasions spent pulling my bike out of the mud. :)

CONUS Conquered...September 3, 2012...Day 5

(Kim's Perspective)

We had a short travel day so we took our sweet time with our morning routine of coffee and dog walks.  We had taken advantage of the lull in the storm last night and had loaded the bikes in the truck so if we had to evacuate the campsite, the only thing we'd have to leave behind was the trailer.  The ONLY thing.  .  Anyway, we were surprised by how clean the bikes got from the hours of torrential rain and wind.  Even the undersides received a nice rinsing.  ;) 

We left the campsite around 12:00 and detoured to the Sears in Tupelo for a replacement battery for the trailer.  Much to our dismay, the battery got cooked from some power surges during the storm.  We installed it in the parking lot like any fine redneck trailer trash folks would, and off we were to our new destination - William Bankhead National Forest in Northwestern Alabama.  Yeeeehaaaaw!

We set up camp in the Corinth Campground (one of four campgrounds in the NF) and picked the most awesome (developed) campsite ever.  Stanley, Idaho still holds the record for best dispersed camping site ever - and likely always will - until we make it to Alaska.  J  Anyway, THIS particular campsite was HUGE and absolutely perfect for camper, truck, bikes, dogs, and people. 

We were able to get set up just before a storm moved in.  We made the most of it and chilled for a bit under the awning and enjoyed the sound and the smell of the rain.  

After the storm passed, Bill was anxious to get on the bikes - if only to ride around the park.  We wiped the rain off the saddles, popped on our helmets, and investigated the park and all of the campground loops.  We weren't out long since another storm cloud rolled in and started dropping rain drops the size of quarters.  Ouch.  That’s what I get for not wearing all my gear.  Yeah, I know - ATGATT - but I justified it by the fact that the park speed limit was 20 mph and I ride my bicycle that fast wearing a Styrofoam helmet, a short sleeve jersey and padded mid-thigh length spandex biking shorts.  I figure, based on my personal history, I’m far more likely to shred my body in a mountain bike wreck than by taking a spill on the MC while riding without gear at 20 mph in a nearly vacant NF campground.  Knock on wood.  Risk assessed.  Risk assumed.  We returned to the trailer, made some dinner, chilled, and discussed our riding plans for the next day.  We were both very excited to see what the day would have in store.

CONUS Conquered...September 2, 2012...Day 4

(Kim's Perspective)

We were trying to figure out what we wanted to do today based on the weather forecast.  It was forecasted to be rainy with thunderstorms most of the day, but we looked at the radar and decided to risk it.

We loaded the bikes into the truck and headed to Trace State Park. 

We arrived at noon and got onto the trail at 12:30. We rode till 2:15 or so and stopped to take a break.

We hydrated ourselves and snacked on fig bars and dried mango.  Bill was having a blast and was as happy as a kid in a candy store.

After we were sufficiently rested, we got back on the bikes around 2:45.  We jumped onto some singletrack and I realized that my arms were toast.  I was shocked at how much of a work out it was and how tired my upper body was.  Tired in a kick-butt awesome kind of way.  We stopped for a photo opportunity...

and then went back to the trail we had previously ridden since it was wide doubletrack.  A couple miles in I realized I was too tired to maneuver the bike through the ruts and whoops without either dropping the bike or launching myself from it.  Knowing when to call it quits - generally, before you're bleeding and broken on the side of the trail, we turned around and Bill continued on another trail while I zipped back to the truck.  When he got back, he informed me of his near drop.  I reminded him again of his “near crashes” and told him it didn't happen unless someone witnessed it or there were pictures.  ;)  Did I mention I had a tip over on the trail?  No?  Well, I won’t bore you with it.  ;)

We loaded the bikes up and headed back to Tishomingo in the rain.  During the drive, we heard a local weather forecast and learned that Tishomingo county and a bazillion other counties in MS, AL, and TN were under tornado warnings.  Oh joy!  We got back to the trailer as the rain let up slightly (excellent timing as we had to let the Boys out to potty) and Bill made Kimchi Burgers for dinner.  NOM!  They are AMAZING and will need to become part of our regular rotation.  I turned the radio on so we could stay tuned to the weather updates and we sat through several hours of some of the hardest rain we have ever encountered.  A local later told us it rained 3.5 inches.  Rain POURED down the outside of the trailer so heavy and fast that we couldn't see out the windows at all.  I had prepared an emergency bag in case we had to make a mad dash to the truck with the critters, but no such emergency ensued and we were thus quite pleased that my efforts were in vain.  In fact, we stayed nice and dry in the trailer and we were extremely grateful that we weren't tent camping.  

A very fun, entertaining, wet, and slightly scary day.  Which of course just makes for some good memories and story telling.  :)

CONUS Conquered...September 1, 2012...Day 3

(Kim's Perspective)

We tried to make the most of our time on the Parkway and give it a chance.  We were certain it had some redeeming value somewhere, so we loaded the Boys (Lane stayed behind in the trailer) and headed North towards Nashville.  We stopped at some "points of interest" and took the Boys on some short walks.

Probably the most exciting thing for me was coming upon the cotton fields.  I have no recollection of ever seeing cotton fields, but I have many recollections of hearing my Uncle Clyde tell stories of growing up in Mississippi and spending days in the hot sun picking cotton.  I just got such a kick out of it that I made Bill stop and get a picture of me posing in front of a cotton field.

I was intrigued by how prickly and sharp the plants were.  Of course I heard about it, but never experienced it for myself and I was amazed to find that it feels and looks just like processed cotton balls you buy at the store.  I just assumed it would be something totally different and the manufacturing process of cotton turns them into cotton balls, but lo and behold, they just kind of come like that out of the pod.  Bill accidentally pulled one off while he was touching it and gave it to me.  I reprimanded him for stealing from a cotton farmer, but I couldn't put it back so I happily took a piece of Mississippi cotton as an Uncle Clyde souvenir   ;P

As I mentioned, and aside from cotton fields of course, there is little to see on the Natchez Trace Parkway.  The intent was to check out the northern most section of Parkway (everything north of mp 370) but after a few dozen miles, we were highly bored and ready to find something else to entertain us.  Enter Cherokee, Alabama.  Cherokee consisted pretty much of a bank, a car wash, and a Piggly Wiggly.  I had been trying (unsuccessfully) to find a map of the area at all the different gas stations we had previously stopped at.  I had high hopes that P.W. would reward me with what I was seeking.  No joy.  BUT, we decided to try some local flavor and picked up this...

What is it you say?  It's Grapico of course!  A Southern Tradition.  Basically, it's like any other high-fructose corn syrup, artificially flavored, grape soda that tastes more like Dimetapp than anything resembling a soft drink.  This particular brand is manufactured in Alabama.  This particular bottle, had expired 6 months ago.  We knew this before we purchased it....all of them in the cold case at the end of the aisle were expired.  I guess that's a Southern Tradition too.  :)  

We left Piggly's with no idea where we were going or what we were going to do.  There’s not much to see in Cherokee, Alabama until you come across this…

Oh, yes, this is a must do.  How many Coon Dog Cemeteries will you ever have the chance to see?  Uh….apparently only one.  I know, I know, that’s just so shocking.

We drove, and drove, and drove some more and finally pulled into the cemetery.  Only to find some “event” going on.  I was immediately concerned.  The parking lot was packed with pick up trucks and I saw some shovels nearby.  Uh-oh.  Did we seriously just drive up on a coon dog funeral?  Nothing good is going to come from this.  These people have guns in their trucks and are not going to take kindly to a bunch of northern tourists stopping in for a look see.  

Fortunately, we weren't intruding on a funeral and the folks couldn't have been any happier to see us. They were part of a local tourism association that was cleaning up the place for an annual event that is held over the Labor Day holiday.  They took our picture (we might become famous on the Coon Dog Cemetery FB page!) and asked us to sign the Guest Register.  Rather than going into it, I will simply say you really must pay the Coon Dog Cemetery website a visit and do yourself a favor and friend them on FaceBook.  No, seriously.  Do it.

We spoke with one very nice older woman who informed us of a nearby hummingbird migration.  She gave us directions and wished us well.  

We left the "CDC" and headed back on the Parkway.  We tried to find the place where the hummingbirds were purported to be and walked the trail a bit.  There were indeed some hummingbirds but not by the hundreds.  I was largely disappointed.  We continued on and stopped to see a spring. Yep.  That there is water coming out of the ground.  "L I B" 

We found ourselves on the verge of complete boredom so we drove to Muscle Shoals (AL) for a late lunch. We stopped at a little but seemingly popular joint called "Champy's" - a very cool, eclectic place with interesting decorative themes.

Catfish platter for both and a side of pickled fried green tomatoes.  Oh, baby!  I’d be 200 pounds if I lived down here. 

We headed back to the trailer and then took the bikes to explore the park.  There’s a fair amount of things to do here for such a small park.  We were lucky enough to be entertained by an owl that I scared from the side of the road.  He perched himself on a tree and spent some time checking us out before he finally got freaked out and flew away.  We found an old pioneer house and a cool swinging bridge.

It started getting dark so we returned to the camper and stayed put the rest of the day.  We were still stuffed from our catfish and fried pickles so we skipped supper and turned in early.  Boring Parkways really take it out of you.