The Trace

Just a few random pictures from our trip that I liked.

lake at the first campground

sunset

our tent "city," ours is the yellow/blue tent

Bob off on the dock

From later in the trip...

another view of the Confederate cemetery

campground with the loudest frogs ever (photo-bombed by Sarah)

one last view of the original Trace

Biking the Trace, Days 7-9

Day 7 cycling

Another thunderstorm last night. Still drippy this morning so we decided on a shortened ride and staying here another night instead of packing up wet stuff. May not have helped, the thunder is rumbling around already tonight. Dad and I dropped the rest of them off then left my car at Cypress Creek, the end of our ride today. He took me back to the Colbert Ferry, just before the bridge over the Tennessee River. I met up with them and on we went eventually crossing from Alabama into Tennessee. 

There were some pretty good uphills today which meant some awesome downhills. Today's scenery was a lot of open fields, some corn fields, and lots of woods (that were really wet). We finished in good time and had lunch at Cypress Creek then we drove over to Shiloh National Battlefield. We watched the movie in the Visitor Center and listened to a talk by a park ranger about Civil War era medicine. Both were interesting. The ranger talk gave a different perspective on surgical and battlefield medicine from that time period than we'd previously heard. After that, it was off to a catfish dinner and back to the campground.

Day 8 cycling

Thankfully the thunder gave us warning.  There were storms last night then they cleared out. We got up (early as usual) and started packing up a few things while Dad started on breakfast. While I finished my piece of French toast I heard the first clap of distant thunder. Breakfast was abandoned and we rushed to get the tent down and packed up while it was mostly dry. Got that done while breakfast was rained on; we had more trouble getting the rest of our stuff packed up dry. We didn't have much time before the rain rolled in yet again.

I took another day to let the heat rash heal (it was worse the second time around) and what a good choice it was! I was hoping to find a Sprint store to get a new phone, but no luck. There must not be one within 200 miles of here. Instead I drove down to Florence to find some wi-fi. Good day off because it poured again. Another 60ish mile day for the riders. Lots of up and downhill again, welcome to Tennessee!

I picked up Sarah when she was done riding and we went to the Meriwether Lewis area. Besides there being a campground there, there's also the grave of Meriwether Lewis and the remains of the stand where he died on his way to Washington. Back when the Trace was active, a stand was a rest stop with a place to eat and sleep. I walked around on some of the trails nearby while we were waiting for the rest of the gang to get to that area.

a compass rose showing the places important in Meriwether Lewis' life

the memorial at Meriwether Lewis' gravesite

The finish line for the day was at a really cool waterfalls, actually there were two or three there. We hiked around to see them. There was one part that looked like it was a path down, but I wasn't sure. I went over to ones further over and as I was coming back saw a man in flip-flops coming up the path I wasn't sure about. I asked him if it was worth it to go down and he said it was; he also said that it wasn't as slippery as it looked. He was right on both counts, totally  worth it and if you stayed on the rocks and off the mud it wasn't slippery at all.

 

We ended up in a motel for the night. After riding in the rain again, showers were a necessity. Also, sleeping in the tent during yet another thunderstorm was not appealing (of course there was no rain last night).

Day 9 cycling

Last day on the trail! We did it! Whitney and Nan rode the whole thing, the rest of us some shorter amount. It was a 50 mile day, lots of up and down through rolling fields and forest. We saw lots of turkeys today and a few deer. Sarah and I took a break in the middle to move the car (and missed the downpour). We rode 27 miles this morning then met the gang for the last 12 miles.

Whitney and GE reading one of the roadside signs

the road stretching out ahead of us

Sarah chilling while we wait out the storm and for the rest of the riders

the family at the finish line!!

At the end of the ride, we stopped at the Loveless Cafe. Then it was off to the last campground of the trip. We're at the Edgar Evins (TN) State Park. This is the craziest campground we've ever been to! All the campsites are on cantilevered decks; the campground is on the side of a mountain. There's plenty of space on the deck for a picnic table, our tent, and the car. You could fit a small camper or pop-up on these.

our "deck campsite"

Heading home tomorrow!

June 12

No rain last night but it looked like it was coming again. It was drippy from rain earlier in the day though. It was another muggy, humid night, not the best for sleeping in a tent. We woke up early and started packing up. The tent ended up in the trash. After years of good service, the leaks made it not worth keeping any longer.

It was pretty driving out of Tennessee this morning, there was fog settling down in the valleys. It reminded me of the hollows in West Virginia. We had some off and on rain showers on the drive. This has been one of the wettest vacations we've ever taken.

Biking the Trace, Days 4-6

Day 4 cycling

Today was interesting, and not really in a good way. GE had to change the tube on one of his tires last night. It was a bear to get off, but with Bob's help he did it, changed the tube and with Bob and Nan helping got the tire back on. Took it for a test ride around the campground and all seemed well. This morning they were off but GE had tire troubles pretty quick and he and Dad were off to Jackson to a bike shop for repairs. I think he rode about 5 miles this morning, then another 3 or so this afternoon after he rejoined them. The rest of them rode about 35 today, shorter than planned so GE didn't miss out on too much. They also took a too long lunch break, muscles tightened, and the humidity got to them so it was a shortened day.

Meanwhile Sarah and I spent the morning in the Trace Urgent Care clinic. I had gotten a bunch of mosquito and fire ant bites on my ankle and it was oozing puss and a bit swollen. It was bad enough that last night we had to stop at Wal-Mart to buy flip-flops; the strap on my Tevas was hurting my ankle. I decided while we were near a pretty good size town I should get it looked at and it was a good thing I did. After the doctor commented on how yucky it looked, she said that it looked like it was infected, told me to clean it twice a day and gave me an antibiotic. So off we went to Wal-Mart to pick up my rx and a few other things.

After we were done in town, we drove back along the Trace stopping at the waysides to read the signs. Most are about the history of the Trace while some are about the nature in the surrounding area. We stopped in French Camp, a small, very old town and looked at the historic buildings there. 

sunset at French Camp

Here's to a better day tomorrow. Hopefully my ankle is feeling ok to ride, mainly I need to be able to get my sneaker on and not have it irritate the nastiness. One more cycling day then a break day for everyone.

Day 5 cycling

Today started off well. I was feeling good and we took off. My ankle isn't bothering me at all when I ride. The scenery was a bit more interesting today. One area we biked through was hit by a tornado in 2011. It was actually kind of neat, it was all woods and didn't look like any homes were nearby. A lot of the trees had their tops shorn off, a few you could see the twisting of the trunk from the tornado. Since it was just over four years ago, there's quite a bit of new growth, lots of vines and low scrub, as well as new trees coming. We saw a few trees that looked like Dr. Seuss trees with puff-balls of leaves near their tops. I was riding up front with GE and Whitney and we were told we needed to slow down or we'd tire ourselves out too fast; at that point we were averaging about 16 mph. After that we came upon a construction area. They had recently repaved the road (which made it like riding in a furnace, most of the road had been light colored, but this was fresh blacktop) and were working on the shoulders. Where they were working, they had one lane closed so we got to zoom down the road by ourselves, no worries about other cars going either direction.

view of the original Trace

It was another day Sarah and I rode about 40 miles, the rest closer to 60. By the time I was done I had a pretty good case of heat rash; I now think it's partly due to the antibiotics for my ankle. Sigh. Just can't win. And my phone died a wet death. :'(

June 7, rest day

A day for lazing around in the morning resting legs, a trip to Wal-Mart to restock up, lunch out, then laundry - had to get rid of the funk.

Day 6 cycling

Sarah and I took another day off. I wanted to ride today, but more important was to get my legs cleared up from the heat rash. It's looking better but still hanging around. Tomorrow I'll ride for sure, I want to ride over the bridge over the Tennessee River.

We went and got set up at the next campground, then frittered the afternoon away. The rest of them are riding along, making good progress. I think they'll finish this afternoon just short of the Mississippi-Alabama border. We're getting to the tougher part of the ride, into the hills. Everything so far has been relatively flat or gently rolling, it's getting to the not so rolling part (at least not when you're on a bike). We expect to be done by Wednesday or Thursday. They'll finish today at about the 310 mile marker, which means there's only 134 miles to go.

a Confederate cemetery we came across right next to the Trace

Sarah on the swinging bridge at the campground

Biking the Trace, Days 1-3

Day 1 cycling

We got off to an early start. Riding went well and we covered 43 miles. It's hot and humid here, it's like riding in a sauna! Then add the beating sun to that, just means we're going through a lot of water and gatorade/powerade. The other thing we learned is that no matter how tired your legs are, when it starts raining, you just keep going. It poured on us, there was no where to stop (and no thunder) so on we went.

Went into Natchez for dinner at The Pig Out Inn; really good pulled pork and ribs, the baked beans were smoky and the slaw on the spicy side.  Really good dinner. Then we went over to the walkway by the Mississippi River and looked over to Louisiana. That's about as close as the girls are going to get to it, they're not going to be able to check it off their list of visited states yet.

Louisiana on the left across the Mississippi River

Day 2 cycling

Seemed to be hotter and more humid today, plus there was no rain. Sarah was d.o.n.e. early but made it to the lunch stop. She and I went 33 miles, the rest of them went about 60. Most of the ride wasn't too bad, but they said towards the end it was a lot of rolling hills and overpasses and a lot more traffic as they got closer to Jackson. Most of the ride had been rather empty of cars, only a handful or two most of the time but around Jackson it was rather heavy.

Back to the campground, which was by a huge reservoir. Whitney, GE, and Bob went swimming in the pool and Sarah and I set up our tent. An early night to bed.

The reservoir that we camped near and cycled beside

the road stretching out ahead of us

Day 3 cycling

Up early again to pack up camp and head out to ride. The first five miles was in heavy traffic again (we were near Jackson, MS). I was riding sweep and thought I was going to loose my voice calling out the cars. Stopped at the reservoir overlook for a stretch, then back on the road with less traffic.

A prettier ride today through swampier land, still lots of trees and fields and mostly flat. We stopped at a cypress swamp, cypress trees as far as you could see in either direction. The roots of the trees were pretty neat. Sarah and I rode 35 miles to lunch, while the rest of them went 60. 

the cypress swamp

it stretches as far as you can see in both directions

The excitement today was getting to see the National Park Police in action. The Trace is a National Historic Trail and part of the National Park Service. The speed limit is 50 and Sarah and I saw the blue flashing lights chasing a car doing closer to 70. After telling the car to pull over (on his speaker), the police officer got out to talk to the driver. We were pointed out as the reason the speed limit was low; I assume the driver got a ticket. Got to the new campground (free, but no showers or electricity), set up, and had dinner.

Biking the Natchez Trace, the Start

Since there's hardly any snow to be found these days in the Northern Hemisphere, I'm taking a break from all things snow and hijacking my blog to talk about warm weather sports. The main thing going on this spring is we are going on a bike trip with some other family members. This is no *throw the bikes on the back of the car, go somewhere, and ride 5 miles* trip, although we've done that. No. This is a *throw the bikes on the back of the car, the tent on top, go somewhere, and bike 450 miles* trip. Sigh. Not sure how they talked me into this, but we're all really looking forward to it.

May 31

We packed up the car and hit the road south. The start point is Natchez, MS. We're going to bike the Natchez Trace along the parkway. We're meeting Dad, Nan, and my nephew, GE, at Natchez State Park tomorrow afternoon. Biking starts Monday morning. We drove through a crazy thunderstorm late this afternoon, very heavy rain. Just about everything stayed dry on top of the car, only a couple things were damp.

A bit of history about this trip and how it came to be. First off, Dad is the driver, planner, and cook. Four or so years ago, all my family got together and rode part of the C&O Canal. Three years ago Nan, GE, and Whitney rode the C&O Canal from Cumberland, MD to Georgetown, DC, with Dad driving. The next year, they did the GAP, the Great Allegheny Passage, which is from Pittsburgh, PA to Cumberland, MD. They had been talking about doing the Trace next. The kids got older and busier and finally we all said this had to be the year. Sarah decided she really wanted to go as well, which meant that it became a family affair for us since Dad's car can't hold that many plus camping gear and bikes. It was darn full in the past with the two of them plus GE and Whitney.

So after we were done with snowboarding (Whitney and I) and taxes (Bob) we got busy putting in time riding. Mostly it was a lot of local riding, plus a few trips to Prince William Forest Park. Sarah and I met Nan in York, PA for a longer, 40 mile trial ride to see how training was going (Whitney drove us, her knee was bothering her). That ride went well and was a pretty ride down to Baltimore, MD. We'll have to figure out how to do it again with Bob next time.

June 1

Another day of driving, another storm to drive through. This one wasn't nearly as bad. Not a very exciting drive, went from Georgia, through Alabama, and on to Mississippi. We got here in good time, had dinner, and went for a test ride. We rode out to the campground sign for a picture, then a short ride out to the lake here. It was really pretty out by the lake. Bikes all seem to be in good shape, put air in a few tires, and it looks like we're good to go in the morning.

Sarah dancing around, back when she had energy

Sunset at the lake at Natchez State Park

Sarah and GE discussing the finer points of ...