Many of the sections will show GPS coordinates in the title.  I try and remember to save the coordinates when I arrive at a site, but sometimes I forget to do so.  In those cases I get the coordinates from the GPS software on my computer and show them as "+/-" to denote that they are not exact.

All rides prior to August 8, 2007 were on my Suzuki DL650 V-Strom.  On that date I purchased a Honda VFR800 Interceptor but I kept my V-Strom.  Starting then I began showing which bike I rode in the title line of a ride section.  This is probably not of much interest to anyone else, but it helps me remember which motorcycle I rode on a given day.

CASTLE HEIGHTS MILITARY ACADEMY - I attended CHMA during the 1967 and 1968 school years, and I don't think I've been back to see it since that time.  A lot has changed in the intervening 40 years, but in many respects the old place is still looking good.  Many of the old buildings are still there (although some that I remember are long gone).

Below are a few photos of how the place looks today.  I wish I could remember the names of all the buildings but I can't.  It doesn't feel the same without a bunch of cadets dressed in blue and gray though.  I did feel like I felt some old friends welcoming me back though; Col. Alvin Rochelle, Col. Ralph Lucas, even Col. Leonard Bradley.

My riding buddy AGirl has been in Nashville for the past week or so picking up her new 2007 Yamaha FJR1300A (see the story behind that at This Link) and I think both of us were suffering from a bad case of Cabin Fever because of rain, snow, and just bitter cold weather.

We left my house with no real destination in mind, and as usual wound up on the Natchez Trace Parkway (guess you could say we got "Booted" in that direction).  There is a particular curve on The Trace that we have photographed with both of her LD bikes, and in virtually every season of the year.  Now we have a photograph with a little bit of snow on the ground (it snowed here last night but was mostly gone by noon).

It was a bit cool, but it was GREAT to get out on a bike again!

The site is about 10 miles east of the Sonora exit of I-65 (exit 81) and well marked.  The National Park Service website is at This Link

The large white structure in the second row of photographs is the "Cabin Memorial".  Inside is, "An early 19th century Kentucky cabin [which] symbolizes the one in which Abraham was born".  It was somewhat dim inside and I could not use the flash on my camera so I did not get any good photos of the cabin itself.  It is simply a one-room log cabin as would be expected.

The second photo in the third row is of a set of stone steps that leads down to the "Sinking Spring" which is a spring that the Lincoln family used for their water.  The third photo shows the spring today.  I for one would not want to depend on that as my source of drinking water!

For some reason I also made a detour to Mammoth Cave National Park.  I'm not real sure why since I rode up there in September of last year and that was where I got my first stamp.  I think I stopped there just for spite since when I was there in September I had a fractured right foot and could barely walk!

I didn't take any photos, but there are several at This Link from my trip there in September, 2006.  I did keep a track log running on my GPS though, and that image is shown below.

To me the word "Cave" has connotations of a deep labyrinth of passages.  Not so for this one.  It was more like a gash scooped out of the face of the mountain.  Perhaps 75 feet deep and 3 times as wide.  No secondary passages that I saw, and it was completely open in the front.  The only shelter from the elements that it provided was from rain and snow.  Wind and cold would blow right in.  I just could not believe people could exist there in the winter.

The site is about 20 miles southwest of Exit 152 in Tennessee on I-24.  If you are using a GPS to get there I would **STRONGLY** recommend that you follow the signs and **NOT** your GPS!  I walked into the Visitor's Center and was greeted by the people working there.  They asked where I had come from and I said something like, "Down some 2-lane gravel driveway for the past 10 miles or so!"  They laughed and one said, "You must have been following a GPS." When I said I was he commented, "Someone really needs to tell the makers of them that the highway through Orme is nothing but a 1½ lane gravel road!"  I agree heartily!  Follow Highway 72 south of South Pittsburg, and then turn onto CR-75 and you will be on 4-lane asphalt for most of the way and 2-lane asphalt for the rest of the way.  Follow your GPS through Orme and you will not like the roads!  Imagine a washboard covered with gravel and then sprinkled with pieces of tree limbs and you'll be pretty close.  Here Is A Link to a GoogleEarth image of part of the road.  No, not the paved road to the southwest, it's the scar coming through the woods from northeast to southwest.  Nope, not the big scar either, the little one.  Still don't see it?  Try This Photo

Some of the photos below are somewhat "Washed Out", specifically those in the cave itself.  The batteries on my camera were starting to dump so I decided to shoot them without the flash.  I lightened them up some with Paintshop Pro but they almost look black-and-white now.

The National Park Service web site for Russell Cave is at This Link

I've wanted to make a trip up there since last winter when I ran across their site on the internet, and today seemed to be the perfect day for it.  Hardly a cloud in the sky, 60° when I left home, and just a little bit of breeze to keep things interesting.  It was about 175 miles round-trip from home, but an easy ride.  Seeing those old bikes made it all worthwhile to.  If you are up that way stop in and take a look.  It's worth the trip.

They have about a dozen bikes on display from back in the 30's and 40's.  I took photos of them however the photos on Their Web Site are much better than mine.

I got interested in collecting National Park Passport Stamps last fall, and I've actually been planning this trip since then.  I rode to the Colbert Ferry Crossing on the Natchez Trace Parkway in September to get a Passport Stamp but they had already closed for the season.  I later found out that the stamp is at the Tupelo Visitor's Center and have been trying to find a decent day since then.  I later found that there are several other stamps in that area so the run to Tupelo has evolved into a 5-stop Stamping Quest.  In reality I picked up 8 stamps because the Tupelo Visitors Center had two that I had been unable to get, as well as s different stamp for one of the other sites.

The trip was 453 miles round trip (441 miles according to my GPS).  I left at 6:00am, grabbed some breakfast at a Waffle House, and headed south.  I picked up the Natchez Trace Parkway at Highway 412 west of Columbia and took it to Tupelo.  I came back through Baldwyn, MS and Corinth, MS and then back over to the trace just below the Tennessee River south of the Tennessee state line.  453 miles (or 441!) make it my longest trip in a single day so far, and I also turned over 10,000 miles on my V-Strom.

The eight stamps I picked up are:

o Natchez Trace Parkway - Colbert Ferry Crossing - Alabama
o Natchez Trace Parkway - Meriwether Lewis Monument - Alabama
o Natchez Trace Parkway - Parkway Visitor's Center - Tupelo, MS
o Natchez Trace Parkway - National Historic Trace
o Tupelo National Battlefield - Tupelo, MS
o Brices Cross Roads - Tupelo, MS (from the Tupelo Visitors Center)
o Brices Cross Roads - Baldwyn, MS
o Corinth Civil War Interpretive Center - Corinth, MS

I went to Clarksville, TN. today to see my mother and, regardless of the temperature, decided to ride my bike instead of driving my Durango.  According to the weather service it was 34° when I left home and about 52° when I got back.  On top of that the wind was blowing pretty stiffly so to be honest the ride wasn't all that much fun.  Of course just getting out and riding, and also seeing my mom for a while, did make it worthwile.  I also had an ulterior motive for riding my bike; I have a new Metzeler Tourance tire on the rear that needed a good heat cycle on it, and a new K&B fork brace on the front that needed to be tested.

I also stopped at the same Starbucks for a cup of coffee so I guess this is a repeat of my 130 Mile Cup Of Coffee ride.

I'm sure those who don't ride motorcycles wonder why someone with a perfectly good 4-wheel vehicle that has a good heater would choose to ride a motorcycle when it's 34° outside.  I can't answer that except to say that to those of us who do ride bikes it makes perfect sense.  It's just one of those things that needs to be done.

Today was an absolutely perfect day for a ride.  A little chilly when I left Nashville (45°) but it warmed up to 84° and I don't think there was a cloud in the sky.  It just doesn't get any better than that!

Jim lives near Manchester and knows the area between there and Chattanooga quite well.  He also seems to hate interstates about as much as I do so we decided to take the back roads instead of beating down I-24.  We went over Monteagle Mountain on the way down and Signal Mountain on the way back.  The scenery in that area is absolutely gorgeous but I was having too much fun riding to stop and take pictures.  Winding mountain roads, Nickajack Lake to the side, just fantastic.  All I can tell you is that if you get over that way ditch the interstate and take the backroads.  It is a beautiful trip.

I do think that Jim and AGirl may have gone to school together.  In fact I asked her whether they did or not.  She is unqestionably the master at finding the long way home, but Jim is catching up quick!  Straight-line distance down I-24 and back is 250 miles.  My total distance today was 312.  Just kidding, Jim.  I enjoyed every minute of it, and you picked a great route both ways.  We do have to go back down there some day so I can get some "Scenic Photos" of the area though.

We met at my office in Brentwood at 6:00 (yes, 6:00 in the morning!) and headed south on I-65.  After some breakfast at the Waffle House in Columbia, TN we headed further south on I-65 (at a rather spirited pace!) to Cullman, AL.  A georgeous morning, and all the better because the rain that was forecast stayed away.  We got to D&H about 9:00, just as they were opening, and spent a good part of the day watching them work on her bike and talking with the techs and owners.

I have to say that this dealership is unlike any I've been around.  They are small and family-owned, but their attention to customer satisfaction is unbelievable.  The tech spent about 6 hours working on her bike, he did a TBS, checked and replaced the plugs, cleaned out the fuel system, replaced the lean angle sensor (with one from the owner's personal bike!) and did a few other odds and ends that she wanted taken care of.  What did they charge her?  You wouldn't believe me if I told you so I won't.  Suffice it to say that no dealer I have EVER heard of would have done what they did.  On top of that they close at 2:00 on Saturday and it was after 3:00 when they finished with it.  No complaints, no dirty looks, just a "Do it right or not at all" attitude.  Her bike is fixed, it runs like a top, and the credit goes to the guys at D&H.  Their attitude toward their customers is virtually unheard of in this day and time, and I hope they know how much their customers appreciate it.

No photos this trip but I have included the usual GPS track below.  If you wonder about the little bubble on the north end it's because we had to make the traditional pass up the Natchez Trace Parkway on the way back into town!

I was understandably surprised to see a motorcycle on display.  No, not a "Space Bike" but a real land-based motorcycle.  The "Liberty Bike" is plated with copper removed during the restoration of the Statue of Liberty.  I'm not a huge fan of choppers, but it is a beautiful machine and Orange County Choppers did a magnificent job on its construction.

Surprisingly, the thing that made the greatest impression on me was unexpected and was something I happened to notice on the way out.  I saw a sign that read, "Miss Baker's Memorial."  I didn't know who Miss Baker was, but nearby, enlosed in a group of shrubs, was a simple stone marker.  Miss Baker, and her partner Mr. Able were the first two Americans to fly into space on May 28, 1959.  Able was a Rhesus monkey and he died two days after the flight.  One of the medical electrodes that were implanted in his body became infected and needed to be surgically removed.  He apparently died from a reaction to the anesthetic.  Miss Baker, a Spider Monkey, survived the flight and is credited as being the first American animal to fly in space and return alive.  She lived until November 29, 1984 when she died at the age of 27.  I read on the internet that after her retirement from space flight she lived on the grounds of the Space and Rocket Center and is buried there now.  The actual nosecone of the Jupiter rocket in which they flew is in the museum.  Here is a photograph of it.  I finally found a few photos of Able and Baker on the internet.  Here Is A Link to one of them.

It was an uneventful ride down and back although the weather was a bit on the "iffy" side.  The weather forecast for the past three days has been for rain and thunderstorms but they never really showed up until yesterday evening.  It stormed most of the night and was still wet when I left this morning.  Today's forecast was for a 40% chance of rain, and it materialized right as I got back to Brentwood (Nashville suburb).  The sky was black as midnight to the west and I could see a solid wall of rain ahead.  I bailed off the interstate and went around the rain so I barely got damp.

Heading out I went through Chapel Hill, TN to the site I took my MSF BRC last year.  I had been wondering what was going on with the company I took it through (Mid-South Motorcycle Training Center) since their web site has been down for several months.  Apparently they are now defunct since the storage container that they kept all their trainer bikes and gear in is gone and the range is vacant.  If anyone knows what is going on with them please Let Me Know.

The Visitors Center for Obed WSR is in Wartburg, TN.  According the the Ranger on duty the building used to be a bank and is now leased by the National Park Service for the Visitors Center.  They have a number of exhibits on display showing aquatic life from the river as well as a great deal of information about the river itself.  The river is quite long so I didn't even try to see much of it but I did stop at the Nemo trailhead and take some photos.

Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area spans the border between Tennessee and Kentucky.  There is a Visitors Center on the Tennessee side near Oneida, TN and another one in Stearns, KY.  The Tennessee VC is a traditional Visitors Center, but the one in Stearns is in a historic area of the city, and is located inside a Train Depot (yes I think you can take a ride on the train!).

The stamp was at the Trail of Tears Commemorative Park (or for their specific web site Click Here).  The park is a very nice area dedicated to the Trail of Tears, or the forced relocation of the Cherokee Indians.  Two Cherokee chiefs,Fly Smith and Whitepath, died there and their remains are buried at the site.  The flags shown in the photo below denote the 9 states that the Trail of Tears crosses: Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, and Tennessee.

The Bell Witch Cave is the historic site of the Bell Witch who, in 1820, haunted the Bell family.  According to legend her purpose for the haunting was to kill John Bell.  Nobody knows why but she accompliahed her task.  Here Is A Link to the legend of Kate, the Bell Witch.

I headed out early to try and beat the Memorial Day traffic.  I made a stop at a Waffle House (I know, the damn places are habit forming and now it's hard to eat breakfast anywhere else) in Manchester, TN for breakfast and then ditched I-24 at Monteagle, TN to take US Highway 41 the rest of the way into Chattanooga.  That is a gorgeous area and I wanted to take some pictures of areas I missed when I was down that way on April 21, 2007.  I didn't get photos of some of the roads I wanted to get because there was just plain no place to get off the road to take a photo.  I was reluctant to just stop on the edge of the lane, for obvious reasons, even though there was little traffic in the area.  Coming home I started out on I-24 and it was bumper-to-bumper holiday traffic.  I told myself I was going to get off at Jasper, TN and head up US 41 to Nashville, but I didn't.  Then I said I was going to get off at Monteagle, TN and head up US 41, but I didn't.  Then I said I was going to get off at Manchester, TN and head up US 41, but I didn't.  When I got to Smyrna, TN (about 10 miles from home) I decided I'd just go ahead and stay on I-24 ;)

Most of the photos below were taken around Nickajack Lake, but there are some entitled "Racoon Mountain" as well.  As I got across the lake I happened to see a road with a sign that read "TVA Racoon Mountain Visitor's Center" so I had to see where it went.  This is a beautiful ride along the edge of the Tennessee River and Nickajack Lake.  I didn't stop at the Visitor's Center but the sign indicating that it is a "Pumped Storage Plant" makes it seem like it would be an interesting stop, especially for someone interested in engineering.  For anyone who might be interested in taking a look the GPS coordinates at the turn off from US Highway 41 onto McBrian Lane are N36.03675° W85.41821°.  In fact US Highway 41 from Jasper, TN into Chattanooga, TN is a very scenic road that winds along beside the river.

The museum is absolutely magnificent.  I don't know exactly how many motorcycles they have on display, but their Web Site states that at any given time there are at least 500 on display.  They date from the early 1920's (at least that's the earliest one I recall seeing) through the 2000's.  There are also a lot of racing cars (primarily Lotus's) dating back to the 60's and 70's on display.  It may date me but I do remember seeing a lot of them on the track back in those days.

We talked with a staff member who told us that every one of the bikes in the museum are capable of being ridden within 2 hours.  Every machine there is in running order, completely rebuilt or refurbished, and virtually ready to go.  He said that they put cosmoline in the fuel system and mineral oil in the hydraulics.  To get one ready to run they bleed the hydraulics and add hydraulic fluid.  They clean out the fuel system and add gas.  Put a battery in (where necessary since many of them were built before batteries!) and they are ready to rip.

One thing that amazed me was that there was not a speck of dust ANYWHERE!  Every single one of the displays is immaculately clean and dust free.  This is quite amazing since many of the displays cannot be reached without the use of a scissors lift because they are stacked 5 stories high!

The back of the museum looks out over the racetrack, and there were a number of bikes on the track today.  They weren't race bikes, but appeared to be a class of some sort or perhaps just a "Track Day".  Regardless, the view from the museum is magnificent.

If you are a motorcycle fan, and are anywhere in the vicinity of Birmingham, I STRONGLY recommend a stop at this place.  It is absolutely amazing.

There are a few photographs below.  If you want to see more, click This Link!.

Radnor Lake State Natural Area consists of 1,100 acres of land surrounded by the city of Nashville.  It is located on the southeast side of town and is primarily a protected "Natural Area".  I suppose that translates into a "Haven for Tree Huggers" since basically all you can do is walk around and take pictures.  There are signs everywhere warning about the penalties for running or jogging on the trails, riding bicycles on the trails, picking the flowers, fishing, traveling via motorized vehicles, taking pets on the trails, etc.  Basically everything most people would want to do in a "Park" is prohibited (and regardless of the sign that says it is a "Wildlife Santuary" it is still a Tennessee State Park).  Otter Creek Road is a a paved road that runs from the east side of the lake to the west but it has been closed to motorized vehicle traffic.  Presumably bicycles and pets are allowed on that road, but nowhere else.  There are not even provisions anywhere for having a picnic lunch (picnics are prohibited anyway!), so you'd better eat before you get there!

Don't get me wrong though, it is a lovely place.  The lake is large and nestled among a group of hills.  There are many species of animals and birds that live there, and it is quiet and restful.  I've been there many times and always enjoy the peaceful surroundings.  If you are into hiking this would be a great place to visit.  If you are into more active passtimes Radnor Lake would probably not make your A-List.