A Natchez Trace Tale

Miles of smiles on the Natchez Trace Parkway.

Instead of jumping on the Cycle North Carolina train again this year, Nimble Nate and I decided to revisit the Natchez Trace Parkway. We rode it in 2003 and decided that another little tour of it would be fun.

Our original plan was to start riding on Sunday, but since it decided that it would rain over two inches that very day, we hung out and watched football in Jackson.

On Monday morning, we left Kosciusko in a cool misty rain and rode to French Camp where we shared a table at the Council House Cafe with Jamey, a cyclist from Alabama. Jamey, a novice bicycle tourer, was out raising money for the United Way, which helped his community after it was devastated by the April 2011 tornadoes. He was interested in talking to us about our Appalachian Trail adventures and insisted on buying our lunch.

After a delicious lunch, Nate had to ride 20 miles back to Kosciusko, where he had left his wallet in his shorts, locked in his truck. He decided that he would retrieve his  truck and drive it to Jeff Busby camp ground, where we were to camp. Nimble Nate rode south with Jamey, and I rode on north. 

The little, no fee campground at Jeff Busby offered nice, clean, flush toilet restrooms. It was quiet and cozy.  The only other campers were two cyclists from Baton Rouge. We set up camp and talked with the other cyclists a bit.

Since Nimble Nate and I had his truck, we ended up driving to Eupora where we ate a killer fried seafood platter at Larry's. I'm talking fish, shrimp, oysters, frog legs, hush puppies, and fries! Our waitress, LaPortcia flirted shamelessly with Nate. When he asked what was good there, she slapped his arm and said, "Me!"

9/30/12 Day One-Kosciusko to Jeff Busby: 35 miles
 

Lunch at French Camp. I had the famous "Big Willie" BLT, potato soup, and bread pudding for dessert.

The Council House Cafe, French Camp. Building circa 1820.

Jeff Busby Camp Ground on the Natchez Trace Parkway.

Tuesday, we awoke to a seasonably cool morning . After packing up, we rode 11 miles north to US 82 and found the wonderful Trace Way Restaurant about 7/10 of a mile east of the parkway. We had the ridiculously inexpensive and exquisite 'meat and three veggies' lunch plate for a mere $5.00. The price included your drink and cornbread. I opted for the fried chicken, green beans, mac and cheese, and greens. Good stuff!


Back on the road, we met Rebel, a south-bound cyclist from Murfreesboro, TN. He was wearing a coonskin cap under his cycling helmet, a US Army cycling jersey, and was riding with a Frenchman. He told us that the Frenchman took him to France last summer to ride bikes, so he was returning the favor by taking him to Mississippi. It seemed right to me. 

By the time we got to Witch Dance, Nimble Nate's knee was bothering him. He also seemed to have a little "bonk" on. We rested up, fueled up, swallowed some vitamin I, and then pushed on north for another 10 miles. We left the parkway at MP 243 and and rode west about 4 miles to the Davis Lake Recreation Area. As we approached the campground, we picked up a friendly, young, white German Sheppard who insisted on running along side of us. He followed us into camp and stayed the night with us and could not be persuaded to leave.

Davis Lake is a developed campground with electric and water on all sites. The $20.00 fee for the site was well worth the price of the wonderful, hot showers. A few more dogs came and hung out with us. We had a three dog night.

10/1/12 Day Two-Jeff Busby to Davis Lake: 56 miles.

On the road.

Meeting the King.

Elvis's humble beginnings.

Wednesday morning, we packed up and headed back to the parkway with our white furry friend alongside. It ran the entire 4 miles back to the parkway with us and then for a few more miles before we finally lost it. Once again, it could not be persuaded to leave.

The commuter traffic started picking up as we came within 20 miles of Tupelo. These folks drive faster, and noticeably more aggressive, than your regular Natchez Trace tourists. I have no complaints though, almost everyone was pretty respectful of our bicycle space.

We rode into Tupelo on the busy 4 lane, Hwy 6. We quickly found Eli's BBQ and had a really good pork sandwich for lunch. Consulting Nate's iPhone, we hit the back streets and took a tour of Tupelo and found Elvis's home and museum. The real "Elvis moment" came to me as I entered the restroom in the museum and discovered a flat screen TV above the urinals on which one could watch Elvis perform in concert as one relieved his bladder. Now that's classy!

After the Elvis tour and buying supplies at a grocery store, we grabbed a motel room for the night. Nimble Nate iced his knee, and we watched the presidential debates.

10/2/12 Day Three-Davis Lake to Tupelo: 35 miles.

Dead copperhead.

A pack of Natchez donkeys.

Hometown and Nimble Nate at Witch Dance.

Thursday morning, we pointed our bicycles south and headed back towards Jeff Busby. Nate's knee was still bothering him, and we decided that we needed to head back to the truck. We knew that we had a long day of pedaling ahead of us, so we stayed on schedule and slogged our way over the rollers.

Stopping at Witch Dance for a break, I became the victim of the witch's hex. My tire went flat as we sat there. I had a fairly new (2 weeks) slime tube installed on my tire, I couldn't understand why it was flat. When I pulled the tube, I discovered what looked like a defect in the seam of the tube. So much for the slime, it didn't seal squat! We quickly replaced the tube, but before we could leave, Nimble Nate's sunglasses broke. Another victim of the mischievous witch! We couldn't get out of there fast enough.

Later that day, a car passed us on the Parkway and soon turned around and stopped beside us. The gentleman in the car told us that a coyote was directly ahead of us on the road and was acting strange and aggressive. It was chasing his car, running up and down the parkway, and he thought it might have rabies. He obviously was worried for our safety. I picked up a stick and the guy drove ahead of us. Nimble Nate saw the coyote run off into the woods. We passed safely. I wonder if it was the witch wanting another crack at us?

We finally made it back to Jeff Busby. There we met a south bound cyclist named White Beard who was riding a three wheeled recumbent and pulling a bob trailer. He was from Denver and riding south for the winter.

We also met a real interesting character named Robert E Lee Voyles at the campground. He called himself the Mississippi Redneck. He had an old station wagon that he cut down to make into a home-made pickup and was pulling an old camper. Everything was hand painted an off red color. He had all kinds of mail boxes, axes, jacks, generators, cookers, flags, pots and pans, and other cool stuff strapped to and hanging off of his car. He told us that he just loved to travel and camp. It was a pleasure to talk with him. I thought of my hiking buddy, Boy Floyd, who carries a huge red pack, with lots of stuff strapped to and hanging off of it. The Mississippi Redneck took it one or two steps further. These two need to meet and compare notes, for sure!

10/3/12 Day Four-Tupelo to Jeff Busby: 70 miles.

The open road.

Natchez Trace Notes

• Wildlife we encountered: lots of deer, turkeys, a few coyotes. A couple of dead snakes. Fire ant mounds everywhere you looked.
• Road surface was mostly superb! Rolling hills in the north, flatter in the south.
• Mississippi has lots of roadside litter. They did a nice job of keeping it picked up on the Parkway. Neanderthal slobs still threw trash out, lots of times mere feet away from trash cans. 
• Weather: wow, couldn't beat it for the 1st week in October. Highs 70's, Lows, 50's.
• Mississippi fried food: the best in the world!
• Parkway traffic: low traffic, no commercial, speed limit 50 mph. Most drivers very courteous. Busy around Jackson and Tupelo. Signs posted on parkway "GIVE CYCLISTS 3 FEET". Nice.
• Here's a great info-packed website that I used for logistics: Biking the Natchez Trace
• Here's more info at the National Park Service website: NPS Natchez Trace

Music On The Mountaintop 2012

                                                                 Kid's Parade.

Black Betty, daughter Becky, and I once again attended one of our favorite music festivals of the year, Music On The Mountaintop, held near Boone, NC. A good time was had by all!

Beauty Spot.

 
The music speaks for itself. To begin with, THREE DAYS OF RAILROAD EARTH!  That fact alone is worth the price of admission. Besides the main shows, small, intimate, workshops were also held by musicians from RRE and various other bands. Sunday saw a super jam tribute to Woody Guthrie, featuring members of RRE, Larry Keel, Sam Bush, Monroeville, and others.

Railroad Earth.

THE 2012 LINEUP

Friday
 The Black Lillies
 River Whyless
 Greensky Bluegrass
 J.J. Grey & Mofro
 Dr. Dog
 Railroad Earth

Saturday
 Monroeville
 Holy Ghost Tent Revival
 Rose’s Pawn Shop
 Naked Gods
 The Hackensaw Boys
 Futurebirds
 Dirty Dozen Brass Band
 Railroad Earth

Sunday
 Stoney Creek Boys
 Salem Speaks Larry Keel & Natural Bridge
 Railroad Earth Super Jam tribute to Woody Guthrie featuring: Sam Bush, Larry & Jenny Keel,  members of Monroeville, special guests and more.
 Sam Bush

Hometown, Becky, Black Betty.

Here's the Deal:
The 5th year of Music On The Mountaintop saw a return to the idyllic Grandfather Campground in Foscoe, NC, and a new partnership with jam-grass favorites, Railroad Earth.
The weekend crowd seemed somewhat smaller than last year, overall organization of the event was improved, and production was dialed in. 
Music for this three day event was all concentrated on one main stage and sound and lighting were superb.
Noticeably absent this year were the big outdoor gear sponsorships (Chaco, Osprey, etc.) and the very cool green eco-village of last year. I must say that I missed the vibe that they bring to the fest.
The price for this festival continues to be very affordable, but by the time you add on wristbands, parking, and shuttle fees, you come to the realization that you have spent a considerable amount of bucks.
As always, this is a young, friendly, and enthusiastic, music loving crowd.
It's a nice venue for families, the large grassy meadow in front of the stage is the perfect staging area for family fun with lots of room for kids to play and run, under the watchful eye of mom or dad, as they listen to music.
The kids parade continues to be a Saturday afternoon highlight.
Camping, as always was nice, but no camping with your car this year was a bummer for us (ahem) mature Festivarians. The price for parking our little Gnometown pop-up at the festival would have been $150. (can you believe that?) so we parked it 6 miles down the road for $52 for the weekend.
My favorite festival moment came when the entire Super Jam cast came out on stage, and led the crowd in singing the great American anthem,Woody Guthrie's This Land Is Your Land.

Music on the Mountaintop benefits Appalachian Voices, a nonprofit environmental group that focuses on protecting the central and southern Appalachians.

Greensky Bluegrass got one song in on Friday afternoon before rain shut them down.

The Hackensaw Boys.

Polecat Dancers.

Sunday afternoon Super Jam tribute to Woody Guthrie.

Mr Larry Keel.

Dutch Oven Pineapple Express

This is a little variation on my Brown Apple Betty that I like to make when we go camping. Instead of apples it uses canned peaches and pineapple and can be baked in either a 10 or 12 inch Dutch oven.

Before leaving the house, mix together the following dry ingredients and place in a big ziplock bag:
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 cup oats
3/4 cup flour
1 cup chopped pecans
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg


When you are ready to cook, drain the syrup and juice from the cans of fruit and spread evenly on the bottom of the Dutch oven. I use:
2-29oz cans peach halves in light syrup
2-15oz cans pineapple chunks in juice.

Sprinkle the dry ingredients over the top of the fruit.
Slice one stick of butter into 1/2 inch pieces and place evenly around on the top.

Cover and bake with about 8 briquettes on the bottom and 13 on the top.
Cook for 45 minutes or so. The topping should be brown when it's done.

At home I serve it with ice cream, in camp I use whipped cream. (The canned stuff keeps just fine in an ice cooler). Either way it's delicious!

Summer Road Trip 2012

We packed up the little pop up camper again this summer with grand daughters, Aijia and Scout, and drove north. Black Betty wanted to push it this year, so we put two long days in on the road from our home in North Carolina and made it to Stillwater State Park in the Groton  State Forest.

On the road near Flag Pond, Tennessee.

Stillwater State Park, Vermont.

There was plenty to do in Vermont.

Biking on the Cross Vermont Trail.

Hiking at Kettle Pond.

Cabot Cheese, yummy!

We visited Ben and Jerry's factory.

Beaver lodge.

Ricker Pond.

The Cross Vermont Trail.

Waylon, Floyd, and Gnomeo hiking in the north woods,

Our camp mascot.

Next we packed it up moved north to the great state of Maine where we stayed at Balsam Woods CG near Abbot, Maine.

Gnometown set up at Balsam Woods.

We swam and biked in the campground and toured around Maine.

I enjoyed riding my bike around Piper Pond.

I made them pose, they were good sports.

Black Betty insisted on attending the Whoopie Pie Festival in Dover Foxcroft.

We got attacked by mosquitoes at the Katahdin  Iron Works.

We loved the CG. We spent a week camping there and thoroughly enjoyed our visit.

We visited the B52 crash site near Greenville.

The sign says it all.

Good old Maine hiking at Baxter State Park.

Killer moose watching at Sandy Stream in Baxter State Park with  Mount Katahdin in background.

Sandy Stream Pond in Baxter State Park.

I got to visit my old friend, the Appalachian Trail.

Aijia and Scout got to try their hand at steering the Katahdin  on Moosehead Lake.

On the stern of the Katahdin.

Our gracious hosts at Balsam Woods camp ground, Jaime and Matt.

Next we headed to visit Anne and Gary in Scarborough, Maine.

The girls chicken fighting with Nathan and Cortney in Scarborough, ME.

Gary and Anne know how to put on a lobster feast!

Gary and Anne with Black Betty and Hometown. 

The Portland Head Light. 

With the girls at the Maine coast.

On the way home we visited the Battlefield at Gettysburg.

Gettysburg.

Scout didn't want to swim at the pool in Gettysburg, so I had to insist.

Aijia in Vermont.

After 3650 miles and 17 days we made it home, safe and sound, with no problems. It was great to be able share such a nice trip with the grand daughters. I hope that we can do it again, next year!

Rocky Bald Hike

Cricket and I hiked on the Appalachian Trail yesterday from Burningtown Gap to the top of Rocky Bald and back. This is about a 6.5 mile round trip. It's one of those nice and sweet Nantahala hikes across well groomed trails that helps you appreciate the beauty of the southern Appalachians.

From Burningtown Gap (elev. 4205) you head north on the AT and steadily climb 1.2 miles to the classic old Cold Springs Shelter (elev. 4920).  It's a beautiful old shelter built in 1933 by the C.C.C. of native chestnut logs. The shelter actually sits right on the trail and has a wonderful ice cold spring about 5 yards in front of it. There is a privy near by and several camping areas to the left and nicer ones on the ridge to the right. The ridge campsites afford great views of the Burningtown Valley below.

Cold Springs Shelter

View from ridge campsites above shelter.

The trail continues to climb to Copper Ridge Bald lookout (elev. 5166). Copper Bald is famous for it's rare habitat of  naturalized hybrid azaleas. They should be blooming next month, I'll get back to shoot some pictures. Here's a blog I posted last summer when the Copper Bald azaleas were in bloom: copper-bald-azaleas

Cold Springs Gap

Side Trail

View from Rocky Bald

After skirting Copper Bald the trail leads over the top of  Tellico Bald and Black Bald without much difficulty before reaching the well signed and blue blazed trail to the top of Rocky Bald (elev. 5080). The trail leads up the bare rock about a 1/10 of a mile to the top. This is a great place for lunch while enjoying the views from  the rocky outcrop. A nice fair weather campsite sits behind the exposed area. One day I will come back and camp there. Maybe during a nice meteor shower!

Painted Trillium.