For our last day on this trip we were up and on the road by 8am. The temperatures started out in the 50's and were slow to warm up.
We were running ahead of schedule so we skipped the planned lunch stop and made it Cumberland by 11:45 and ate at D’Atria. We stopped at this place on our way back from Yosemite in 2017.
After lunch, temperatures were very comfortably in the 60's and traffic was surprisingly light as we approached the Northern Virginia area.
We made it back home at around 2:45.
Today we left at 8:25am and temps were 52 degrees. We put on some heated gear since we’d be doing highway driving. We rode north on I65 until the Bluegrass Parkway. This morning there was no wind and mostly smooth roads. We saw a lot of RVs of all sizes today, at least 20 in the first hour. One was a big class A pulling a pickup with a golf cart in its truck bed.
We made our first stop after 100 miles in Bardstown, Ky for a quick fuel up. We switched over to Eastern time zone, skipping the 10am hour entirely today.
Soon we saw distillery signs, like Heaven Hill that we’ll visit on our trip back here in over a week. We rode past the rick houses and could smell the bourbon!
We rode on I64 for 40 minutes to lunch, and arrived at a Subway at 12:15. A man complimented our bike, saying it was a Cadillac and a “real good setup”. We decided to eat there instead of the picnic that Rob had planned at a rest stop about 30 minutes away, since we were hungry. It was then that Michele realized she put on her heated jacket and other liners in the wrong order this morning.
A blurry dinosaur.
The Kentucky Castle is a posh hotel ($600+ a night). Rob thought the meals should be included for that rate.
Temps were nice after lunch and warmed up quickly to low 70s.
Around 3pm we arrived at our hotel, the Sleep Inn and Suites. We covered about 350 miles today. The lady checking us in upgraded us to a king suite for free, which was really nice! Michele is always annoyed by hotels with noisy A/C units, like the one at last night’s hotel. Hotels spend money to make the lobby fancy but then the rooms have a junky A/C unit. They are all the same brand, too. The manufacturer is so shortsighted about that. Our room tonight has a quiet one, thankfully! Tonight is our last hotel of this trip and we head on home.
The rain storm last night was very intense. High winds and heavy rain with thunder and lightning. The heavy winds lasted for 30 minutes and the rain went on for several hours ending in the early morning.
We woke up around 6:30am and Rob went out to dry off the bike. The plastic bags did their job as the handle bar switch gear were all dry. There was a small wet spot in the trailer so Rob will have to investigate if we have any leaks. We found and repaired some leaks a few years back. The Wing’s audio system also had a slight clicking noise for the first hour or so. Rob suspects some water found its way into one of the connections. Last night’s rain was the hardest the bike has ever seen.
We were all loaded up and leaving the hotel by 8:15am. We made our way back to the Natchez Trace Parkway where we left off yesterday. We had approximately 100 miles left until we reached the northern terminus. Shortly after entering the parkway, we rode into Tennessee.
We saw several animals along the parkway this morning including several wild turkeys, a hawk (sitting on the hay bale below), an armadillo, and a bob cat. We did not get a picture of the bob cat. It was sitting on a log and Michele thought it was a gray kitty cat. Based on the silver and grey color and the black spots, Rob thinks it was a bob cat. Much discussion and debate ensued after that.
The morning was a bit chilly with temperatures at 50F. Fortunately, the winds were very calm and the skies were mostly clear, so we had the sun shining on us.
There were several sections of tree damage across the road. We aren’t sure if this was from last night or a previous storm. The area has seen several nasty storms over the past few weeks.
After about 50 miles, we stopped at a waterfall overlook.
We saw this little guy crossing the walkway we used to cross over the stream to view the falls from the other side
After a 15 minute break at the waterfalls, we were back on the bike and completed the remaining portion of the parkway. .
The last 13 miles on the north end were quite a bit more twisty and hilly than the previous 410 miles
The northern terminus of the parkway ends just south of Nashville. We picked up I-40 and made our way to the northern side of Nashville for our lunch stop in Goodlettsville.
We arrived at the Chef’s Market at about 11:30am and waited for Jen, Michele’s former co-worker who was hired to replace her. They had never met in person, only virtually, since she was hired in October. Jen and her husband Nick arrived shortly after and we had a nice lunch and chatted for an hour and a half.
After lunch, we made our way north along US41 into Springfield and then north on US431. We crossed into Kentucky and then turned east onto Bowling Green Road after reaching Russellville. Kentucky is the last “new” state we will travel through for this trip. All the remaining states we have already travelled through on this trip.
We passed this large tractor. We aren’t sure what the piece of equipment he was pulling but it was an very large set up.
We made it to our hotel for the night in Bowling Green, KY at 3:15pm. After a little relaxing in the room, we walked across the street to Donatos, a pizzeria. We had a yummy pizza and a side salad. Two little girls were looking for the golden Easter egg supposedly hidden in the restaurant. We tried to help but could not find it for them!
Tomorrow we head for Charleston, WV.
Our journey today continued along the Natchez Trace Parkway. We left at 8:30am. It was 68 degrees. After the first hour, we took a quick break so Michele could put on her jacket liner since it was a bit chilly. The skies were blue with some clouds and sun, so it was a nice change from yesterday.
This morning we woke and were on the bike at about 8:15am. The morning temperature was 66F and very muggy. The skies were very overcast today and rain was in the forecast.
We passed quite a few logging trucks today as well as lumber yards. The smell of creosote was heavy in the air when we rode past them.
We took a break from the interstates and stuck to the highways. The speeds on the highways in Louisiana are a much more sedate 55mph vs 75mph in Texas. In combination with the slower speeds, light traffic, and the slightly lower winds (still blowing out of the south), the riding today was very calm and quiet.
About 100 miles into the morning ride, the wind picked up and rain started to fall. We were just approaching Clayton, LA so we decided to duck into an Exxon gas station and put on our rain gear. The weather radar on the Wing looked like the rain system we had been skirting had finally over taken us.
Just after we pulled into the gas station, the skies opened up. We had timed our stop perfectly! We fueled up the bike and slipped on our rain gear. The rain had stopped but the roads were wet and it looked like it could start raining again at any point. The radar showed rain all around us.
Another 30 minutes down the road and we entered Vidalia, LA were we planned to stop at a Subway to pick up lunch. Today we planned to have a picnic on the Natchez Trace Parkway. Given our planned direction of travel from this point (northeast) it looked like we might luck out with the rain. It hadn't rained since our stop in Clayton so we took off our rain gear at the Subway. Vidalia is very close to the Mississippi river and the LA/MS state line. Soon after picking up our lunch we were crossing the Mississippi river and entered the state of Mississippi.
Shortly after entering Mississippi, we turn onto the Natchez Trace Parkway.
The parkway roughly follows the "Old Natchez Trace" a historic travel corridor used by American Indians, "Kaintucks," European settlers, slave traders, soldiers, and future presidents. The parkway is 444 miles and our plan is to follow it from the southern most point to the northern most point. Today we would ride the first 100 miles of it.
After approximately 18 miles, we stopped at the Coles Creek rest area for our picnic lunch. We were treated the drumming of a little woodpecker while we ate our lunch.
