Route 66 And Trying to Find Our Way

 A Tourist Attraction

IMG_1376I have been under the weather during this time and also very poor wifi to get these all uploaded.  Click on any of the pictures to see the rest of the album.

 

 

IMG_1390

This was found in the museum and a few other items that actually are original.  Other parts are replicas, but are pretty fair representations.

 

IMG_1412

Kinda brings back all those memories, just not sure they all were as good as we think they were.

 

 

IMG_1429

To bad we can’t all be Beverly HIll Billie’s with an oil well in our back yard.  OK, I am wrong, Sandy read the sign with this display and it depicts the Joad Family in the ‘Grapes Of Wrath’

 

 

IMG_1436

I remember working on one of these, a few years ago?!  Now you can get one that is amaller than a pack of cig’s and if it quits throw it away and buy a new one even smaller and sounds better.

 

IMG_1578

Something we found at the side of the road.  caught it whille driving.  Interesting drive so far and I have more albums to upload for this part of the trip.

 

Along this part of our trip home we have found mostly tourist type stuff, such as what you will see in the album.  More like what most people would call a tourist trap.  Unlike in Mississippi the view is wide open, giving a decidedly different feel.

Please scroll down and leave a comment, at least look at the rest of the pictures in the album, and I will be uploading more as soon as time permits.

 

The Anasazi Inn and the Four Corners Monument

Rest And Relax At The Anasazi Inn

We made it to the Anasazi Inn on Highway 160 between Tuba City and Kayenta about ten miles west of Kayenta.  it is an old structure and I am sure you all have experienced this type of out of the way motel.  Their is a small Cafe along with it and they serve a very respectable and good tasting fare.  I recommend the Motel and Cafe.

IMG_2021I apologize for not putting up any more pictures but the last three motels either had very poor wifi or none that worked.  I also acquired a cold going through Texas and Oklahoma, no pictures through their anyway.

IMG_2020

Here is our rig parked in front of our motel room, does anyone remember the ‘Bates Motel’?

 

 

Four Corners Monument

IMG_2004

Here I am in the middle of the monument, purely a tourist attraction.  Way back when I was here when it was still desert with a plaque standing, seemed more appropriate then.

 

IMG_2002Here is Sandy and in the back ground you see the stalls.  That is where all the vendors show their wares.  I do admit that it stuff locally made and their was nothing that said made in China stamped on the back.

 

Aztec Ruins Monument

IMG_1953This is a picture from the Aztec Ruins close to the Four Corners Monument, but not a part of it.  It is spectacular and I am glad we decided to stop here as well as the next location which happens tomorrow.

IMG_1970This is the large Kiva at the Aztec Ruins and is rebuilt as it was when it was first built.

I do not have the rest of these pictures uploaded yet and it may be that I will have to wait until I get home to do it.  Just getting these few done took three hours here at the Anasazi Inn.  And I had to do it in the cafe.  Not bad as they provided iced tea for the duration, and dinner was excellent.  Tomorrow we will end up at the Grand Canyon and probably not any further as their is a lot to see, and I am feeling better as well.  Pepper our own personal bear of a dog is doing very well sitting in the back seat and having to endure the heat, as well as having to sleep on a bed usually with me.  He tends to push me off when ever I get in his way.

AS usual please comment on my pictures and writing as I am working at doing better.  Also I will send every one a note when I get the rest of the pictures uploaded.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Watching Mississippi In The Rear View Mirror

IMG_1239

IMG_1242We are exhausted but it is time to go.

It is hard to leave friends behind, especially those that do not require extra effort.  It has been a great four years and I will not forget it, the work and the Springs.

 

 

IMG_1019A couple of pictures of The Springs that I found earlier this fall.  This one is towards the north.

 

 

 

 

IMG_1022This one is towards the south and the roof you see on the left is where we resided.  I will post some more pictures of the springs when I get some time to find them in the archives.  We just left Arkansas and I will have more tomorrow night.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sturgis Rally 2014

A Motorcycle Rally at Sturgis, Mississippi on August 16, 2014

The rally started on the 15th and was a success although their were not as many vendors  as the promoter expected or wanted.

The Sturgis Rally of 2014

The Sturgis Rally of 2014

 

An interesting variety of riders and bikes including some home made machines that looked well made and some even weird.

The full album is available by clicking on the picture.

 

 

 

IMG_0880-115The food was good and a fairly good variety, even though their were not as many as expected.  I liked the catfish sandwitches.  I heard that the BBQ was excellent but I did not try it.  The promoters are already working on next year and hopefully more vendors will show up.  With the number of people that showed up I am sure that will happen.

 

IMG_0877-114

Here is one of the more interesting three wheelers.

 

 

 

 

IMG_0871-112The weather was extremely hot and humid.  Hopefully the promoters will have more tent shelters available with seating next year.  It was an enjoyable ride here and if I am still in Mississippi next year I will attend the Rally.

WORD OF THE MONTH – Potkopinu!

Hike The Natchez Trace Trail At MP17

IMG_0472

 

Found this section of the trail about a mile east of the trace at mp17, follow the signs.  Not sure how to pronounce the word but it is unique.  If you like these pictures please click on the following phrase and see all of them.

IMG_0461Here I am with a severe lean do to where I was placing the camera.  Rotten logs tend to not be very sturdy.  The bank behind me leads up to the level of the surrounding terrain, and I am on a ridge line as well.  Heavy rain and thousands of feet churned up the ground and it washed away to leave the gully I am walking in.

 

IMG_0450Many Americans at the time figured that the difficulties of communication and isolation would cause the Mississippi Valley settlements to form a separate nation.  Congress, hoping to hold the frontier, established a Post Route from Nashville to Natchez in 1800.

IMG_0439A bitter comment from then Secratary Of State “The passage of mail from Natchez is as tedious as from Europe when westerly winds prevail”.  President Jefferson soon after ordered the army to clear out the trail and make it a road.

 

IMG_0471

Post Riders helped bind the vast, turbulent frontier to the Republic carrying newpapers, dispatches, and mail.

IMG_0442

 

 

Their day passed by the mid-1830’s, when steamboats started running from Natchez to Pittsburgh, robbed the Trace of it’s usefulness as a main post road.

 

IMG_0452I kept hearing how bad it was back then for the Kaintucks, having walked a few feet in their tracks, I at least understand how bad it could have been.  I like to think that I had it bad in VietNam but for the Kaintucks the bandits along the trace were just as bad, and the heat and humidity were equally as bad.

If you would like please click here to see the whole album.  Please leave any comments as I would like to know how you like the pictures and I apologize for putting all the history on here but I thought it would be appropriate for this summer.

Sunday Car Ride In Tennessee

A Quiet Day Trip Through The Country Side

We found this sign while on an afternoon ride just north of the Tennessee Alabama state line south of Nashville, TN.  I was not going to publish, in some respects though we have to remember in order to not repeat the past.

IMG_0164

A friend that stopped by to chirp at us while taking a rest break at one of the many pull outs on the Natchez Trace Parkway.IMG_0364

Next is a Magnolia blossom on a magnolia tree close to our compound where we reside for the next couple of months.IMG_0127

I had to include this scenery photo of a stream and road in Tennessee close to the Meriwether Lewis Burial Site.

IMG_0098Finally here is a photo of our puppy Pepper taking a dip in the pond behind our house at the Springs.  We have tried and it is impossible to keep him out of it due to the heat and humidity we get here in Mississippi.  It helps that it does not take long for him to dry off, so as to not smell up the house to awfully bad.  This afternoon he gets a bath, but the pond is still close and it is going to get hot and humid the rest of the week.

IMG_0004

 

 

 

 

The Station Cafe — The Natchez Trace Parkway

1 Mile West From The Natchez Trace On Hwy429.

Good Eats

Good Eats “The Station Cafe” in Thomastown

I found this interesting cafe fifteen miles south of Kosciusko about one mile west of the Natchez Trace Parkway on HighWay 429.  The cafe is in a small town (hamlet?) called Thomastown.  Excellent home cooked food and pleasant conversation is served.  They have a two burner stove and electric griddle so if you happen to stop by in a large group be prepared to wait your turn.

 

I was on a work excursion driving a truck with my equipment this time, but I do hope to make it back on the bike before I leave for my home QTH in Oregon.

IMG_5796

My apologies to the two young ladies, I forgot to ask their names.  Regardless it was easy to take my time eating and talking, so I was late getting to my three destinations today.

 

 

15 Miles South of Kosciusko and 45 Miles North Of Jackson On The Natchez Trace Parkway.

IMG_5797

As you can see here the seating is somewhat limited.  The menu is also somewhat limited but what one would expect in an establishment this small.

 

 

 

IMG_5792

A New Pullout On The Natchez Trace

1812 War Memorial

IMG_5777I found this one while driving north on the Natchez Trace, for my last site visit and Inspection.  It was an empty pull out before.  There are a lot of memorials all over the south and on the east coast, almost impossible to visit all of them.  But each one is unique and I will stop when I find one.  Anyway that is all there is for this post.  See you next time.

 

IMG_5778

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Enhanced by Zemanta

Seriously, I Thought It Was A Chew Toy!

I Know This Is Not A Ride or Trip

But If you have ever raised a Labrador puppy you just might understand that it is a trip.  This is Pepper and he is 87 lbs and any where from ten to fourteen months old.  He is very well behaved although you probably are saying ‘Yeah! right!’.  Regardless he learned his radio fence in one day, well maybe three, but since has not strayed unless I take him across.  Though there is some locals living here with dogs and he will cross when they talk to him, but he does come back.

Gee! You Never Told Me I Could Not Play With The Rug

Gee! You Never Told Me I Could Not Play With The Rug

At any rate he is now part of our family and cute in a big galoot sort of way.  If you are wondering his mother was a Lab, but we are not sure of dad, probably Rotweiler, with Shepard thrown in.  The vet says mastiff, I sure hope not.

Pepper found the welcome rug one morning after going out in the morning at 6am, it was raining and he took to shelter on front porch leaving his real rawhide chew out in the rain.

IMG_5615

 

 

Ride The Trace

Ride The Trace – Looking For Hernando’s Trail

Here is a pull out on the Natchez Trace Parkway for Hernando de Soto.  I rode through West Point and Starkville, MS before I arrived.  Hernando de Soto was a Spanish explorer and conquistador who led the first European expedition deep into the territory of the modern-day United States, and the first documented to have crossed the Mississippi River.  Click on Hernando de Soto if you would like more.

Here is the map of his exploits while in the America’s.images

Ken at Hernando de Soto

Ken at Hernando de Soto

Enhanced by Zemanta