Sunday, October 25, 2020

Mississippi Blues Trail - Part 4

 Today we planned on grabbing a couple of Mississippi Blues Trail (MBT) markers in Alabama.  Eric devised a route that would include some fun surprises!  We had both heard about the Rattlesnake Saloon in Tuscumbia, AL and decided to have lunch there and then go on to our MBT markers.  This meant I had to get up early (like before 7:00 am) so I could shower, have my coffee and get geared up in order to meet our self-imposed 9:00 am departure time.

We left on time, made a brief stop to top of the fuel tanks, and headed for the Natchez Trace Parkway.  It was a bit chilly and I thought I had enough layers on but after 10 miles I asked Eric to pull over at the Visitor Center so I could change up my gear into something more comfortable.  I added my Warm & Safe heated jacket over my LD Comfort top, then mesh jacket, then rain jacket.  Yikes FOUR layers!  Oh well... I also changed my gloves to some mid-weight waterproof BMW gloves.  Good thing because we got a bit wet.  On the bottom side I had my Oxford Kevlar Leggings with Olympia rain pants.

After the gear change we were back on the road heading north.  Good thing I made the gear change as the temps dropped and while it didn't rain it did mist very hard and we got wet (on the outside).  I was thrilled I had heat and waterproof everything!  I quickly realized that we need to get the heated hand grips installed, hahahaha!  Pretty sure my honey will make that happen shortly.  

We stayed on the Natchez Trace for about 50 miles and then took the un-marked exit for Maud Road, just past the now missing sign for Muscle Shoals National Heritage Area where we took a quick break.  Some time ago we had been at the same exit and noticed extensive tornado damage.  You can see some of it in the photos below, and thus the reason for the missing sign.




Leaving the Trace, Eric's route took us on rural roads (my favorite) that went from two lane highways to little, off the beaten path paved lanes.  While on White Pike Road in Alabama we found this lovely road.


That brought us to Freedom Hills Wildlife Management Area.

We then turned onto Coon Dog Cemetery Rd.  Oh, what a beautiful road.  Twisty and desolate, autumn leaves and we had it all to ourselves!  Of course it led to the Coon Dog Cemetery which has been a rally bonus several times!  We had to stop and check it out!









There were a lot more graves here than I expected.  Some very elaborate headstones and some very modest headstones.  We saw lots and lots of markers that had coins on them.  Hmmmm....... what's that about?  Who is leaving the coins?  Owners?  Friends of Owners?  Well, at the pavilion was a guest book and a note that asked people visiting to leave a coin or two on a grave to show we never forget our pets and our general love of dogs.  There ya go!  Bring a pocket full of coins if you plan on visiting here and I highly recommend you do visit!  Flipping through the guest book I noted that people from all over had visited and multiple people and groups visited every single day!  It's an awesome place and has a nice, peaceful, easy feeling about it.

From the Coon Dog Cemetery we continued our journey about 5 miles before we hit a larger highway that would take us to our turn off for the Rattlesnake Saloon.



Patrons of the Saloon were asked to park near the entrance and wait for the taxi to pick you up and take you to the Saloon.  Okay.  Different.  But obedient peeps we are (Ha, so much for Rebel Scooterers) we did just that.


A big pick-up truck outfitted with benches in the bed and a set of stairs to get up there stopped and picked us up for our trek to the Saloon.  Ohhhhhh, we quickly realized why the taxi ride.  The path to the Saloon was narrow and STEEP!!!!  Signs stated NO WALKING.  I kind of closed my eyes when we turned down the very, very steep and slippery lane to the Saloon, lol.  And then, we were there!

They were well prepared for the Covid era precautions.  We waited at a gate for a host to seat us with masks on.  Our host then took us to an outdoor table away from other guests.


We ordered a bacon cheeseburger with a side of onion rings, Mountain Dew for Eric and water for me.  We split lunch.  Nice that condiments were single serve and everything was disposable including the menus.  They got it right!  I thought the burger was lacking but the onion rings were outstanding!  So, while munching on my burger a piece of bacon slipped out and fell to the floor.  Oh, the horror!  A juicy, crisp piece of thick slice bacon on the ground 😢  I was so tempted to just reach down, grab that juicy slice of bacon and pop it in my mouth.  My grown up me argued with my bacon loving me.  Heck, I'm sure I've put much worse in my mouth while motorcycle camping.  Nope, dang it, grown up me won and I left it lying on the ground.


They have several outdoor areas and indoor seating.  Of course in this time of Effin' Covid, nobody was allowed inside.  Oh well.  I can tell that this place rocks on nice days!  Oh, they also had live music which just started as we were finishing our lunch.





Now that we've fed our bellies it was time to track down our first of two MBT markers.  We left the Rattlesnake Saloon and found US 72 that would take us to the Alabama Music Hall of Fame where we would find our first marker.  The Alabama Music Hall of Fame has also been a rally bonus on Lynne Carey's Rock n Ride Rally.





Too bad it was closed.  That's kind of an issue riding on Sunday, so much is closed 😞.  Oh well, we now know where it is if we get the itch to visit again!  We found our marker Mississippi to Alabama.



Listen to Jerry "Boogie" McCain.  A bit long but oh, so worth it!  Listen to the lyrics and have a good laugh!!!!

When researching our route, Eric discovered that Tuscumbia was the birthplace of Helen Keller.  Well of course we went there!





Dang, closed on Sunday 😢  Okay, two reasons to return to Tuscumbia, the Alabama Music Hall of Fame and Helen Keller's birthplace.

Oh well.  Off to the next MBT marker in Florence, AL just a few miles down the road.  We quickly found the marker W.C. Handy.  He referred to himself as the Father of the Blues William Christopher Handy (Wiki).



Photo of the house.

Not only a MBT marker but we found a Florence, Alabama historical marker here as well.




Some very fun and rather rusty sculpture in the front yard.



W. C. Handy was featured on the Ed Sullivan show.  At this point he was totally blind.  Listen here W. C. Handy Blues.

What else is in Florence, AL?  Well, the Northern Alabama University is there but so is a Frank Lloyd Wright home, the Rosenbaum House!



It was open but as the day was getting long we opted to just view it from the outside and not take the tour.

Time to head home.  After a few wrong turns we finally figured out the short way to the Natchez Trace rather than the 34 miles the GPS wanted to take us.  We topped off the fuel tanks and followed a lovely county road to the Natchez Trace which we rode to our exit for home in Tupelo, MS.  

A great day of scootering!  Nippy temps but with the right gear it was totally doable.  A bit damp in the morning but things cleared up as the day wore on.  No sunshine but no more rain or mist either, great!  We rode just shy of 200 miles today.  My mpg was around 77 and Eric saw 71 mpg.  We found two MBT markers and lots of other stuff!

Thanks for following along.  Not sure when or where the next adventure will take us but we'll be sure to share it with you!

Cheers,
Cletha & Eric




Friday, October 23, 2020

Mississippi Blues Trail - Part 3

 It was a beautiful day, not a cloud in the sky and just perfect for a scooter ride.  We also were looking forward to testing our new Shad top boxes that Eric had installed yesterday on the Honda ADV150 scooters.  Eric had prepared a loop route that would take us north on the Natchez Trace and then to Fulton, MS for the first of three Mississippi Blues Trail (MBT) markers.  Minimal traffic and winding country lanes made the journey pleasant and relaxing.  The Jimmie Lunceford marker was located across from the Itawamba County Courthouse.  You can read more about him here Jimmie Lunceford (Wiki) and listen to him here Rhythm is Our Business.




We found this awesome mural near the marker.

When I realized we were at a County Courthouse I simply had to take this photo and give Mr. Bob Higdon a nod.  This Courthouse is modern architecture and was nice enough but I really like the old courthouses with the columns and arches.  

There was a very nice Veteran's Memorial with an eternal flame on the front corner of the courthouse.


And then, across the street, this law office sign caught my attention.  Hahahahahaha, "Basham" Law.  Almost as funny as Dewey, Cheatem & Howe!


There was a nice park where we found the MBT marker.  


Bandstand, fun sculpture, outstanding playground and several historical plaques.  These copper sculptures were all over the park. Two were large and the rest were little, tiny pieces scattered about the park.



This one has some attitude going on!



The awesome playground!



The bandstand.


Obligatory scooter pictures!  Yes, we really did ride them 😉



We enjoyed our stroll around the park but then it was time to mount up and find the next marker.  Our route took us on many small, rural lanes giving us a great opportunity to discover more of Mississippi.  It was now later in the afternoon and the sun was hanging a bit lower giving us sunlight dappled roads.  Ahhhhhh, so relaxing to cruise along at 45 mph and gawk at the scenery.

After a bit we rolled into Amory, MS and headed for the park.  Hmmmm, no marker.  We rode around the park, still no marker.  However we did find an awesome train engine!




Twice around the park and we still didn't see the MBT marker.  Dang!  So we rode around a few more blocks but still no marker.  We then went back to the park because we noticed a group of folks practicing social distance while visiting on the park band stand.  You won't believe what happened next, lol.  Eric actually stopped and asked the locals where the marker might be.  They had watched us circling the park and I'm sure we were the topic of discussion because on our third lap one of the older gentlemen was coming down the stairs and said something to me.  I think he was asking if we were lost but with the helmet and earplugs I couldn't hear him.  This is when we parked and Eric got off the scooter and walked up to the gentleman.  In his best Mississippi accent (and trust me, Eric can make you a believer!) he  asked the fellow where the MBT marker was.  Of course the gentleman knew and directed us to a small pocket park next to Bill's Hamburgers.

We knew right was that was because we'd been to Bill's before Covid.  Easy, peasy.  Off we went to the pocket park and lo and behold, there was the marker!  Amory, MS



Click the link to listen to Lucille Bogan/Bessie Jackson.


The pocket park has a small bandstand, now nicely decorated for Halloween and autumn.


And a couple of murals.


By now the shadows were getting longer and we debated on whether or not to go for the third marker or just call it a day.  Heck, we were only maybe 15 miles from the next marker, let's go for it!  So we scooted on down the road but for this part of our adventure we stayed on a larger road and pressed the scooters to hold 60 mph.  In no time we were in Aberdeen, MS home of Aberdeen, Mississippi Blues.



A sample from Howlin' Wolf (Chester Arthur Burnett).  A bit long at just over 6 minutes but oh so worth it!

Behind the marker were three murals depicting artists from Aberdeen.




By now it was well into cocktail hour and we weren't home!  No more stops - opps - need gas, hahaha!  We pointed the scooters toward Tupelo, stopped once to fill up the gas tanks and then directly home.  We rode about 85 miles and again I got close to 85 mpg.  Eric got around 71 mpg.  The weather was fantastic and I saw a high temperature of 87.

Neither of us noticed the new Shad top cases.  Eric had put about 10 lbs. in his and mine was empty.  Felt like they weren't there!  No bouncing, no wind resistance, nothing.  They are mounted very solid.  Will likely have a better review after we do an overnight, ride off road, ride in weather, etc.  But, I suspect we'll be happy 😆

Of course when we got home we made cocktails!  Heck it was now just after 6 pm.  We are going to have to start earlier or plan an overnight as the MBT markers closest to us have now been grabbed and blogged.  Sounds like fun to me!

Thanks for following along and stay tuned for the next episode!

Cheers,
Cletha & Eric

#HondaADV150 #ShadUSA #Scooters #ScooterCannonballRun