A week or so back I did something that I rarely do. I overslept. You know there’s nothing like the feeling you get when you awaken to darkness, especially when it should be light outside. I grabbed the phone and dialed work only to confirm my thoughts. Yep it was way past my start time and my load was already on the way to St. Louis. No they didn’t have any extra freight tonight so I was to call the assistant terminal manager in the morning and let them know what I’d done.
Now it didn’t take me a hot second to decide what I was gonna do. I piddled around the house for about three hours getting some things done that needed doing. Seems I never get caught up around here. Then I did the only logical thing there was. You are correct. I took a ride.
I had attempted several times over the past year to collect more of the Tennessee State Parks in my quest to visit all of them. Due to many factors I haven’t done a very good job of this. The time was right for another state park to move into the accomplished column. Leaving out before the dawn was a very invigorating experience. The cool night air did wonders for cleansing my thoughts. I enjoyed the ride up hwy 70 through towns such as Smithville. Crossing over the Caney Fork River/ Center Hill Lake with the fog rising was both haunting and enlightening.
I climbed the hill on toward Sparta and crossed the Calf Killer river. One of these days I really need to find out the story behind that name. Leaving Sparta and continuing East I climbed Bon Aire Mountain and on toward Crossville. Once in Crossville I worked my way over to hwy 127 and on to Cumberland Mountain State Park. Taking a little look see around the park tempted my taste for a camping trip up there.
I left Cumberland Mountain State Park and worked my way South down to Pikeville. It was here that I turned onto hwy 30 for a rather relaxing and twisty ride over the hills through Spencer and on down to McMinnville. The Views on 30 are fantastic.
I took hwy 70s out of McMinnville and enjoyed the ride down through Woodbury and on into Murfreesboro. From there it was a short ride back to the house. All in all a very relaxing and rejuvenating ride around some of the beautiful countryside if Middle Tennessee. I racked up a total of 251 miles on this little scooter ride and captured another Tennessee State Park for my collection.
Ride Safe,
Ronman
