Capturing an Elusive X photo!Jun 5, 2008
|
|
We did 230 miles of great riding to see the countryside and gather some more ABC photos. We managed to get an X photo in Xenophon, a little spot in the road so small that only 1 of 5 people we asked at a gas station only three miles from the sign even knew where it was! X is a very hard letter to find, and since we aren’t going to Xenia, Ohio on this trip, we are glad we got to Xenophon! We rode small roads whenever possible for several reasons: less traffic, more curves, and most importantly, more SHADE since it was in the 90s today. On the way out of town, we passed a farm stand with locally grown fresh vegetables, so were very lucky it was still open when we got back this evening; now I have some delicious tomatoes and green peppers in the RV. As we meandered around the countryside, we saw lots more hay fields; the farmers were active in various parts of the process – mowing, tedding, raking, and baling. We also passed many aptly named locations along the many roads we traveled: Eagle’s Nest Ridge, Narrow Hollow, Long Valley, Black Bear Cove, Moonshine Ridge, and traveled by or along several streams, rivers, and TVA lakes, all very pretty and inviting since we were hot. Unfortunately, we had to skirt the edges of Pigeon Forge and Sevierville to get to some of the smaller roads we wanted to ride, but were able to totally avoid Gatlinburg. Although many tourists enjoy those locations and the attractions there, horrible traffic problems exist due to all the tourists, and all three of those towns are too tacky for our taste. While Fred cooled off in the shade of a large hardwood tree, I enjoyed a visit and tour at Davy Crockett’s boyhood home in Morristown - the museum was situated in a tavern owned by his father (reconstructed since the original one burned down) where his mother and father raised their eleven kids. Lots of 18th and early 19th century furniture and artifacts were available for view, and the very knowledgeable hostess who gave me the tour shared many tidbits about Davy’s life and the artifacts in the home. Although I have been to many old homes in various parts of the US, I had never seen several of the old tools and kitchen utensils displayed there, so it was a very interesting visit.
