Today was all about enjoying a steady drive across the Smoky Mountains and making it to Greensboro, North Carolina in time to meet Sarah at the airport, as it turns out there was no need to rush. I'd driven 4500 km and arrived early, Sarah was delayed at the airport in Dallas owing to a mechanical fault.
After a late start (well, 07:30) I had a really enjoyable drive across the mountains, the weather started off as it finished yesterday, dark clouds looming and a threat of rain, but it never materialised. Both Google and my sat-nav suggested I take the interstate from Cleveland to Knoxville then I-40 east to Greensboro but that was never on the cards, I took a much more enjoyable route via the Ocoee River Scenic Byway. I wish I had planned more time for this as it turned out to be a beautiful route and I would have liked to explore a little more. The highway was almost perpetually flanked by those wonderful pink blooms that have been a feature of the southern end of this trip, having looked them up to see if I could grow one at home it is the Eastern Redbud (Cercis canadensis) they really do bring a fantastic show of early colour to brighten up the browns and dark greens still lingering since winter and even the small ones are heavily laden with blooms. I stopped a couple of times to break the journey but only with short wanderings by the river and at one point, along a whitewater rafting location which was unused this morning (though I did see some crazy folks out having a go further on) Sarahs delay gave me time to shower and have a coffee while watching Chelsea v PSG in the Champions League (fantastic match with Chelsea winning 2-0 on the night to go through to the next round) and to write my blog post before heading out to the airport, I'm really looking forward to sharing some time with Sarah this week. As usual, click images in the gallery for larger versions with captions.
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Day 5 commenced as early as its predecessors but this time without the sunrise. The sky was murky grey in its entirety and it rained constantly for the opening 2 hours which changed my plans a little but not at any great loss. I had intended revisiting a couple of locations in an area known as 'The Land Between The Lakes' which spans the Kentucky/Tennessee border but decided against it as hiking in thunderstorms is little fun.
I still drove through the area and grabbed some shots of bison sheltering from the rain and of 'lighthouse landing' but they were quick grabs as the rain poured down. I decided to head for my hotel in Cleveland (South-Eastern Tennessee) and see what the weather did as I went. As I approached Nashville with no respite from the rain I decided to stop off and see a little of the state capital. I parked close to the Bicentennial Mall State Park in front of the capitol building and stretched my legs in the beautiful spring setting. The blossom on the trees was stunning and reflecting off the polished granite and marble surfaces in the park it was almost perfect......except for the damn rain which kept returning in heavy downpours causing me to dodge in and out of cover. It was well worth it as I got some nice shots around the park. I have just one more leg of the journey to make tomorrow and I'm really hoping the weather improves again as I will be driving through the Smoky Mountains which (if my last few miles today is anything to go by) will be beautiful. When I get to Greensboro, North Carolina I'll meet Sarah as she gets in from Calgary and for the first time in a week sit down to a nice restaurant dinner as opposed to the burgerfest I've been enjoying for the last 5 days. Click an image in the gallery for larger pics with captions. As seems to be the way of it with this journey, I was up and out before the sunrise again this morning, heading just a short way down the road from my overnight hotel (40 mins) unfortunately the sun was still struggling to get going when I parked the truck and started out on the 4 km trail in Harry S Truman State Park in western Missouri, so I stumbled along the first half of it. When I reached the overlook things had improved and it was nice to sit in such a wonderful location in the tranquility of an early morning watching the birds on the reservoir below.
After the park I set out on a 3.5 hour journey east stopping off at a tiny little historic courthouse along the way before almost running over a posse of huge wild turkeys who idled across the road on a sharp bend, harsh braking saw the camera fly into the footwell and by the time I'd retrieved it the culprits were away into the forest around the lake of the Ozarks. I arrived at Elephant Rocks State Park and had some lunch before hiking the trail around the perimeter and then clambering about on the large granite boulders, the park is very similar to Robbers Cave State Park in Oklahoma. After this it was just a 30 minute drive down the road to Taum Sauk Mountain, the highest point in Missouri, after scaling the dizzy heights of the leviathan....well in total just 540 m (1172 feet) I took the additional 6 km hike to Mina Sauk Falls which meant going all the way down again and then back up. An upside down hike with all the work being at the final leg but really enjoyable nonetheless. It was an easy drive of 576 km (358 miles) today, avoiding interstates as always it was a lovely drive through familiar surroundings, I couldn't help but miss Sarah as I recalled all of the times we had driven around Missouri together, strangely enough almost nailing a turkey or two back then as well. I arrived at my hotel for the evening in Cape Girardeau which sits at a point in eastern Missouri, almost touching southern Illinois and western Kentucky. At just 5pm it was the earliest I'd stopped so far, but it's no fun pushing every day from sunrise to sunset, a long hot bath and a scan of the internet for likely locations tomorrow will take up the remainder of the day. Day 3 began early with a beautiful sunrise to greet me as I entered the empty interstate from the small town of Murdo, South Dakota. Much as I dislike using the major routes it was necessary today to make another good chunk of milage. I travelled east on I-90 for 320 km and then south on I-29 for another 725 km making a total of 1045 km (750 miles) today finally arriving in Clinton, Missouri 10 hours later where I had booked a hotel for the evening.
After checking in I dropped off my gear and freshened up before driving downtown for a wander around, there are some beautiful historic buildings and a huge town square. Though a number of stores have closed since the 2008 recession I'm sure they will return once things pick up again, I took the opportunity to wash my truck before heading back to the hotel passing some wonderful period houses along the way. Click an image in the gallery below for larger images and captions. Day two started early as I had plans to squeeze in an additional stop in the north east corner of Wyoming but I still wanted to get to all of the other things I had planned and cover 750 km before nightfall, so I was up at 05:30 waiting for the hotel breakfast guy to get up. After a hearty plate of ham and eggs with french toast and copious amounts of coffee, I was in the truck making the short journey out of Billings Montana toward Pompeys Pillar beside the Yellowstone River, just off I-94 about 30 minutes east of the town. The park is closed for winter so no vehicles are permitted but you can undertake a short 2km hike to the pillar and make the ascent on the boardwalk; below the sun is just starting to move the morning frost as I made the top of the pillar.
From Pompeys Pillar I cut south on a dusty county road where a little girl out feeding chickens in the yard waved as I passed by, it made me smile and think of my little grandson as I waved back. The county road links up to I-90 which I followed for a short time to reach the Little Bighorn Battlefield where another planned stop was made. As I looked at the graves of the fallen I couldn't help but think of them setting out from England, Ireland, Germany, Italy and other European nations planning a new life in 'The Americas', that arduous atlantic crossing, and the perilous trek west across thousands of miles to this desolate hilltop only to lose their lives before their 'new start' could take root. I avoided the interstate on exiting the park and instead opted for US-212 which also heads east but allows a more scenic meander than the hurried gallop along the interstate. After 300 km or so I reached my 'added' stop for the day, The Devils Tower, made famous by its starring role in Steven Spielberg's movie "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" it is a stunning sight rising out of the prairies. I found a nice little hike around the base of the tower before heading South and picking up I-90 for the second time today. I stayed with I-90 for 2 hours to reach the North Dakota "Badlands" for my last stop of the day, though the Devils Tower visit had added a couple of hours I still had time to spend almost 3 hours in the 'Badlands National Park" but, because I'd arrived late in the day the pay station was closed so I saw it all for free :) As I left the badlands at sunset I darted along I-90 for another hour before finally stopping for the day, I've seen sunrise and sunset from the cab of my truck today and so many great things along the way too. All in all a fantastic 2nd day, tomorrow is a bit of a killer as it is all driving, stopping only for fuel......well supposedly. Click an image in the gallery below for bigger pictures with captions. I set out early this morning to make the first dent in the planned 8600 km round trip to the east coast of North Carolina (that's 5300 miles in old money) I will be taking 6 days to make the drive (one way) so I can explore a few places along the way. Sarah is flying down to join me in a few days and we can then spend some time exploring together. We hope to make it north to Virginia Beach and along the coast to the Wright Brothers Memorial at Kitty Hawk as well as a number of other places during the week.
Instead of the usual hiatus with no posts to the blog I've decided to try and post a little of each day (when possible) whilst on the road. Once we are home I'll flesh out the pages in full. The images may not be to the usual standard as I am working on a tiny laptop with a poor screen, but they will give some indication of what we're up to and what we've seen. Starting with Waterton Lakes, still in the icy grip of winter. Click the gallery below for larger images with captions. |
AuthorWe arrived in Calgary, Canada on 29th December 2011 to continue our journey. This blog is intended to keep our family and friends informed whilst we explore Canada.You can use the RSS feed below to stay updated. Categories
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January 2024
The Shaman, West Texas
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