7 day trip last week of July from Michigan to TN, northern MS and AL, SC and NC

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Dan S

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Location
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Any and all advice is welcome.  I never ridden thru this part of the country.  I'm planning a ride with my brothers in 2 weeks, MI to Martinsville IL, to Cairo IL, the Dorena - Hickman ferry,  Shilo TN, The Natchez Trace Parkway Tupelo MS to Meriweather Lewis monument, then to Chattanooga and Tellico Plains and the Cherohala parkway and the Tail of the Dragon, north to Little River Gorge and maybe the Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail, but my brothers and I are not much into any of the tourist traps in Gatlinburg.  Then US441 to Cherokee, then north on the Blueridge parkway as far as Litttle Switzerland or maybe Three Mile, then back to via the Cumberland Gap and maybe a stop at Ritner Swinging Bridge or Natural Bridge near Slade Ky and then hook it for Michigan.  But I'm wondering if restaurants are open? We'd rather not do drive thru fast food and eat sitting on the curb. And we usually camp, and out west we almost always stealth camp but not sure how that might work on this trip.  And if the campgrounds are closed to tent camping and it's hot we might get a motel.  

 
My brother-in-law in southern IL camps a lot and he says camping in IL is much more locked down than the surrounding states.  Here in KY they are starting to clamp back down some, but for the most part things are open. Almost all restaurants here are open. 

It's brutally hot this week and may be hotter by your trip, so be aware of that. We've done lots of hot trips but the worst one was Michigan two years ago during a heat wave, so you never know.  In Arkansas a couple weeks ago we had a mixed bag for restaurants - a couple had no indoor dining and some were business as usual.  We got lunch to go at a subway and ate at the tables outside a gas station in the shade for lunch once.

For me, the BRP is great on the south side but got boring as we got farther north.  I like the side roads better.  Rbentnail says there are rolling closures, but right now according to this realtime BRP Closures map, it's open to almost Roanoke.  The campgrounds on the BRP look like they are closed, though. I'd check that last minute.

Also the Natchez trace got redundant after a while and I'm not sure why people like that road so much.  We didn't go farther south than Tupelo, but even that part was kind of boring - not much to see unless you want to see Elvis' birthplace.

I'm originally from Southern IL and there are some fair options there like 127 south of Murphysboro, but you may want to treat IL as a "through" state to get to the great riding farther SE.  North Carolina has immensely better roads than anything in IL or Western KY and even the Nashville area.  If I were you, I'd ride the first 18 miles of the trace to say you'd done it and then head east and add a day in NC instead.  I know camping is open in Land Between the Lakes, KY if you end up coming through there. 

If we take a short trip, our top option is to ride the NC area starting in Tellico Plains or Cleveland (just outside Chattanooga).  We still love the dragon when it's not crowded and many of the other roads in the area are even better.  If you get chance to ride Marion to Tazewell VA, that has become my personal favorite.  

 
Thank you so much Goodman4, very helpful.  Initially my brother refused to do anything in Illinois by I'm taking him to Moonshine store for a moon burger anyway.  then south to Cairo to see the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi. And then south thru MO to the ferry to Hickman KY.  then just a bit of the Natchez from Piney Grove campground to Deerfield.  I'm going to see if I can get reservations at campgrounds for most nights.  Like the Marion county RV park in the TN river near Jasper.  Then thru Chattanooga to Tellico Plains, the Cherohala, Tail of the Dragon, north to Gatlinburg via Little River gorge, maybe the roaring fork motor nature trail loop, US441 to Cherokee, and the Blue Ridge Parkway north but only as far as Three Mile.  Then head for home via Poplar, Baileyton, a night at Riverplace on the Clinch, Jonesville VA, Cumberland Gap, Pineville KY, Williamsburg KY, Ritner Swinging bridge, Natural Bridge near Slide KY.  then hook it for home.   

We've done hot weather rides mostly out west and maybe would prefer going north but Canada is locked down pretty tight and the borders are closed there.  My fear is between now and end of July everything in TN and NC and KY shuts down.      

 
Yeah, that's lots of great stuff there in your route.  I really like it.  Hoping for you and all of us that things don't escalate and you can ride as planned.

 
Tupelo is under a mask order, so masks inside any business.  But restaurants are open for dine in and outside dining.  They separate tables and all the staff will be masked up.   If you have the chance, Kermit's Outlaw Kitchen down town is a good lunch spot and Blue Canoe is a great dinner spot.  There are other places more mainstream that are good too.  If there is some particular food you're looking for, let me know and I'll try to point you in the right direction.  A few decent BBQ places, though nothing outstanding, imho.

Things to see, well, if you're an Elvis fan there is the birthplace museum.  You can walk in and check out the gift shop and outside stuff for no fee.  On the Trace, the Meriwether Lewis site near Hohenwald is worth checking out, but it's about 15 miles further North on the Trace than where you would turn off for Deerfield.

EricV

 
Thanks a ton OCfjr.   I got a camp site reserved at Piney Grove CG for Saturday night July 25 so we might not make it all the way to Tupelo. Piney Grove has a 2 night minimum so I paid for Sunday night too so let me know if you want it.  They are almost completely booked so I assume people are getting out despite the restrictions.  Oregon upped requirements for face masks this week so I’m already getting used to that.  
 

I have reservations at Lake Powhatan CG on the BRPW for Tuesday night and a cabin at Riverplace on the Clinch in KY on Wednesday night and have pretty good stealth camping sites picked out for all the other nights.  This is my plan for Sunday night. Well except I need to make a plan for something near Deals Gap for Monday night.  This is my plan for stealth camping on Sunday night.  (35.0760915, -85.8418719)

we usually only eat 2 meals a day, breakfast and dinner.  Sometimes i don’t plan well enough and we don’t find breakfast until late and my brothers get grumpy.  I’m running that risk on Sunday north of Piney Grove CG on the Natchez Trace and maybe again on Wednesday on the BRPW north of Lake Powhatan.  Suggestions welcome.  

 
Clingman's Dome is a nice ride but usually a lot of car traffic. NPS.gov lists the road as currently open but may change at any time due to pandemic. It was closed a month ago when we tried to go to the top.

 
This morning we rode the Natchez Trace from Bay Springs Lake to the Meriwether  Lewis memorial. Got drifted on breakfast at May’s in Waterloo, it’s closed for good.  But the Fiesta Grill in Cowan was open and seemed like business as usual and very good.  Tonight we got a room at the Quality Inn in Monteagle. Tomorrow heading for the Cherohala and Deals Gap.

 
How did the trip go? IIRC it was a 7 dayer so you should be home, correct? Hope you all had a great/safe time!!!

 
Sorry for the tardy reply.  I got home on August 7 and the next day got very sick.  102 fever for 6 days. I tested neg for covid but really wondering if I was one of the many false negatives they say is common for the first couple days after initial symtoms.  And just now starting to get back to normal and catching up at work.

Leg 1 was Oregon to Michigan.  I took I84 to Irrigon, OR  and then US 12 through Lewiston and over Lolo pas to Missoula MT. then I90 to I94 as far as Fargo ND. Then US10 and 210 to Deluth and M28 across the UP to the Macinaw bridge and south to Holland MI.  3 x 850 mile days.

Highlights of the trip south included my youngest brother deciding to join us last minute so we had all 4 of us, a moonburger for breakfast at Moonshine store in Martinsville Il, swiming in the Ohio river and and Mississippi river at the same time and camping out at Fort Defiance Park, breakfast at 51 Grill in Bardwell, KY.  We got introduced to sliced tomatoes for breakfast. Shilo National Battlefield, dinner at the Farmhouse in Luca MS, my first ever southern home cooking.  Riding the Natchez Trace parkway from Bay Springs Lake to the Meriwether Lewis memorial, dinner at the Fiesta Grill in Cowan TN, committing a felony by climbing the wall and letting ourselves into Point Park at Lookout Mountain in Chattanooga, Missionary ridge in Chattanooga, the Cherohala Skyway, riding the Dragon 3x, Camping at Deals Gap Resort and hanging around the campfire (and the shower), Foothills Parkway and Little River George and Fighting Creek Gap Rd (I think all are part of the Great Smoky Mountain NP and very scenic), the short hike to Laurel Falls was very crowded, US441 including the ride up to Clingman dome, Blue ridge Parkway, Lake Pawhatan Campground but we didn't swim in the Lake, getting a new tire put on my brothers bike at MR Motorcycles in Ashville, NC.  We had to take the wheel off and while they mounted the new tire we went to breakfast at the nearby Waffle house.  My older brother was tired of riding twisty roads like the Blueridge Parkway so we decided to nix anymore of the BRPW and headed for Cumberland Gap via back roads.  I'm not sure the exact route but it included trail of the Lonesome Pine Road. Pinnacle Overlook was cool. And there was no one else there when we arrived.  had the place to ourselves.  That night we stayed at a motel in Corbin KY and hooked it for home on Thursday, cutting the trip one day short but avoiding sightseeing in the rain.      

Not so great. The Dorena - Hickman ferry across the Mississippi river was shut down so we didn't get to pretend we were Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn but we did talk to a Cenex field hand not too far from crossing into Missouri and he told us they were not delivering fuel to the ferry and checked for us to verify it was shut down so at least we didn't ride all the way down there to find it shut down. Breakfast in Waterloo AL was a bust.  May's, the only restaurant was closed for good so we ate a Pizza at the filling station convenience store. but after the trip I find out it was one of my little brother's favorite memories, that is just hanging around at the store and chatting with the locals. I would have preferred riding on up the trace a ways to Collinwood TN because I think we would have found a better place for breakfast.  The Little Princess Cafe in Cherokee, NC was a disappointment. We should of rode a little further into town.  The rain on I75 near Lexington KY because my older brother does not like riding in the rain and this caused a bit of an argument between us.  And we got tired after 6 days of riding so we didn't do the BRPW from Ashville to Little Switzerland like I wanted to and did't go to the Ritner Swinging bridge or natural bridge near Slade, KY. 

Leg 3 of my trip was Michigan back to Oregon.  I did from my sisters house in Elkhart IN to Laramie WY on day 1. then to John Day OR on day 2. It was hot in Utah and Idaho, like 99 on my outdoor air temp gauge, so harder to do a second 1100 mile day.  I sacked out in the NF east of John Day and in the morning it was 36 but US 26 in eastern OR is beautiful MC riding.  All told, 22 states and 7600 miles.      

I wish there was an easier way to post photos here.  I'll have to work on putting some on photobucket.  

 
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