Marysville, TN

Humid. Hot. Welcome to Tennessee, or so the saying goes. For a Colorado boy, this is brutal weather. I am draining a 120 ounce Camelbak daily, in addition to the copious water and iced tea consumed during our lunch stops. We got into the TN mountains some today and the temp dropped into the low 90's, which was a welcome relief from the triple digits of the past couple of days.

Started out around 9AM and rode 100 miles to a rest stop, time for lots of water and restore circulation to the hineys and find some shade.

Back on the road, we moved through some very beautiful, heavily wooded areas. Many times we found ourselves motoring through tunnels of very tall hardwood trees and enjoying the brief shade along the way. Soon enough, it was time for lunch and we decided on some local grub in Smithville, TN.

And "local" it was! To only have had a recording machine of the conversations going on. Deep, think, southern TN twang. The table next to ours ordered fried green tomatoes and okra. Umm, I miss living in the south... not!

Back on the road, full of food, ready for a warm afternoon. Lots of lakes in this part of the state. They are beautiful. Check the water color in Tellco Lake.

We road onward and our trusty steeds demanded a break. Us riders were fine to keep going, but they wanted to rest, so we obliged. Have to keep your horse happy if you want to keep riding, right?

OK, rested and ready for the final push to town and food / beer / sleep. Along the way, we crossed the bridge to the river that cools the Watt Bar nuclear power plant. We have seen several nukers in AR and TN.

We are both tired, ready for some sleep. Tomorrow takes us to the Great Smokies and the beginning of the Blue Ridge Parkway. See you there...