Florida to Shiloh... take 2!

As a friend said - we are now SixWheelZen... the car carrying the bike! But it feels good to be traveling again. While we didn't retrace our steps back to Alabama where we had to stop when the Stoker's back gave out, at times it felt like deja vu. Stoker has almost fully recovered... I think he is just seeking sympathy now! I had a pleasant week visiting with family both in West Palm Beach and Naples - the poor Stoker was in pain, so I fear it was not too pleasant for him! We then made our way from Naples up the west coast of FL and visited areas we had not yet seen, such as Cedar Key and the Big Bend area of FL. These areas are just beautiful, but then I have always loved a good salt marsh.

It is unfortunate that while living in south Florida we never made it to the pan-handle area - we had missed a lot. This area is so wonderfully hilly and so different from south Florida. I realized I missed hearing the song birds and as much as I love the beautiful green-blue water of south Florida - it seems sterile compared to the pan-handle area. The trees were just coming into bloom... as verified by the Stoker's allergies... but the dogwood trees were extraordinary, and I loved all the rhododendrons...and the wisteria vines, magnificent!  I never realized that this area has all this beautiful farmland - it reminded me  of western Maryland. I have so enjoyed biking and driving through this area.

With Shiloh as a destination we wanted to reach in time for their annual commemoration of the battle, we didn't saunter too much on the Gulf coast and turned the car to the north - but not before visiting the highest point in Florida. At 345 ft the Stoker said he was glad he wasn't peddling it! Eleven years in FL and he is a true flat-lander; I guess he will be having a bit of trouble out west...hiking or biking!

We are staying on the back-roads, or blue-highways as some call them (because they are blue on the maps), so our travel is slower and provides more opportunities to stop and explore. While in Natural Bridge, AL we, of course, stopped to see the Natural Bridge of Alabama, which is billed as the longest natural bridge east of the MS, spanning 148 ft. There is also a rock formation that resembles an Indian head.  This private park is clearly off the beaten path and comes complete with a delightful care-taker who is the proverbial old-timer.

We traveled a most delightful road on our way to Savannah TN, the Natchez Trace Parkway. This road, maintained by the National Park Service, connects Nashville to Natchez and has many pull off sites to explore. Not just vistas, but interpretative hikes, some as long as 2 - 4 mile through forest and swamp. These short hikes are great for getting the Stoker back into riding shape as well as giving the legs a good stretch from too much sitting. Indian mounds were preserved at several sites. These mounds were built by native nomadic hunter-gathers about 200 AD. Unfortunately, some were damaged by plowing but most stand as they were (less natural loss) and one stands about 70 ft at the peak.

Of course, this area was also the site of many Civil War battles and there were sites along the parkway that commemorated the lives lost in this war. We will spend this weekend walking and even biking! to explore the Shiloh battlegrounds and learn more about this solemn time in our nation's history.

While we have used the car to get us to this point, and we miss the exhilaration of biking, we are able to take more side trips this way - so as it is in life - there are trade-offs. The one aspect of traveling by car is that it will be harder to meet people. Riding a loaded tandem is such an oddity that it just draws people to you and everyone seems to be open to conversation.  But we hope you continue to travel with us as we...

Ride on!