I lost a portion of my photos from Fall Creek Falls State Park but when uploading my photos recently some of them re-appeared. Here are a few photos from Cane Creek Falls. Unfortunately my pictures of Fall Creek Falls did not re-appear.
September 13th
I awoke to a foggy morning and got all packed up and left the church lawn. I headed back into the center of Pikeville and got some breakfast at a cafe. The ride started out really foggy but as I climbed up the mountain out of Pikeville I got above the fog and had some incredible views! It took a while to reach the top but then I was treated to a very fun downhill ride into the town of Dayton. Dayton's claim to fame is the Scopes Monkey Trial which drew all kinds of media to the town. I explored the museum at the courthouse where the trial took place and learned all about the history of the trial and the town of Dayton. There was a farmers market outside where I picked up a delicious apple and then I made a stop at the Harmony House Coffee shop. The coffee was very tasty and the people were incredibly friendly. I talked with several folks from the area for a while and then continued on my ride to Sweetwater. I was given some good advise on which roads to take to have a nice wide shoulder and the ride was very pleasant. I passed the Watts Bar Nuclear Plant and took a break at the nearby picnic area. The weather was great and the scenery really nice! The Hilltop Hotel in Sweetwater, TN offered me a room for the evening, thanks Hilltop Hotel!!! I arrived late afternoon and got checked into my room. The front desk sold single cans of beer which was the perfect end to my days ride. I spent the evening working on my last blog update and relaxing.
http://www.hilltophotelusa.com/
I awoke to a foggy morning and got all packed up and left the church lawn. I headed back into the center of Pikeville and got some breakfast at a cafe. The ride started out really foggy but as I climbed up the mountain out of Pikeville I got above the fog and had some incredible views! It took a while to reach the top but then I was treated to a very fun downhill ride into the town of Dayton. Dayton's claim to fame is the Scopes Monkey Trial which drew all kinds of media to the town. I explored the museum at the courthouse where the trial took place and learned all about the history of the trial and the town of Dayton. There was a farmers market outside where I picked up a delicious apple and then I made a stop at the Harmony House Coffee shop. The coffee was very tasty and the people were incredibly friendly. I talked with several folks from the area for a while and then continued on my ride to Sweetwater. I was given some good advise on which roads to take to have a nice wide shoulder and the ride was very pleasant. I passed the Watts Bar Nuclear Plant and took a break at the nearby picnic area. The weather was great and the scenery really nice! The Hilltop Hotel in Sweetwater, TN offered me a room for the evening, thanks Hilltop Hotel!!! I arrived late afternoon and got checked into my room. The front desk sold single cans of beer which was the perfect end to my days ride. I spent the evening working on my last blog update and relaxing.
http://www.hilltophotelusa.com/
The church where I camped
Entering the fog!
Above the fog
Rhea County Courthouse
Mindy the Monkey
Great coffee, friendly folks
Heading towards Sweetwater
Thought this was pretty interesting
Nuclear plant
Thanks Hilltop Hotel!
September 14th
Started the morning off with a continental breakfast at the Hilltop Hotel. The Lost Sea cave tour and glass bottom boat ride offered me a free tour thanks to Stephanie at the Weed Chamber of Commerce! Thanks Lost Sea!!! I biked the 7 miles to the cave and was put on a tour the minute I arrived. I had been on this tour years ago and really enjoyed it so I thought it would be nice to re-visit. The tour starts by taking you through a very large cave with some nice formations. Eventually you reach the source of the underground lake, a beautiful waterfall coming through the rock. You then come to America's largest underground lake! Everyone boards a glass bottom boat and the tour guide takes you out on the lake which reaches a depth of 65 feet deep. The lake is stocked with rainbow trout which were originally put in the lake to see if they found an exit but the fish never left. Now the fish are re-stocked for entertainment purposes and the only food source is the tour guides which feed the fish during the boat ride. It is pretty exciting to see all of the large fish splash around in a feeding frenzy beside the boat. After the boat ride the tour ends with an uphill climb out of the cave and back to the gift shop where you can drink the water from the cave and it is delicious! On the ground of the Lost Sea they have a restaurant, store, picnic area, and a glassblower. I visited the glassblower shop where everything is made on hand. There was a huge selection of beautiful hand blown glass trinkets. After a little break at the picnic area I was back on the road and headed for the Smokeys! I biked past several clean beautiful lakes and stopped to take a swim. I had the entire lake to myself and there was no development, just trees, water, and nature. Nice! I bike a portion of highway called the Dragon which has 318 curves in 11 miles. It is very popular with motorcyclists. I then got onto the Foothills Parkway and had a 7 mile climb to the campground. I arrived shortly before sunset and got camp set up and started a fire. Spent the night relaxing around the fire.
http://www.thelostsea.com/
Started the morning off with a continental breakfast at the Hilltop Hotel. The Lost Sea cave tour and glass bottom boat ride offered me a free tour thanks to Stephanie at the Weed Chamber of Commerce! Thanks Lost Sea!!! I biked the 7 miles to the cave and was put on a tour the minute I arrived. I had been on this tour years ago and really enjoyed it so I thought it would be nice to re-visit. The tour starts by taking you through a very large cave with some nice formations. Eventually you reach the source of the underground lake, a beautiful waterfall coming through the rock. You then come to America's largest underground lake! Everyone boards a glass bottom boat and the tour guide takes you out on the lake which reaches a depth of 65 feet deep. The lake is stocked with rainbow trout which were originally put in the lake to see if they found an exit but the fish never left. Now the fish are re-stocked for entertainment purposes and the only food source is the tour guides which feed the fish during the boat ride. It is pretty exciting to see all of the large fish splash around in a feeding frenzy beside the boat. After the boat ride the tour ends with an uphill climb out of the cave and back to the gift shop where you can drink the water from the cave and it is delicious! On the ground of the Lost Sea they have a restaurant, store, picnic area, and a glassblower. I visited the glassblower shop where everything is made on hand. There was a huge selection of beautiful hand blown glass trinkets. After a little break at the picnic area I was back on the road and headed for the Smokeys! I biked past several clean beautiful lakes and stopped to take a swim. I had the entire lake to myself and there was no development, just trees, water, and nature. Nice! I bike a portion of highway called the Dragon which has 318 curves in 11 miles. It is very popular with motorcyclists. I then got onto the Foothills Parkway and had a 7 mile climb to the campground. I arrived shortly before sunset and got camp set up and started a fire. Spent the night relaxing around the fire.
http://www.thelostsea.com/
Thanks Lost Sea Adventure!
Tunnel leading into the cave
The boat!
Fish feeding frenzy
Returning to the boat dock - pretty awesome going on a boat ride under ground!
Approaching the Smokeys!
Nice spot for a swim!
Turkeys
Have to hang my food around here - many black bear
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