ABATE Poker Run 2011

We joined our friends Dana and Kathy today on a fundraising poker run.

The Bikers Association/ABATE raised over $6,000 today to support the needs of hospitalized Veterans at the Charles George VA Medical Center in Asheville, NC.

It was a gorgeous morning, blue skies and great spirit. Stellar Asheville scenery at every turn. Here is the beautiful French Broad River near Weaverville, North Carolina...

Chickamauga Battlefield Park

Chickamauga & Chattanooga Battlefield State Park
Just outside Ft. Oglethorpe, Georgia, we visited the remarkable location of the 1863 American Civil War Battle to control the gateway to the deep south. Chickamauga is a Cherokee word meaning "river of death," and over 34,000 were lost during the bloody battle. Today this peaceful park features docile deer and 1,400 monuments and historical markers...
Steven wrote: "Battlefield...is 5600 acres of woods and fields, with hundreds of markers depicting all of the units that took part in the battle..."

"...We saw hundreds of cannons and dozens of memorials scattered about. They have 'restored' the woods to what they would have looked like in 1863, basically clearing out all scrub and leaving the hardwoods, because at the time, loose cattle had done that..."

"Anyway, I’d never seen anything quite like that, on that scale. The park was built in 1887, 25 years after the war’s end."

Satisfaction!

"Personal satisfaction is the most important ingredient of success."
~ Denis Waitley

Absolute Satisfaction! Great, full day of riding in the hot Tennessee sun. Day's end and here's my delicious Thai Tea... and Steven...

Exploring Chattanooga Backroads

We love exploring quiet, winding roads and were lucky to find this backroad along the Tennessee River...

"In wisdom gathered over time,
I have found that every experience is a form of exploration."
~ Ansel Adams

Bennett Lake, Chattanooga, TN

"To get to heaven, turn right and keep straight."
~ Wesleyan Methodist
Here we are at the lovely (& deserted) reservoir near Bennett Lake, Tennessee.

Sunrise Chattanooga

Early morning ride through downtown Chattanooga, over the Tennessee River. Barely no one awake. Caught the sunrise over the Walnut Street Bridge.

Then breakfast at Waffle House...

Small Moments

Along the Nantahala River

These are the small moments when our hearts beat in time and life is pure joy.

Lake Ocoee, East Tennessee

Catching our breath...

Scenic Lake Ocoee in East Tennessee

Here we are, "winding between rock bluffs and the spectacular Ocoee River gorge, past the Ocoee Whitewater Center - home to the 1996 Olympic Canoe and Kayak Slalom competitions, and into the historic copper mining towns of Ducktown and Copperhill..." Tennesseeoverhill

Chasing the Sun

Heading to Chattanooga, Tennessee, chasing the sun in the Cherokee National Forest along Highway 74...

"Delight in the little things."
~ Rudyard Kipling

Looking at Things

"If we are always arriving and departing,
it is also true that we are eternally anchored.
One's destination is never a place but rather
a new way of looking at things."
~ Henry Miller

Nantahala River Rafters, North Carolina

Heading to Chattanooga, we of course stopped for a picnic lunch along the Nantahala River and watched the dozens of spirited white water rafters go down the stream. Beautiful, peaceful entertainment on a glorious summer afternoon...

Beaucatcher Tunnel, Asheville

Cool evening ride east through downtown Asheville and the two-laned Beaucatcher Tunnel...

Completed in 1928, the tunnel "cut" was blasted out of solid granite. Here we are, riding through granite and light.

Blue Skies

From the back of the Harley, my view of the world is unfettered. When I look up, it is magnificent colors, the jazz buzz noises, and pumping possibilities. The earth's heart beat soars.