Maggie Valley,NC

Finally got all the trip dailed in for Thunder in the Mountains on the 23th of April. Did all the math and came up with a trip of about 2400 miles by the time I get back - Three weekends in a row - party time.
23-25 April - Maggie Valley,NC
28 April -2 May - Panama City,Fl.
5-9 May New Orleans,LA
10 May - Natchez Trace Parkway
11-12 May - Nashville - CW and Graceland
then on back to the home on the 13th.
All it cost me was a promise to take the OL to Hawaii next year - I know they rental bikes there too.

Hey Sarge,
I added to your remark on my post about your plans to come up this way before I noticed this post. Anyhow looks like you got a great trip planned. Be careful and take care. Now that I see this post, I see that you are coming from Indiana so I guess you'll be coming down I75 so there's not much way that you can miss "malfunctin juction" where I75 runs onto I40 unless you take off on I640 and go north or south arund Knoxville but sometimes there's as much if not more traffic on 640 than on 40. Just be careful cause they're always doing some sort of road construction in Knoxville.

Messed up on Graceland - OL says it's in Memphis not Nashville - she's the Elvis expert in the house so I guess that's another trip to be planned for the future.

Love Memphis - but like I said that's for another trip - Right now I'm keeping a eye on the weather channel to see what going on for next Thru. - forecast says chance of rain so I might change my departure time to avoid it. But if that don't work then rain or not I'm heading to NC on Thru.
dmaassey - I will be using the I640 cutoff to get over to Route 66 and cut down to Gatlinburg and US 441 - I just wish they had I40 open all the way it would save a couple of miles but I've been on US441 and it will be worth the detour; going thru the park is a great way to get detoured if ya have to be rerouted and no big rigs to worry about either..

Don't see any Texas Riding in there.

Man Please, we got a lot of things to see here and a lot of good riding.

Still ain't got no trees - cardboard ! Got to have trees or ya can't stop and water the posies, at least that's what my OL used to say when she was still ridin behind me.
And besides I've been across up and down that state so many times that all I could see was steers and scrub, except for Huston/ Ft. Worth and Laredo which was the new home for displaced mexicans.:gah:

Got my ride all ready for the trip - will be leavin thru morning rain or shine and it looks like I may be dodgeing rain all the way down there. Just hope it stops long enough for me to get thru the park on 441 - After that I don't care - it's party time.
I'll be takin the lap top along and will try and get some pics posted - if not I'll geter done done when I get back.

Finally got to Baton Rouge - My laptop took a dump on me and I could'nt get on line to post any of the 900 pics I took - will have wait until I get home to upload the pics.
So far I've been to Maggie Valley and the Wheels thru time museum - got rained out on Sat so I spent the entire day in the museum -Dave was out pickin up some more bikes in PA - so I didn't get to meet him. For anybody heading that way - Ya have got to go and see this place.
Left there and rode down to see FIRST LADY - spent the afternoon talking with her and making plans to get her and my OL together in June in Gatlinburg. She still has MAYOR'S bike up for sale if anybody is interrested. It's an Ultra Glide in mint shape if I had the cash I'd be headed back down to get it that's fer sure.
Anyhow I left there and stopped in Gaston,ALA for the night then rode on down to Panama city beach but got there 2 days early and didn't have a room booked - went over to the Sandsof Panama resort and was able to get my room early at the same price so that worked out good -Was on the 10th floor right above Pineapple Willy's Bar. Talk about wild nights these guys know how to throw a party!
Didn't hit any rain all the way down but when I left there on Sun I hit bad storms from Mobile,ALA all the way to Baton Rouge,LA about 250 miles of solid sheets of water.
The New Orleans bike week starts tomorrow so I'm headed down there early before the crowd starts and take in a few sites and a vendor or two then back up to Baton Rouge to meet the OLO and one of my daughters should be headed for the Natchez Trace about next Monday unless I have to reroute because of the flooding in Nashville - hopefully the water will be down by the time I get there. TV said I 40 was flooded in three places.
Will let you all know how this trip turns out when I get back home.
The bike has been running great with the only problem being a broken air filter cover and a heavy hand on the throttle mileage has been very good also.

The desert has many beauties that a lof of people can't see when they are on it.

Its all in the eye's of the Beholder.

When you have 740 miles to travel in a day, you got to make up time to git there.
then you can see what is around you.

After 740 miles, I was in the shower then ate and passed out.

I ain't as young as I used to be, and its startin to show.

Still down in Baton Rouge and lovin the weather. Had to change my trip plan for the Natchez Trace - The OL came down and we are doing a lot of sightseeing and visiting the son and grandkids - got to go see the USS Kidd in Baton Rouge and are planning a run down to the french Quarter tomorrow - will be leavin here on friday and going to Memphis after all to see graceland - was going to do the Trace but the flooding up in the Nashville area changed those plans. Have to do it on another run I guess.
Traffic down here is crazy the nuts drive like they have a death wish and don't even follow the speed limits. Went down to New Orleans on Sun and ran I 10 all the way in most of the cars were running 10 to 20 miles a hour over the limit - cops were almost nonexistence all the down and back.
Didn't really get to see much at the NO bike week as most of the of vendors were already packing up on Sun morning and pulling out early - the people that put this rally on will have to do some work to bring it up to the level of Daytona or Panama City Beach rallys. Plus the cost is way over what one would normally spend for a rally. But i all fairness this is only their 2nd rally o mabye it will get better next year.
Computer is still down so pics will have wait until I get home next week.