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The Natural Bridge |
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We took a little bike ride today. Let me tell you about it.
By the time we got out the door, stopped to get gas, and on the road, it was past 10:30. That was a little later than we wanted and would put us a little late getting back, but we were riding just the same. The plan was to take a route that I had come across online at Open Road Journey; a website where people post rides that they have taken.
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A little gem that you don’t see everyday! |
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US-195 to Haleyville, finally a nice road! |
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Taking a break. |
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According to the post the ride started in Moulton. My plan for getting to Moulton was to hit Decatur and take Old Hwy-24. Looking back it should have been an indication of the trouble that lay ahead, when I missed the turn for Old-Hwy-24. Oh, well plans change sometimes. So we continued on US-24 toward Moulton. Just let me say this, State and Local municipalities are not as good at keeping the signs up as they used to be. After a few “Is this it? No that’s not it”
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‘s later we got to Moulton.
Once there I checked with the Local Tourism Rep, (the girl behind the counter at McDonalds, where we took our butt and drink break) to confirm we were heading in the right direction. To our surprise we were.
Once we polished off the drinks we saddled up and hit the road. On the way out of Moulton it looked like this ride was going to be a nice one. The road surface was good and the weather was great. About a mile later we ran across a small patch of road surface that looked to be prep work for new surface. And then another, and another. Before long the prep surfaces out numbered the good surfaces, and the so called Hwy-81 we were on the look out for, was more like an unused County Road 81. As it snaked it’s way up the mountain every mile was worse than the last. For the most part the scenery was nice but there were times that it looked like a clip from Deliverance and I could have swore I heard banjo music over the roar of the engine. At one point I hear from the back seat “we’re not coming back this way!”. Our butts were really starting to hurt from the rough ride and we were ready for things to improve, when luckily it did. There it was, civilization, dressed as a US Highway, with a nice little rest stop called Kuntry Korner.
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Let’s hit the road! |
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Did you see that guy with the shotgun on his porch? |
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From this point on the ride improved greatly and more than made up for the last 20 miles.
After a little help from a nice gentleman on which way |
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was best to get to the Natural Bridge, we made our way into the peaceful little town of Haleyville, AL. Now, on these rides we take, we like to take the opportunity to sample the local cuisine. You know; the out-of-the-way Mom and Pop establishments you run across that you don’t get to sample everyday. Now the Colonial had long since passed on, but the local KFC was being looked after by the guys and gals from the Haleyville |
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Lions. Not a bad piece of chicken, I must say. Oh, by-the-way Johnny Baker was the Lion of the week in case you were wondering. I know this because it said so on the rolling marquee.
A quick smoke (Karen, not me) and a burp later (now, that was me) we took out down US-13 toward the sleepy little town of Natural Bridge.
It got its name from the local landmark and in |
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The Natural Bridge. Longest east of the Rockies! |
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the view of the U.S. Census Bureau, Natural Bridge had 28 people during the count taken in 2000. But town officials, conducting their own survey, put the number |
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precisely at 49. Now, I say town, but I never really saw one and didn’t realize there was a town till I got back home and looked it up in a Google search.
The bridge itself was very impressive. Formed millions of years ago by an underwater river, the bridge spans 148 feet in length and 60 feet high. It consists of a mixture of sandstone and iron ore and its said to be the longest natural bridge east of the Rockies. The park itself opened in 1954 to the public. It has long been known that the Creek Indians lived in this area and probably used the bridge for shelter. |
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Just couldn't get all of it in the viewfinder! |
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Watching over the park! |
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Along side of the bridge is an Indian stone head. It is not known however, how he got there. Perhaps an Indian Chief or some type of symbolism for the Indians.
There are trails that meander all throughout the park leading to other impressive rock formations and natural scenery. We spent a good two hours there just taking it all in. |
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A dirt path leads up to Bridge |
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The afternoon sun was getting low on the horizon so we climbed on the bike and left the Natural Bridge in our mirror as we hit US-278. The nice 15 mile ride down US-278 brought us to AL-33 (Wilderness Parkway). Being a leisurely little drive through the middle of the Bankhead National Forest, it was another reason for this ride, and was very enjoyable. Just outside of Double Springs 33 takes you down the mountain by way of sweeping curves and lazy straights, back into Moulton. |
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Indian Museum awaits you inside! |
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Nice Ride up US-278 |
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Entrance to Bankhead |
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of Moulton we stopped at the foot of the mountain for a rest at the Warrior Mountains Trading Company. Slightly more than a convenient store, but claiming to have a small Indian Museum inside, we took a few minutes to explore. There were numerous stuffed animals and Indian displays along with a variety of literature on the history of the Indians and heritage of the local |
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There were numerous places to visit off the main road through the forest, none of which we were able to take due to time, but I would love to come back and explore.
Before we hit the town |
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Hanging in there! |
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Chick got the shirt & I made a friend! |
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Moulton.
We did find all the right roads on the way back we failed to find earlier. As the sun was setting behind us, casting the shadow of us & the motor on the road ahead, it felt good just being with her and seeing things we normally wouldn’t see if it weren’t for this two-wheeled contraption we call “Dragonfly”.
Looking for another road - Madman and the Chick. |
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the town folk. Plus, Chick found a nice tee-shirt with a beautiful Indian Maiden silkscreen. We were enjoying our walk through the museum, but all good things come to an end. So it was back on the bike and on to |
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By - Wendell Rogers - Aka: Rocketcitymadman |
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Click on any of the pictures to see more pictures from that day. |