Monday, August 19, 2024
We left Vicksburg, Mississippi and headed towards Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. The route we chose goes through Mississippi and Alabama. We didn’t have time to stop or check out anything in Mississippi or Alabama, so we just cruised down the interstate all day. I’ve never been to Louisiana, Mississippi, or Alabama before which is why we headed that far south on the route back home. We chose Pigeon Forge as a destination because there are supposed to be phenomenal curvy roads in the Great Smoky Mountains, specifically the Tail of the Dragon, which is notorious for motorcyclists – there are 318 curves in 11 miles!
When we left Vicksburg, it was a gloomy morning but it was nice and cool compared to the previous couple days. We hopped on to I-20E from the hotel and rode all day, stopping for gas about every 100 miles. We had about 580 miles to complete until reaching Pigeon Forge, so we had to cover some ground. Unfortunately, I-20 was lined with trees so it was difficult to see anything off the interstate. However, about 10 miles before going through Jackson, MI, we could see smoke in the sky from a fire. It turns out there was a pretty big fire at a recycling facility.
Shortly after passing through Jackson, which was about 50 miles from Vicksburg, LA, we stopped for gas. I was getting concerned about my chain. It was getting tighter and we did not lube the chains in a while, so I wanted to make sure we gave them some love. We each grabbed a drink and some beef jerky while waiting a little for the chain lube to do its thing. After about 20 minutes, we got back to cruising down the interstate. We did another 100 miles and crossed into Alabama. I was excited, just to be able to say I’ve been there, haha.
We continued riding and stopping for gas until we got near Birmingham, Alabama. By that time, it was starting to get warm, so we took off our riding jackets again so we were comfortable. Along the way, we saw some signs for Buc-ees, so while we were stopped, we checked to see where there was a Buc-ees. There was one right along the route, just off I-20 in Leeds, AL. Eddie has never been to one so I really wanted to stop so he could see what it’s all about. We rode about another hour until we reached Buc-ees. It was perfect timing since we got there around 1pm and they have great brisket sandwiches. I never realized it before because I’ve always been to one in a car, but there is no seating area to sit down and eat. So, we found some shade and ate outside.
After filling up and getting in some delicious brisket sandwiches, we got back on the highway and took I-59N. We still had about 290 miles to go before reaching Pigeon Forge. We continued on and stopped about every 100 miles to get gas and hydrate. As we got further north the temperature was slowly dropping, but it was not nearly as bad as it was the previous day. We finally crossed into Tennessee near Chattanooga. We hit some traffic in which lasted about 15 minutes or so, which was not fun because it was warm. On motorcycles, whenever going slow, the heat from the motor gets you warm, and in combination with the heat, it was quite warm!
We got through the traffic and had about 150 miles to go before reaching Pigeon Forge. From Chattanooga, we got onto I-75N and followed that to I-40E, to route 66S into Pigeon Forge. We both have never been there before and didn’t know what to expect. As we entered the town, we were surprised to see how many attractions they had. There was a Titanic, upside down house, rides, and water parks – it was like a mini Las Vegas. We also noticed hundreds of Jeeps and we found out later that there was a “Jeep Invasion” event happening. There were Jeeps from all over country there.
We stopped right on main street to find a hotel near a restaurant. We found a La Quinta right next to to Smoky Mountain Brewery, so we decided to check in to the hotel and head to the brewery for dinner.
We finished the day with about 580 miles.
Google photo album: Day 11
Adventures of Matty Q 