Last weekend, I had a rare Saturday off to put together with my normal Sunday, so Suzanne and I decided to take the Lookout Mountain Parkway up to Chattanooga, TN for a nice dinner at The Big River Grille and Brewery, and a stay in The Read House. If you've not been to Chattanooga for anything put a pass through on the way to someplace else, you're missing a fun time. The old downtown area has been revitalized by the aquarium, so some nice places to eat and lay down for the night. The Read House is an Historic landmark in the city, and always a nice place to stay.
The temps were in the mid to upper 60's on the ride up, but not a cloud in the autumn sky. It's little early for the leaves in North Alabama, so not much fall color. Lookout Mountain Parkway begins in Gadsden, AL and ends when you wind your way down off the top of the mountain and into Chattanooga. It's only about a 100 mile run, but goes through some nice places...we rode through a nice State Park in Alabama - Desoto State Park - then into the little town of Mentone, where we stopped for lunch at Log Cabin Deli. The Parkway then takes you due East into extreme Eastern Western GA, then due North, passing by Cloudland Canyon Park before crossing into TN. We arrived about 4PM, checked into the room, got cleaned up and went to dinner at Big River, where I had a great steak, mashed 'taters, and a couple of the homemade brews.
After sharing a plate of pancakes with fresh fruit the next morning, we loaded the Liner up and headed home the same way...only about 20 miles out of nearly 400 on the interstate. On the way back, we detoured and took in the rim road around Little River Canyon National Preserve, supposedly the deepest canyon East of the Mississippi. When the water is up, the canyon is a Class VI whitewater run, mostly done in Kayaks, and with support teams.
Great time...had a chance to unwind a bit, and test the bike out on a short road trip. Very pleased with the bike, so far.
Just a couple of pictures....first one is Nocalula Falls, at he beginning of the Parkway, near Gadsden. Water is down on top of the mountain.