Attitude

August 16, 2016

In a week or two I'll get tired of saying this, but our ride started out back on the trace.

We were surprised to learn that Andrew Jackson marched men down the Natchez Trace twice (1813 and 1814) during the war of 1812. Men who died along the way are buried along the trace. Jeanna vaguely remembers a song about marching down "to the missisip" that she thinks must relate to Jackson heading down the trace towards the battle of New Orleans, but she can't remember the words. Perhaps someone reading this can fill in this blank for us.

We were not expecting a war of 1812 memorial along the Natchez Trace.

Back in Grand Rivers the Cumberland and Tennessee rivers were only a mile or so apart. Now they have diverged to the point that we left the Cumberland at Cumberland City on the 15th and don't expect to cross the Tennessee until the 18th.

The Tennessee Divide separates the Cumberland and Tennessee watersheds.

Woodland camouflage, slightly less effective for hiding on bikes.

Our incredible good luck in avoiding rain continued. We could see some threatening clouds, but we happened to arrive at an overlook with a picnic table, bathroom and roof just as the rain started.

Got here seconds before the rain started.

Hmm, some empty cars parked next to the shelter. The occupants must have been hiking down to see the waterfall when the rain started.

There were some empty cars parked next to the shelter where we were hiding from the rain. There was a hiking path leading to a waterfall that the occupants of the cars must have been using. I must confess to a purely evil thought, wondering what it would look like when the soaked hikers got back to the shelter.

The hiking path was getting muddy. Not good news for the hikers down by the waterfall.

Imagine my surprise when 4 smiling hikers appeared. They were soaked through, but still enjoying themselves. Attitude is everything, you can be wet and miserable or you can be wet and happy, the choice is yours. I hope I remember this lesson when our rain luck runs out and we get soaked.

We hunkered down and started playing cards to pass the time while it rained. During a break in the rain two women with small children in backpack carriers arrived and started down the path towards the waterfall. Five minutes later the skies really opened up. To our amazement, mom's and children both emerged laughing and smiling. Not only does your attitude determine your happiness, your attitude gets passed on to your kids. I'm sure if the moms had been complaining the kids would not have been having such a good time.

Attitude is everything! Happy Moms and children enjoyed a good soaking.

The rain has stopped, the boys beat the girls at cards, we can get back on the road.

Wonder if this would have been dry without the rain.

We had a treat when we got to our destination at the Fall Hollow campground. The new owner, Noel, opened the kitchen for us, which is normally closed on Tuesday, and cooked up one of the best meals we have had on the trip. He was super friendly and the rooms we are staying in (we are skipping the campground part) were spacious and comfortable.

Fall Hollow has a washing machine and dryer that team A is taking advantage of, even though we did laundry yesterday. The team A philosophy is to never pass up a chance to do laundry in a machine while on a bike trip. The team S philosophy is to never pass up a chance for a diet coke if it's been more than 5 miles since they last topped off on DC. Imagine Kerry's delight when Noel granted him unlimited access to the diet coke fountain over night!

Don't pass this place by if you are hungry.

Rate this entry's writing	Heart	0
Comment on this entry	Comment	0