March 2024
My winter motorcycle tour this year was eventful, as all of them usually are. My good friend John trailered down from South Dakota, and we were joined by my good friend Mike, who lives 5 miles from me. The 3 of us had a nice time wandering to Crystal River, Florida to attend the 5th Florida Winter Gathering FJR event, hosted by my good friend Dan. The irrefutable pattern here is that I have a LOT of good friends, but I’ll get to that later.
Our plan was to continue south past Dan’s to Key West Florida, and then return up the Atlantic seashore to Daytona and other points of interest. As you will see, things changed. General Eisenhower was quite astute: Indeed, plans are useless, but planning is indispensable.
The winters in the deep south are wonderful. Really in some context, it’s the best weather we have because it is fairly predictable. A cold front will pass through the region quickly. We will get 3-12 hours of nasty winds and potentially rain. Then the skies will clear and we will have 2-6 days of wonderful temperatures. It’s a nice time for northerners to get away from their winter. John has done this here before and this year, he came back for more. I hope you enjoy the pics.
Day 1: Lafayette, LA to Roxie, Mississippi. Approximately 350 miles.
John arrived yesterday evening and Mike came over to enjoy a nice Cajun meal (Crawfish Etoufee)
We discussed ideas about the trip over after dinner sippies and I finished packing my horse for the road.
On Wednesday morning, after breakfast and coffee, we endured a few miles of the interstate to get out of town. After that, we started enjoying the back country.
This is a fine example of an Acadian style house, the most common architectural style used by the Cajun people before “modern life” took over. Based on the materials used, I estimate this house to be 125 years old. It has features on it that make it more adaptable to our climate here. Things like a high-pitched roof (heat rises and escapes), deep and wide front porch (added shade), and a raised foundation on piers of non-rotting material (to withstand flash flooding).
We ran around False River Lake, crossed the big muddy River, and turned north into the State of Mississippi.
I’ve always been fascinated with the State borders. Even though some of them are not well defined, if you look close, you can see the changes in topography, geology, and other natural features. Here, the soil gets much more sandy.
We wiggled through the pine forest and ended up in Natchez, MS for lunch.
This area of town is called “Under the Hill”. It was originally a river trading post with a bunch of buildings built in the middle of a large bluff. Today, there are bars and restaurants and other interest for tourist.
Mike and I have eaten lunch at The Camp many times before. The food and service is quite good.
After lunch, we hopped onto the Natchez Trace Parkway for a few miles. The ride on this road is unique. Immediately, you are transformed and taken away from the hustle and bustle of the real world. Traffic is virtually nonexistent and the set back on each side of the parkway makes it quite easy to see everything. The speed limit is only 50 mph and the curves are slow to bend, but it is quite relaxing, to say the least.
I led us to a sight that I thought John might be interested in.
Emerald Mound is an enormous ceremonial structure constructed by indigenous people of the Mississippian Period.
Archeologists have studied this area extensively, but are quick to admit that there is still much that they do not know. The insatiable man of science, Mike is doing some studying of his own.
The Natchez trace is a nice place to poke around. There are numerous stops like this that tell the history of this land and the people that inhabited it.
Hang with us, John. We got some more stuff to show ya!
We hopped off the trace and ran a short distance up the river to our next stop, the Windsor Ruins.
This is what’s left of a Civil War era cotton plantation that was destroyed by fire. The Corinthian style columns are magnificent.
In Port Gibson, we turned east on Hwy 462, a ribbon of freshly paved, silky smooth pavement with a nice mixture of sweepers. I downshifted a gear and put the heat to the ole girl. Not much to worry about in these sticks on a Wednesday afternoon.
I stopped at this old store looking for ice cream. Unfortunately, no ice cream in stock, so we bought a soda pop and sat on the porch to chew the fat a while.
We are now in the thick of the famous Mississippi Blues Trail. To anyone born after WWII, this is where our music comes from.
It’s a fine day for a ride.
When one rides with Pants, one has to be ready to accept the fact that I lose track of time. This is how I roll. I don’t get to caught up in the time when I’m on a motorcycle tour. A big part of this for me is to let go of the “real world”. Here, wherever that is, the world is mine and I can do what I want, when I want.
That usually means that time gets away from me. Today was no exception. Indeed, time flies when you are having fun, and we were having a blast. None the less, the sun is falling fast and we are quite a way from our destination for the evening. In that light, I changed to a more direct route and in an hour or so, we arrived at Clear Springs Campground near Roxie, MS.
Kind of warm this evening, so no campfire and thusly, no gathering of fire wood. Therefore, we will cook otherwise. Mike handled the beans.
John took care of the veggies.
And I cooked the pig.
Bon Appetite!
A fine start to a fine trip.
Day 2: Roxie, MS to Perdido Key, FL. Approx 300 miles
I stayed on top of the sleeping bag last night as the temperature was a bit warm. After coffee and breakfast, we packed up the horses and pointed them southeast.
The riding in Mississippi is pretty good. There are HUGE chunks of the State with very few people and for the most part, the roads are in decent shape. I’m leading us generally toward the Gulf Coast. Using the paper map on my tank bag, as well as my GPS, I’m basically routing us on the fly about 50 miles at a time. I’m just picking whatever roads look the curviest and within some State or National Forest and are going generally in the direction I want to go.
Again, this is what touring with Pants looks like. I don’t care to have a daily route pre-loaded into the GPS, and then I just follow the electronic breadcrumbs. I want the option at a crossroads to go either way. I want to be surprised with that “thing” that just can’t be passed up. I’m ok with a general direction and even a planned stopping point for the evening. But between now and then, there is much adventure to be found, and I hope to find as much of it as I can.
About 11:00 am, quite literally in the middle of absolutely nowhere, we flew by this place.
It’s a bit early, but I saw quite a few pickup trucks parked there, so I turned around and declared “lunch”. In general, on the motorcycle, if I get a choice, I’m going to pick lunch early for two reasons. First, after noon, it usually gets busy and you end up spending a lot more time than you need to. And second, when I’m “freestyling it” through the back country, sometimes restaurants are hard to come by. When you see something that looks decent, you take it.
The food and service were good. Bellies full, we re-mounted the horses and I pointed us south. As we crossed the Interstate, we stopped for gas and, well….. if you know, you know.
Now in southern Alabama, we turn further south toward the coast. The water in Mobile Bay is still quite cool and instantly we could feel a significant and welcome temperature drop.
I can see John back there.
We crossed onto Dauphin Island at the coast.
And then we stopped at this place.
The others didn’t want to pay the admission price, and I’ve already seen the fort from the inside. Still, it’s a pretty cool place just to wander around.
From here, the easiest way to get across Mobile Bay is to take the ferry.
Light winds and calm waves made for a pleasant ride.
A retired Naval Commander, John is understandably unimpressed.
Peace be with you, my friend.
Good to know the Coast Guard is on watch.
We get off the ferry and the coastal highway is quite fine.
Welcome to Florida, gents!
We are cruising the coast.
John has a friend he served in the Navy with that lives in Perido Key, Florida. He made arrangements for us to stay with them tonight. Even though John’s friend was stuck out of State, he and his wife insisted that we come anyway.
This place is amazing. No sooner had we removed our riding gear when Ms. Sandy offered us a cold beer and a view!
We went out to eat and the shrimp salad was delicious.
After dinner, Ms. Sandy asked us if we like Tequila. Man, this just keeps getting better and better!
Another good day.
Day 3: Perido Key, FL to Crystal River, FL. Approximately 400 miles.
I slept like a baby on a firm mattress, and after coffee and breakfast, we loaded up and headed East. Last night, I spread out the map and determined that we are a good 400 miles from our destination. So today, we will keep detours to a minimum and take our stints in larger chunks.
We stopped somewhere for lunch (not overly impressive, as I recall), and in the afternoon, we ran through some prescribed burns in the Apalachicola National Forest.
The smoke wasn’t too thick, but I was glad to get through it and move on.
As you can see, the roads here are board straight and very flat, but I was content to just sit there and twist that. Sometimes I like a ride like that, where you can zone into your music and just sit there and enjoy the solitude and the pleasant hum of the engine.
Looking forward to my afternoon treat didn’t hurt much either.
In Perry, FL, we turned south toward what the locals call The Nature Coast. This is my favorite part of Florida as it is generally less inhabited and more natural. Late in the afternoon, we arrived safe in Crystal River. Our friends Dan and Tina are hosting their 5th annual Florida Winter Gathering (FWG) event for us and others like us. We set up our tents on the spacious property, went out to eat dinner at a nearby bar/grill, and then enjoyed a campfire into the evening.
I’m having a good time.
Day 4: Sightseeing at Crystal River, Florida.
After about 6 ounces of shampoo last night, I slept like a rock. Dan’s coffee is good and the cooler morning breeze was welcome. We were thinking about going kayaking today, but the weather was kind of iffy and a stuff wind in the forecast gave us cause for pause.
Instead, we decided to go Manatee watching. It’s a quick jaunt to the river.
Good morning to you, Bob! Looking quite well.
Our first stop was at a city park. It’s a nice place to gather.
The birds are enjoying their winter home.
From there, we moved on to another spring nearby.
Seemed like it only took 10 minutes to get there.
There is an admission charge, but this place is very well done.
The water is beautiful and approximately 70 degrees year-round.
The Manatees sure do like it.
It is fully ADA accessible here. I seem to be zoning into that, as I have a 1st Cousin who recently became disabled and enjoys the outdoors when he can get to it. So when I find a place like this that I think he can enjoy, I text him about it.
It’s kind of hard to see, but there is whole herd of Manatees right near the shore. We had a great time watching them.
Quite a motley crew, don’t ya think?
Dan loaned me a pair of binoculars and I saw a few birds. It was a nice walk.
From the Spring, it was just a 10-minute ride to lunch.
Nice view here. Good eats too!
After lunch, we took a short ride. In the entire area, there is one (1) road that has some curves on it, so we might as well ride it. It goes to the Gulf coast and the views are quite nice.
We are living large, my friends.
After lunch, Mike and I felt like taking a walk, so we looked for a birding trail nearby that I remember from the last time I was here. We parked and tried this trail, but it didn’t feel familiar and the rocks were hard to navigate.
After that, Mike went back to Dan’s place, but I felt like wandering. I rode a bit south and saw something on the map the looked interesting.
It’s an old sugar mill site.
We grow and process sugar where I live, but it’s done a bit differently now.
I wandered a bit more and eventually wound up back at Dan’s for the evening festivities.
Then Bob and I started hitting the shampoo pretty good and things got “interesting”.
That was the last picture I took that evening, and that’s probably a good thing.
Day 5: More exploring the Florida Nature Coast.
I woke up kind of dry and a bit hung over. Mike, Bob, and I thought that today would be a nice day to take a walk on one of the Florida Birding Trails. There is one only about 20 minutes from Dan’s camp, so after breakfast, we took off.
This is a nice place.
The cloud cover is helping us spot the birds. We saw several species, including a pair of Whooping Cranes, a first for me.
Then we rode back to Crystal River for lunch.
After lunch, I called Dan to see what’s up. After some discussion, the four of us went to the Rainbow River.
It’s a cool place to take a swim. Underground springs keep the water at about 70 degrees year-round.
Great timing, Dan!
The water was crystal clear!
Quite refreshing.
I took a shower back at Dan’s Camp and had a beer (or 3 as I recall).
Day 6: Crystal River, FL to Sanibel Island, FL
With rain in the forecast, Mike and John moved their tents under Dan’s Pole Barn yesterday evening. Since there was room in Dan’s air-conditioned trailer, I chose to pack my tent and sleep indoors. Bad decision. The cot was uncomfortable for me and I tossed all night.
In the morning, I woke up with a stiff back. I took some Advil, we bid farewell to Dan, and headed south toward our next destination. Before the trip, John made arrangements with a friend of his to stop over at Sanibel Island, FL. With some help from Dan, I picked a simple route to get there, running through hundreds of orange groves. My back continued to bother me all day on the motorcycle, and in the afternoon, it got worse.
We arrived at Claudia and Sig‘s house late in the afternoon. It was only about 300 miles, but I was in bad shape. After introductions and pleasantries at their carport, I stooped down to pick something up and felt a sharp “pop” in my back. I went down to my knees and for a minute, I could not rise. I was helped inside the house, where I took a shower on my knees, and then went straight to bed to lie down.
An hour later, John and Mike came to ask about my situation, which was not any better. They strongly suggested I go to the emergency room to get checked out, to which I agreed. Sig drove us to the Fort Myers hospital, and I was treated relatively promptly. An X-ray and CT scan was taken, and the diagnosis was strained muscles. I was given 2 injections for pain and swelling and sent off with several prescriptions. Upon return to the home of our hosts, I went to bed immediately.
Day 7 and 8: Sanibel Island, then home, via friendly skies.
The next morning, I woke up to some relief, but still in significant discomfort. After breakfast, John, Mike, and Sig asked about my intentions. Clearly not able to ride, I was fearful of the possibilities. Sig then graciously offered that if I wanted to fly home and recover, I could leave my motorcycle and gear at his house. That made the decision easy for me. I booked a 1-way plane ticket home for the next day.
This also allowed Mike and John to continue with the adventure, going south to Key West. I was relieved that at least my misfortune didn’t cause them too much inconvenience. To be clear, they were willing to do whatever I needed, not surprisingly. The big surprise came from Claudia and Sig. I just met these people yesterday and they were going above and beyond to help someone they didn’t even know.
That evening, we went out to eat on the beach. The food was good, but I’m afraid I wasn’t very good company. When you are hurting, you just wanna go home.
The next morning, Mike and John geared up and shoved off for points south. Sig brought me to the airport. My flight was eventless and relatively comfortable.
To be continued…..
