Chatt town and Chili mac

We've ridden from Chattanooga, TN, to Huntsville, AL the past two days... The mountains out of Chattanooga greeted us with goldenrod, blue corn flowers, and a beautiful dark purple flower that I don't know the name of.  The yellow and the purple next to each other is breathtaking- Really it is! As we cruised into Alabama, the landscape changed to cotton fields, swamps, red maple trees and yellowed soy bean plants... we are constantly reminded of how wonderful it is to travel by bike and absorb the landscape.

The road around Raccoon and Signal Mountain led us into Stevenson, AL, a slightly creepy small town off of Hwy 72.   It looked like it was once a vibrant town and train depot, but now I would guess they've got meth up in the hills.  That being said, we bought what we could from their food source (a BP station), a box of mac n' cheese and a can of chili, made our way to the edge of town and camped in the city park.   

The next day started with a sleepy ten miles, an american flag mural, and a mountain dew for breakfast.  Oh Yeah! Then a detour for replacement parts, and some delay with traffic.  Along hwy 72 we unexpectedly ran into one of our favorite people, Eleanor McDonough on her way to Huntsville for work. Double Yeah! When she pulled over Emerson thought he was being propositioned- Bow chicka Bow WOW... But then we all laughed and promised to meet up in Huntsville for dinner. Triple Yeah.

We arrived In Madison, AL last night, and stayed with my Aunt Becky.   When we mentioned our stay in Stevenson to her she said, "you can get killed in that town,"... um, great.  But Eleanor came over for dinner,  and the ever-lovely Aunt Becky made us a delicious dinner and the BEST PECAN PIE EVER.   It will fuel us as we head to the Natchez Trace today!  Can't wait for some long scenic roads and "historic fun".

This post is long because we won't be able to post again for a while. hope you like it okay!