May 25, 2026 by joyceswofford

Flint Hills Trail, Kansas May 6-9, 2026

Left to Right: Joyce, Shannon, DaLea, Martha

Although this trail was selected to be the 2025 Hall of Fame trail last July, because we had a trip already planned for the Red River Gorge area in eastern Kentucky for last fall, we decided to do this trail in May. Volunteer tax season would be over for Joyce, and DaLea could get a week off work then, so we started planning the trip in January and looked forward to it for over three months. Since we were inclined to do an all female trip in which we carried all our stuff in our bike panniers, we invited Shannon Adams to join us to even out the motel room reservations and to take advantage of her youthful company. She’s still under 50 and probably the most physically fit; however, just for the record, we who are over 60 and over 70 are still holding our own. It was fun having Shannon join us and hope she will continue to ride future trails with us.

After flying to Kansas City, MO, we drove our rental car to Ottawa, Kansas (not Canada, as we mistakenly entered when checking the upcoming weather!) and left the car at a wonderful bike rental place—Ottawa Bike & Trail. I say “wonderful” because Jeff, the owner, had the e-bikes all ready for us when we arrived, allowed us to park our car behind his shop, and shuttled us and the bikes about fifty miles west to Council Grove, Kansas, where we would begin our ride. Along the way he shared good information about the trail and about the places we would see along the way. (We had previously watched his YouTube as he rode the trail, so we knew he was very knowledgeable about the area.) He dropped us off at the Cottage House in Council Grove and unloaded our bikes. (note that the Cottage House is an historic icon in Council Grove, but our thriftiness motivated us to stay in their motel rooms, which weren’t as vintage as the real Cottage House, so we didn’t get to see the old rooms. The motel was nice enough, though. We had dinner at the Hays House, one of the oldest eating establishments in Council Grove (dating back to pioneer days) and had a great meal. Walking to dinner and to breakfast the next morning was enjoyable, as the old town had some really interesting architecture.

Thursday morning after an early breakfast at the Saddlerock Café, which we HIGHLY recommend for their delicious bread products, we took off on our adventure. This first part of today’s 50 plus miles was very scenic—lots of blue sky contrasting with rolling bright green pasture land, dotted with large rocks and sunken spots and occasional ponds (not sunken from limestone caverns but from wind and water erosion). Although the trail is not paved (hard packed dirt and crushed gravel) it was not difficult, of course partly due to the pedal assist bikes, which enabled us to ride on the average 3-5 mph faster than we normally would. Along the way we saw some old Indian structures, most memorable being the remains of an old rock house, the Wagihige ci Interpreter’s House and the 35 ft monument to the Kaw Nation. After a while, the open green space gave way to the canopied trail surrounded by leafy trees bending over us and providing nice shade as we rode the trail.

Joyce Pedaling through Prairie Grass Fields

We saw only two or three other people on the trail the whole day, so we were pretty much on our own. I use this expression to also indicate that the trail has few amenities, such as restrooms, mile markers, and branching trails. We did, however, cross several country roads for autos, each of which told us to stop and look (admit—we only slowed down), so we could have deviated off the trail if we wanted to see anything. But there really wasn’t much to see. We did have two nice rest areas with clean but not flush toilet areas that both had picnic tables for resting and having a snack. After each of the road crossings, we passed through a narrower entrance that had signage for Flint River Trails State Park. I guess the developers thought we needed to be reminded every so often that we were on the right track, although it would have been difficult to go astray. We will admit that the “slow down” enabled us to stand on our pedals and coast across the intersections, giving our sore butts a break. Then it was back to the pedaling so that our e-bike feature would kick in. These were class 1 e-bikes – pedal assist – which means the motor won’t power on unless we’re pedaling.

Joyce, Shannon, and DaLea Crossing Bridge

After about five hours and 46 miles of nice scenery (but much of the same view after we left the rolling green hills) and some welcome bridges to view the rivers and canals, we finally reached our late lunch destination in the town of Osage City. Here we couldn’t decide whether to eat lunch at Marilyn’s Restaurant or just get ice cream. Our dilemma—we badly needed a break because Martha’s lower back was really hurting due to a recent back injury prior to our ride, Joyce’s ankle and bottom were hurting due to her stretching when we pedaled because the bike frame was a bit too large for her (her fault—she asked for a medium frame instead of the small like everyone else). And, it was almost three o’clock, so we hesitated to eat lunch when dinner was coming up so soon. We ended up riding our bikes to both places in town—Shannon got a shake at the Sonic Drive-in, Martha and Joyce got blackberry pie ala mode at Marilyn’s, and DaLea got a corn dog kids meal. Nice compromise.

Our e-bikes in front of LaMont Hills Motel

Then we had about ten more miles to get to Vassar, our stop for the evening, at LaMont Hills Motel near Ponoma State Park. We had time before dinner, so we walked to the state park and took a little easy hike on the Buckbrush Trail, feeling good to move about on our feet in a standing position for a change. The motel staff was very friendly, and the rooms were simple but nice. Martha had agreed to tutor her granddaughter on the phone before her math test the next day, so the other three of us went to dinner and had a great meal deal at the LaMont Hills restaurant. They allowed us to park our bikes in our motel rooms, which was convenient, as then we didn’t have to remove our panniers in order to get the next day’s clothes out. (Actually, only Joyce didn’t want to remove her panniers because they are such a pain to take off and put on—everyone else’s are pretty easy to use.)

On Friday morning, we had planned a kayaking trip on Pamona Lake for a variation from biking. To her dismay, DaLea woke that morning to her back tire having gone flat after pulling a thorn from it the previous night. More about the flat after I tell a little about the kayaking. We spent almost two hours on the lake having a good time, even though after about an hour the wind started getting stronger from an approaching storm, which meant we had to work our arm muscles more to paddle. We were following Martha, who had said we would be heading to the other side of the lake and then follow that shoreline back to the Marina. She got way ahead of us and all of a sudden started turning back early toward the Marina. She said she tried to cell phone us as to why she was turning back but none of us answered her call, so we just did what we knew we should do—follow our leader and head back early also.

Carp eating fish food near dock, Pomona Lake

After 10 minutes of paddling, we knew why she had changed her mind, as our progress really slowed down with the waves and we didn’t want to tip over from the rough waters on the other side of the lake. Anyway, we made it back safely and saw all the carp (see photo) fighting for the food that Mike had thrown to them. A word of praise here for Mike and his son-in-law–Pomona Lake Marina actually was closed on Friday, but he came in anyway and got us kayaks to rent and stayed while we did our trip. That was very kind of him. On the way back to the motel after kayaking, we called Jeff to see if he would be willing to drive over to Vassar and fix the flat tire instead of us trying to get the back tire off (much more difficult than a front tire flat). John at the shop said that Jeff was actually near us doing a shuttle to Osage City, and he got hold of Jeff, and Jeff agreed to come to the motel to fix the flat. Yea! Note that we are glad he did it instead of us as we watched him struggle a bit getting the tube out of the tire, since the tires were new and not very flexible. His strength and know-how far surpass ours.

(An interesting side-story to enter here: the night before, a biker had asked us at the motel if we had seen his black waist pouch on the trail when he heard we had just biked in from Council Grove, which is where he lost the pouch somewhere when he took off a layer of top clothing and forgot to pick up his waist pouch. Our answer was “no, sorry.” His pouch had all his money, credit cards and identification. He was quite distraught! While Jeff was fixing the flat, Martha just happened to say something to DaLea about the poor guy who had lost his pouch on the trail. Jeff’s ears popped open because he had just happened to go into a restaurant in Osage City and had just happened to meet a biker he knew who just happened to ask Jeff what he thought he should do with the black waist pouch he had found on the trail. Jeff had told the biker to take the pouch to the local sheriff’s office. So, when he shared that info, Martha asked the Motel owner if she would give us the distraught biker’s contact information—she gladly did—and Jeff called the distraught biker, who said he was now in Ottawa. Jeff offered to drive back to Osage City to the sheriff’s office and pick up the pouch and take it to Ottawa to give it to him. Nice guy! And even nicer, because the sheriff in Osage City didn’t have the pouch, but he called around and the pouch was actually with the sheriff’s office in Lyndon, so Jeff drove there to collect the pouch and then back to Ottawa to deliver it. Talk about helpful people! And is there anything that is coincidental, or is it God’s hand in helping us bikers help each other?

So now back to the ride. We got the flat fixed and took off for Ottawa, our destination for the day. About 20 miles later we were eating lunch at LeRoy’s BBQ in Pamona—very delicious food and friendly people—when in comes the three men that Jeff had shuttled to Osage City that morning. It was fun talking briefly to them, AND, they were from Atlanta! (Another coincidence!) A little less than ten miles to go, sore backs and ankle and butts, but we made it. Oh yea—it started drizzling on us after lunch, but it wasn’t bad. Otherwise, perfect weather. We always think we are blessed with our good weather on these bike trips.

Ottawa Bike & Trail Shop, 1 Block from Trail

At Ottawa, we left the bikes in Jeff’s shop and took the rental car to our VRBO on Mulberry Street across from Ottawa University. There we changed into our pickleball shoes and drove to the pickleball court Martha had located for us before we came on the trip, so naturally we had brought our paddles and balls along with us. After a few fun games, we drove to a Mexican Restaurant—Mexi Wraps Cantina—for a tasty dinner. Then back at the VRBO, we played some Mahjong. We believe in planned variety of activities!

Saturday morning we were up and out of the VRBO by 7:00 so that we could eat at the Corner Market (very good and reasonably priced) and pick up the e-bikes at the bike shop and head on to Osawatomie, a little over 20 miles. This section was by far the weakest part of the trail’s “Hall of Fame” qualities. The other scenery had been pleasant—a bit boring because so much of the same—but the trail had been nicely kept up. This part was not well marked as we rode through Ottawa to find the trail on the eastern outskirts. We had received directions that were acceptable, and the guys had said “you can’t miss it; it’s well marked!” but it wasn’t at all marked (we just went on faith that this little dirt path was the actual trail) until a little ways into the trail when we saw a sign that told us we were on the Flint Hills trail—not the state park at this time, which is maybe why the trail was not as well kept up.

End of the Flint Hills Trail in Osawatomie

Between the sun flitting through the trees making it quite difficult to see tree limbs and the several larger pieces of gravel, we really had to keep our eyes on the trail so that we wouldn’t take a spill. Unlike the other days on the trail, we did get some mileage markers this morning so that we knew how far we had come, and the river glimpses were pleasant, so it wasn’t a completely bad part of the trail. A few of the bridges, though, had no side railings, so that was a bit disconcerting when we were crossing these creek bridges.

We finally reached the end of the trail at Osawatomie and rode our bikes over to the John Brown Memorial Park where we looked around at the little museum and waited for Jeff to come pick us up for the shuttle ride back to Ottawa. There we turned in the bikes, took our picture with Jeff—a great guy and a very good place to rent your e-bikes—and headed to a Dairy Queen for a quick lunch and a drive back to the airport to turn in the car and get to the gate for our flight back to Atlanta. It was a good adventure!

Flint Hills Trail Photos

Flint Hills Trail Videos

Day 1: Council Grove to Vasser

Day 2: Vasser to Ottawa

Day 3: Ottawa to Osawatomie

December 28, 2025 by joyceswofford

Red River Gorge, Kentucky, Adventure – November 19 to 22, 2025

Though the Dawkins Line Recreational Trail is not a Hall-of-Fame trail, it is a genuine rail-to-trail and thus earning its spot in our blog entries. Because of its location near the Red River Gorge, where we wanted to have other outdoor adventures, we decided to do the bike ride this fall (we still haven’t done the Hawaii Hall-of-Fame trail, as that will have to wait until we’re in Hawaii for another reason). Martha and Ed, DaLea and Barry, and Ron and I each drove our cars to Pine Mountain/Rogers, Kentucky for a four-day adventure. From South Atlanta, it took about 8 hours due to traffic in East Tennessee and stopping for meals, but it was worth the drive.

Our first stop on Wednesday afternoon was the Natural Bridge hike at the Natural Bridge State Resort Park. DaLea and I were both later getting to the park than Martha, so by the time we met her, she had already done a quick hike and selected some nuances of the trails for us to enjoy. Ed stayed with the truck while we hiked—combined the Original Trail for the trip up to the natural bridge formation and then took the Laurel Ridge Trail past the closed-for-the-season skylift over to Lookout Point and then down the Devil’s Gulch to the Battleship Rock Trail, which rejoined the Original Trail for a little bit of repeat in order to loop back to the lower parking lot (off Highway 11) where Ed was patiently waiting. It was a really pretty hike. The sandstone natural bridge was at the top of one of the many ridges in this area formed by the water and wind erosion over the years. We kept wondering if a glacier erosion was involved in the formation, but I think we concluded that there had been no glaciers there. The scenery was fabulous, even though the hike up was pretty strenuous and the stepping down through the Devil’s Gulch made us appreciate sure footedness—narrow and steep rock-formed steps. I estimate that we went about two miles total.

When we finished hiking, it was getting dark (Ed kept calling and texting Martha to see if she was aware of the time, but Ron and I can only move so fast due to increased years on our bodies). We drove to the VRBO about 20 minutes away, located on top of a ridge (I think it was labeled Rock Point, and indeed it seemed at the edge). The GPS directions were not very accurate—wrong names for dirt roads—and it was then pretty dark and very rural. Ron and I missed one of the turns, but the others were ahead of us and didn’t have any trouble, at least that was our impression. Anyway, the “cabin” was very nice and comfortable for the six of us. Once settled, we all rode in Ed’s truck to the Sky Bridge Station restaurant in Pine Ridge for a tasty dinner and then back at the cabin we learned how to play Euchre from Martha and Liar’s Dice/Pirates Never Tell the Truth from DaLea. Fun to learn new stuff.

True to Martha’s wonderful detailed (but with built-in flexibility) itinerary, we woke at 7 am on Thursday morning for our biking adventure. And adventure it was! It took about an hour to get to the geographical area of the Dawkin’s Line Trail—between Evanston, Kentucky, and Hagerhill, Kentucky—but the going-over trip in Ed’s truck along the fairly new Bert Combs Mountain Parkway was a great scenic route, with horizontal layers of different rocks and coal seams to show some of the geologic formation of the mountain. Prior to our trip, DaLea and Barry had watched a YouTube video of the trail to determine what part of the trail was paved, and Martha had done some prior research as to what part of the trail was open and closed and what part was paved and dirt. Ron and Joyce just trusted their judgment and followed the leader. The main problem was that the trail website and other information they had earlier gathered did not match the reality we experienced, so we got more bang for our bucks on this bike trip than we had planned for.

Cows Following a Lady Driving down Dirt Road with Feed Bag in Her Trunk

The first thing to throw us for a loop is that the Tip Top Tunnel at the lower end is closed and impassible, and since we wanted to ride south to north due to elevation gain going south, Martha was guiding Ed to where we thought we could get access to the trail just north of Tip Top Tunnel. The directions started out seemingly ok because we could see a paved trail to the lower right of us, and Martha had read that the lower part south of the Tip Top Tunnel had recently been paved. In retrospect, this was our first clue that what Martha had read about what part was paved and what DaLea had seen on Youtube—that we would be riding on a paved trail north of the Tip Top Tunnel—were not matching up. But we kept on going, trusting that what Martha could see on her phone screen from the All-Trails map was correct. Well, we ended up on a bumpy, narrow dirt road in the middle of nowhere that was near the edge of a drop off (from Joyce’s perspective in the passenger seat really close to the edge). When we saw some grazing horses on the side of the narrow dirt road Ed was driving on, we realized that maybe we had missed a turn, so we decided to make a “U”ie and to turn right at the last “intersection” we had passed. This new narrow dirt road led us to some cows on the side of the mountain looking at us with that “What are YOU doing here?” look in their eyes. Too bad we couldn’t get that photo, but it would have been very difficult for Ed to stop. And there was absolutely no place for him to turn around, so we just kept on bumping along (magnificent truck driving skills, Ed), wondering where we were going to end up. Meanwhile, Martha is staring at her phone screen and realized that she is seeing us (the little blue dot) actually on the bike trail. Indeed, we had noticed that the ride had gotten a little smoother a few yards back, so we realized that somehow the dirt road had joined the trail. This led us to the conclusion that we had now made it north of the tunnel and would soon see a place where Ed could get back onto the highway and we could start riding. But it was still not paved, so that was confusing, according to what DaLea and Barry had seen. We eventually came to a place where we could see the highway, but when we got out to examine the possible drive from the trail to the highway, we saw a sizeable water hole, and Ed (I don’t blame him) refused to try to drive the truck through the water because we couldn’t see how deep it was or whether the bottom surface was solid or soft. So, we kept on driving along the bike trail in our truck instead of on our bikes. (According to the GPS app, our little blue dot—us—was slowly traveling north.) About a mile farther up, we saw another dirt road leading over to the highway and decided to take it. That was where we saw a lady herding her six cattle along the road with a feed bag in the back of her trunk. Intriguing sight! We got out and talked to her, and she said we were in Evanston, which was supposed to be south of the closed Tip Top Tunnel, and that was also confusing news, but she did give us driving directions to Royalton, where she said she knew there was a paved trail. Fortunately, her directions worked.

Embarking on the Dawkins Trail in Royalton

We finally ended the off-road part of our bike trip and found the paved trail in Royalton, where we started out and biked the 18.5 miles to the end (literally, there was a sign declaring “The End of the Trail”). After the trip, Martha emailed the Dawkins Trail office and based on their response she realized that we were actually driving along the unpaved portion of the trail, which is south of the Tip Top Tunnel. How we got there we will never know, but this was one of our most interesting access drives to the actual bike ride and so unforgettable. Once we started actually biking, it was an interesting trail to ride: some remote sections through the mountains and some rural sections through small communities. The one sight that I remember most is the little building on the side of the mountain which serves as a cold storage place for the family. I can’t remember the name of the building, but both Martha and Ron remember having one of these when they were each growing up in rural North Carolina and rural West Virginia. (Ron’s Comment: “These are called cellars or spring houses and substitute for modern refrigerators. Some cellars are below the house basement (my parents’ house) and some are dug into the side of a conveniently located hillside. A spring house is a shelter (small room) with maybe a small shelf built over a spring. The cool water provides modest refrigeration.”)

After our bike ride, Ed picked us up at the meeting place in Hagerhill and took us to the Dairy Queen in Campton for a late lunch (not much open around there) because the Farmhouse Diner in Salyersville was closed, which was where we had planned to eat lunch. We then were able to work in a nice hike to see Creation Falls on the Rock Bridge Trail. We all went on this hike, as it was just a 2 mile moderately difficult trail and had some unique scenery. After the hike, we went back to the VRBO, picking up a delicious pizza to eat at the house on the way, and then spent a little relaxing time in the hot tub and played some more games. That was the night we learned Mah Jongg from Martha. Another new game for us to learn!

Friday morning was our planned kayak trip into the mountain cave that Martha had taken last spring and wanted us to experience. All but Ed did this, even Ron, who was sure he was going to fall out of the kayak as he has done every time he has been in a kayak. (Thankfully, he didn’t fall out.) It was actually an old limestone mine in which an aquifer had been struck and thus flooded the mine. We were in the cave with our headlights for about two hours and had a great time with our guide paddling around seeing the blind fish and little sleeping bats on the ceiling and sides of the cave. The tour was interesting and a neat part of our outdoor adventure in Kentucky. We used the Gorge Underground company and were very pleased with the experience.

Coming back into daylight, Ed drove us all on the Red River Gorge Scenic Highway, where we hiked on the Angels Windows Trail and the Sky Bridge Trail. We stopped at the Sky Bridge Recreation Area Visitor Center and read about the geological history and neat tidbits of the area. Supposedly Daniel Boone and company hiked through here, but that wasn’t true—just a good reason local people gave not to create a man-made lake and flood the area. After the visitor center, we walked about a mile to see an old suspension bridge that was pretty much dilapidated. We drove through the Nada Tunnel, supposed to be a big deal, and then went to a new little “shopping center” on stilts, because the river was known to rise several feet in the spring floods, where we bought some high calorie but tasty cookies and Ron and Joyce bought chair cushions that look like a slice of a tree log. (Ron really thought they were intriguing.) We skipped lunch—everywhere we saw looked a little TOO run down or was closed, so we decided to eat dinner on the way back to the house, which by the way was not as isolated in the daylight as it seemed that first night. We had a delicious dinner at RedPoint BBQ, getting there at 5:00, which was very fortunate because when we walked out at 7 pm, it was waiting room only. Very popular restaurant. Well chosen, Martha.

Joyce, DaLea, and Martha on Angels Windows Trail

When we got back to the cabin, the rain started. This is notable because rain had been predicted both yesterday and today and we weren’t sure if we could get in our hikes, but both days it was just a bit misty and not raining. We always seem to be blessed with good weather on our bike rides and hikes, and this trip was no exception. (We decided maybe we are living right.)

On Saturday morning we all got up and packed for the drive back to Georgia. Good trip!

June 15, 2025 by joyceswofford

Arkansas Razorback Greenway Trail in Bentonville, Arkansas . . . May 2025

Although the Razorback Greenway placed 2^nd in the Hall of Fame Rail-to-Trails contest—placing behind Ke Ala Hele Makalae, an eight-mile trail in Kaui, Hawaii—we decided to go ahead and plan to bike it this year instead of the 1st place trail. After all, it was our first choice among this year’s finalists. And now, after riding it, we can’t understand why it didn’t get the honor of being a Hall of Fame Trail. Even though the trail goes through Bentonville and a couple of other smaller towns in western Arkansas with several trafficked roads requiring us to stop before crossing, the majority of the trail is through parks and rural areas. The Greenway followed the White River at some points and was filled with lush, green scenery almost all of the time. The trail also went through an artsy stretch of metal statues and similar outdoor art work near the Crystal Bridges Museum. There were a few metal statues even outside the artsy area in Bentonville—such as Sassy the Sasquatch made entirely of recycled bicycle parts and —so it was an aesthetically pleasing trail.

We had rented electric bikes from E-Bike Bentonville, so the travel was easy, even in the few places where we had a slight elevation gain. About the E-Bike Bentonville, that store was wonderful. David Pilgrim, the owner, went out of his way to have the bikes all ready for the six of us early in the morning and was not at all upset that we pulled in to return them just before they closed for the day. The price was good–$60 per person for the day, and the pedal assist bikes were fantastic. They even had a nice panier bag attached to the panier rack, a water bottle holder, and a lock, and a couple of us had suspension bikes. They were in great shape and easy to learn to use. In fact, some of us were pleasantly surprised when we inquired about the cost of the Mokwheel bikes after our ride. We expected them to be much more expensive, but David explained that the cost ranged from $900 – $1100 depending on whether they had front suspension.

Slaughter Pen Mountain Bike Trail Entrance on Razorback Greenway

Barry and DaLea had driven to the southernmost end of the trail to pick up Ed and Martha, who left their truck in the parking lot there, and they rode together to E-Bike Bentonville. Ron and Joyce had gone to the visitor center to pick up a map of the Greenway and then met them at the bike shop. (It turns out that the map was only for the Bentonville Greenway part of the Razorback trail, so it was pretty much useless after we left Bentonville. We just relied on Martha’s AllTrails app map. An entire trail map would have been nice to have. However, I will add that the visitor center had another map for the Bentonville OZ dirt bike trails, which there seemed to be plenty of in the area. And the many youth that were riding these trails attest to the word that Bentonville has some great mountain bike trails available.) After our brief lesson on how to use the pedal assist and button assist on the handlebar to increase our speed, we were on our way around 10 a.m.

Joyce, Ron, DaLea and Barry Riding through the Walmart Campus

As you can see from the photos Martha has attached at the bottom of the blog, the scenery was pleasant, the weather was perfect (May 28^th), and we had no mishaps along the way. Plus, the trail was paved the entire way, which is better when we are riding e-bikes. The bike shop was about five miles south of the northernmost end of the Razorback Trail, so we rode north on the North Walton Trail along Walton Blvd (yes, a lot of the town bears the mark of Sam Walton and Walmart) to the North Bentonville Trail and then north on the Razorback Greenway to the terminus in Bella Vista where we turned around and started pedaling south again. We went left at the fork onto the North Bentonville Trail to avoid just paralleling Walton Blvd and to see more of the green parks. We could have done a loop for the Bentonville Greenway but wanted to stay with the Razorback Rail-to-Trail down to the southern end at Kessler Mountain Regional Park in Fayetteville where we had parked Ed’s truck for shuttling the bikes back to Bentonville. The whole ride was a little over 46 miles.

At Springdale, we ate a delicious lunch at the HomeGrown Eatery, well-known for their breads, sandwiches and French toast. Well worth the wait to eat lunch around 1:30 instead of noon. After lunch, we biked the remaining 12-13 miles south passing Fayetteville Lake and the outskirts of the University of Arkansas. We rode into the parking area at the Kessler Park around 5 p.m., loaded the bikes onto Ed’s truck (which was a spatial feat for these large electric bikes, but it worked because Ed’s truck is so large and also he had attached the two-bike carrier onto the rear hitch). We drove the hour back to the bike shop, turned in the bikes and then met about two blocks away at Spark Café Soda Fountain for a well-deserved ice cream treat. After that, Martha had left her sunglasses in the panier so she had to go back there to get them, and the four of us (Snells and Swoffords) spent an hour in the Walmart Museum next door to the ice cream store. That was also a delightful visit.

Since the bike trip was only a one-day event, we had decided to include some other fun activities into the trip to Arkansas. Without going into a lot of detail (this is a bike blog, not a vacation tour guide), here is our itinerary:

Joyce, Barry, DaLea, and Martha @ Ozark Zipline

Tuesday, first day in Arkansas, we stopped in Rogers at the Red Barn Donut shop for some very tasty donuts, drove over to the Ozark Mountain Zip Line (about 45 minutes away) and had a wonderful experience there. The zip lines were high above a gully full of trees. Martha’s pictures show how fun that was. Then we drove to the Thorncrown Chapel for a short stop—an almost entirely in-the-woods glass structure that was really peaceful—on our way to Eureka Springs, Arkansas. In that town, we had a picnic lunch at Carmen’s Taco Truck (way too much food) and then took the Eureka Trolley on and off and back on to see some of the springs/grottos in the historic part of town. That was unique. We also did our own little tour of the Crescent Hotel & Spa, an old hotel in town, supposedly haunted, but it has an interesting history. We left Eureka Springs, stopped briefly at the huge Christ of the Ozarks statue, and then drove to Cosmic Cavern, which we had selected as the cave to visit while in Arkansas. It was a commercial, not a wild cave, and was a good tour. It sits below a long fault in the earth, so the suspicion is that the cave has still more unexplored territory. It has an underground lake in it, which was interesting.

Joyce, Martha, DaLea and Barry @ Lost Valley Trailhead

Thursday, the day after the bike ride on Wednesday, we wanted to go hiking in the Ozark Mountains. Martha had done lots of research and picked out three trails that we could do. They were all about 45 minutes apart, but that was okay, as we had all day. Ron did his Georgia State committee zoom meeting at the Buffalo Outdoor Center while Barry, DaLea, Joyce, Martha and Martha’s sister Mary went hiking on the Lost Valley Trail. Ed was driving to Tulsa to pick up his sister Liz. That was a neat hike, with a nice waterfall, but unfortunately, we didn’t go into the cave which had its own waterfall because we got it mixed up with another waterfall hike. Then we picked up Ron and drove to the Alum Cave Trail, which had a natural arch bridge and several caves. Good hike. Then we drove to Cliff House Inn, where we had a nice lunch (a little on the expensive side) and view of the Arkansas “Grand Canyon” from the dining room. Our last hike was the King Bluff trail, which had fantastic views from the bluffs overlooking the valley below. All three hikes were labeled “moderate” and true to their ratings, each a little over two miles long. Good scenery and something I’ve always wanted to do—go hiking in the Ozarks, so I was a happy camper.

Friday was our going-home days for the Snells and Swoffords, but the Wickers stayed for a few extra days for their own adventures, which Martha can clarify below. From our perspective (Snells and Swoffords), it was a great adventure, and we appreciated all the pre-planning Martha had done in scoping out the possibilities.

On Friday, Ed and I took his sister, Liz, and my sister, Mary, to Branson, Missouri to see the play “David” at the Sights & Sounds Theater. On the way to Branson, we drove through Eureka Springs and stopped at Dogwood Canyon. On Saturday, Ed and I drove Liz back to Tulsa and then we moved our camper to the Outskirts of Heaven RV Park near Ponca in the Ozarks. On Sunday, Mary and I kayaked on the Buffalo River from Steel Creek to Kyle’s Landing. Ed picked us up after our kayak adventure, and the three of us hiked the Sweden Creek Falls Trail near our campsite. On Monday, we started our two-day drive home.

Razorback Greenway

Ozark Zipline, Eureka Springs, and Cosmic Cavern

Hiking in the Ozarks

Dogwood Canyon & Branson

Kayaking on Buffalo River

March 23, 2025 by joyceswofford

Florida Springs Kayaking and Snorkeling – March 3-6, 2025

This is not our typical biking blog; instead, we are sharing our experiences kayaking and snorkeling at several springs in Central Florida near Ocala.

Joyce & DaLea Kayaking at Ichetucknee Springs

Monday:
Ichetuckness Springs:
Left church parking lot in Jonesboro at 8:30 a.m. Met Martha and Ed at Ichetucknee Springs State Park in Fort White to kayak down the Ichetucknee River around 1 pm. Within the first 15 minutes, DaLea got stuck in some bushes and leaned sideways to avoid them and tipped over. Got soaking wet. Martha got her shoe lost (she found it, though) in the soft mud as she was trying to get the water out of DaLea’s kayak. Otherwise, good trip. Saw lots of turtles sunning on the logs. Did about 90 minutes of kayaking. Afterward, we walked to see the “blue hole” where the springs are. We’d repeat that kayaking experience.

Drove to Champions Run RV Resort where Martha and Ed were staying. Played pickleball with them for about an hour—windy and the sun was a disadvantage for them. They still won every game. Fun. Then we ate dinner at the TiKi Hut next to the pickleball court. After dinner we drove to our Air BnB to check in and go to bed.

Tuesday:

Three Sisters Springs
We met Martha and Ed at their campground at 7 a.m. and drove with them to the Crystal River, Three Sisters Springs to kayak out to where we snorkeled with the manatees and then kayaked back to the shore. Saw about 8 – 10 manatees, but very crowded with snorkelers. Fun, though. And we could see the manatees pretty clearly. Martha got some good photos with her Go Pro underwater camera. One especially good one was of a baby manatee holding on to his mother’s flipper with his mouth as they swam along. Total kayaking time was about 40 minutes and about 90 minutes of snorkeling. Fun to do the snorkeling! Took some getting used to as far as calm, consistent breathing, but we did it. We probably wouldn’t go back there again–$20 to launch a kayak and so many people snorkeling, BUT that was the only way we could have seen the manatees there. And there were many many manatees the days preceding. The water wasn’t really clear enough to see them from the shore or in the kayak.

Silver Springs State Park

Grabbed a quick Chick Fil-A lunch and drove to Silver Springs State Park where we had reservations for the glass bottom boat tour. The tour guide had lots of interesting information, and the ride was enjoyable. We even saw a manatee swim under the boat, and we saw several birds, monkeys, turtles, and a few alligators on the shore.

After the boat tour, we launched our kayaks and paddles to kayak to some of the same area where we were on the boat. Saw similar animals – 2 alligators fairly up close, two monkeys mating in a high tree and then male stroking the back of the female. (Sweet gesture, we thought) We also spent time kayaking around the springs origin, where the water was clear enough that we could see down to the cave with the spring. Saw pretty yellow water lilies about to bloom and several birds. There’s a lot to do there in terms of kayaking on the Silver River out to the Ocklawaha River and lots of walking paths through the state park. The water was ok, but not the clearest. Would probably return there.

Drove to a Mexican restaurant (El Toreo?) for dinner and then back to the Air BnB to again go to bed soon.

Wednesday:

DaLea, Joyce and Martha Kayaking on Juniper Run

Juniper Springs
Since Martha and Ed weren’t coming over to get us until 10 a.m., DaLea went to Walmart shopping for a rain jackets because we expected rain while we were kayaking on the Juniper Run River. They came at 10 a.m., and we drove to Juniper Springs Recreation Area for our longest kayaking trip. Before starting the kayaking, and sort of stalling to see if the rain would come a little earlier than predicted, we walked to see the water mill and the springs for the river. Saw what they call “the boils” where spring water is bubbling up to the surface. The bridge was down, so we couldn’t do the whole walk, though. Nice walk. As we were launching, the staff member said, “Are you sure you ladies know what you’re getting into?” We assured him we’d be fine and started off. Within 5 minutes, Joyce and DaLea got stuck in a narrow part of the river. DaLea made it out fairly quickly, but Martha had to tie a rope to Joyce’s kayak and pull her out of the snarl of trees and brush. But nobody fell out of the kayak, and we were soon on our way. This run was probably the highlight of the five kayaking trips—narrow channels made for a great adventure. 7 miles. Downstream current. We did it in 4 hours and were able to work our way out of all predicaments caused by the current pushing us to the bushes and fallen logs by the sides of the river. The rain lasted 45 minutes, but was tolerable, and it warmed up enough afterward to dry off fairly quickly. We were glad we had our lightweight rain jackets with hoods! Ed met us at 3:30, loaded our kayaks, and we drove back to Ocala.

We had time to stop by the Air BnB to change clothes and then met Ed and Martha and Rob and Connie Taylor (from Clayton State) for dinner at Sonny’s BBQ. That was nice, and we especially appreciated Rob’s friendliness in asking DaLea what she did if she wasn’t retired like the rest of us. He always was an empathetic, helpful person. We stopped by Walmart for me to get some new pants like what DaLea got this morning, but they didn’t have my size in the color I wanted. Too bad, because they are neat pants. At the Air BnB, we went to bed fairly early again. It was a long day kayaking but one that all of us would like to do again!

Thursday:

DaLea, Joyce, and Martha Snorkeling @ Silver Glen Springs

Silver Glen Springs
Our last day, so we packed our bags and prepared to check out of the Air BnB. Ed and Martha came by at 7:30, and we followed them to Silver Glen Springs National Forest. This was probably the prettiest place in terms of water clarity and lack of crowd. It was cold that morning, so we wore our snorkeling wet suits to kayak in for a little over an hour. We saw a huge pelican and several other birds after we had kayaked away from the swimming hole area and out onto the run towards Lake George. While kayaking, we saw several manatees from the kayaks because the water was so aqua colored and clear. Pretty scenery and great water. After kayaking, we walked about 45 minutes roundtrip to see the boils and decide if we wanted to snorkel. One diver had said that he thought there were only a couple of manatees still in the swimming hole area, and we had seen some on the run while kayaking. But it was warm water, Martha seemed really want to snorkel, DaLea was leaning more and more towards doing it, we were all dressed for it, so Joyce then agreed that we should do it. GLAD we did! It was probably the BEST snorkeling with the manatees we had done the whole trip. We were the only ones in the water with the manatees, and we must have seen around 10 different manatees close up, one within minutes of when we started snorkeling. The water was the clearest we had been in, and in some places we could actually walk in the water and breathe without the snorkel. Martha got some wonderful pictures and movies of the manatees turning in the water (acrobatic maneuvers) and swimming all around us. We also swam over to see the deep cavernous area where the spring was and could see the water bubbling out. This is one of about 33 springs in this area that puts out 65 million gallons of water a day. Amazing! We all agreed we would definitely repeat the Silver Glen Springs experience.

After swimming about an hour, we got out, dried off and started out trip home. Martha and Ed went back to their campground to load up their camper (changed out of her wet clothes in the back seat of the truck while they drove, which is a feat in itself because it is so hard to get out of the wet suit pants and jacket). They left from there to their next campsite in Georgia—got there about 4:15 pm and then finished their drive on Friday. DaLea and Joyce changed clothes in the little rooms provided there by the lake, and then drove back to Jonesboro, getting there about 7 p.m. GOOD TRIP. Each of the places had its own unique adventure. Martha planned it well!

November 26, 2024 by Martha Wicker

Sacramento River Trails, Redding, CA – October 1, 2024

When the Sacramento River Trail/Sacramento River Rail Trail was selected as the 2023 Hall of Fame Trail, we decided to plan a trip to California that would include visiting some of the national parks as well as biking the trail. Ed and I flew into San Francisco a few days before meeting up with Joyce and her husband, Ron, and DaLea and her husband, Barry in Redding. During those extra days, Ed and I toured Carmel-by-the-Sea, Big Sur, and Monterey before driving north over the Golden Gate Bridge and up to Redwood National Park. We spent a couple of days at Redwood before driving over to Redding to meet the rest of our bike group.

We had reservations to stay at the Holiday Inn Express in Redding before riding the trail the following morning. After everyone arrived, we walked over to the Cattleman’s Restaurant for dinner and then drove down to see the Sundial Bridge lit up at night (definitely worth it) before returning to our hotel. The world-famous bridge over the Sacramento River is a working sundial – one of the largest in the world. It is an architectural wonder with a translucent walkway for pedestrians and bikes, connecting the north and south sections of the Turtle Bay Exploration Park and serves as the entrance to the Sacramento Trail system. I expected the surface to be slick, but we quickly figured out that it had a non-skid coating that made walking and biking safer. I was glad that we decided to walk across the sundial bridge at night before biking across it the following day. The lights were splendid!

The next morning, we ate breakfast at the hotel and drove a couple of miles south to the Pedego Bike Shop where we had reservations for six e-bikes. Jay had agreed to meet us at Pedego on his day off to rent us the bikes; we couldn’t have asked for better service! After a brief orientation to the e-bikes (throttle took some getting used to but was much appreciated when we got to the hilly portion), we started riding on the paved trail from a connector spur located right behind the Pedego shop.

The Sacramento River Trail begins at the Turtle Bay Museum on the east side and proceeds across the river on the Sundial Bridge, which is one of the largest working sundials in the world. After crossing the bridge, the trail heads west along the river through Lake Redding & Caldwell Park and past a salmon-spawning habitat. Our plan was to bike along the northern bank of the river to the Ribbon Bridge and then ride along the south bank on our return trip; however, we encountered a section of the trail which was closed due to construction, so we had to turn around and bike 3 – 4 miles back to the Diestelhorst Bridge where we crossed back over the Sacramento River on a separate pedestrian lane.

We proceeded riding west along the south bank of the river until we reached the Ribbon Bridge and decided to bike out to the middle to take pictures and to enjoy the beautiful scenery in both directions. After a short break, we pedaled north to the Keswick Dam. The parking lot near the dam had restrooms and picnic tables; it marked the end of the Sacramento River Trail and the start of the Sacramento River Rail Trail.

The paved Sacramento River Rail Trail is 11.1 miles one way to the Shasta Dam, but it is considerably hillier than the Sacramento River Trail. We were not expecting the hills and sharp curves that we encountered on a designated rail trail. As I mentioned earlier, we were definitely glad that we decided to rent e-bikes, especially for this portion of the trail. We cruised the downhill portions at 20-25 mph, but leaned heavily on the throttle to help us climb the uphill sections. The scenery was scrubby, almost desert-like, but the views of the Sacramento River below were stunning.

We passed through a short tunnel on this portion of the trail, and the cooler temperature inside was a nice break from the upper 90-degree heat outside. Although the temperature was almost 100 degrees outside, the low humidity made it seem cooler than I expected. When we reached the northern end of the Sacramento River Rail Trail, we biked through a small campground to get a better view of Shasta Dam. Unfortunately, we could not see the beautiful Shasta Lake on the other side of the dam. Ed and I had driven past it on the previous day on our way to Redding from Redwood NP. Reaching the dam marked the end of the Sacramento River Rail Trail, and we turned around and headed back downhill to Redding.

Ed & Joyce Biking Uphill Overlooking Sacramento River

The ride back to the Pedego Bike Shop seemed much faster than the ride up to the Shasta Dam, but I enjoyed every mile as we followed the river back to Redding. It took us about 4 ½ hours to complete the 44-mile round trip, and we were thankful that our batteries lasted the entire trip (some of us had more battery power left than others😊). After returning our bikes, Ed and I drove in one car and the other four rode in a separate car as we grabbed a quick lunch and then drove 6 hours south to El Portal where Joyce had reserved a three-bedroom BNB.

Over the next three days, we toured Yosemite, King’s Canyon, and Sequoia National Parks. On our first day at Yosemite, after viewing Bridalveil Falls, we rented bikes and rode through the Valley, stopping to hike the Lower Yosemite Falls Trail and the Vernal Falls Trail. The next day, we hiked on the following trails: Artist Point, Taft Point (where we had a picnic lunch), and Glacier Point. Afterward, we drove down to another BNB in Yokuts Valley near King’s Canyon NP. The next morning we drove to Panoramic Point at King’s Canyon and walked to the General Grant Tree. Then, we drove down to Sequoia NP where we hiked to the General Sherman Tree and up to the top of Moro Rock. After descending Moro Rock, Barry & DaLea went to get their car and the rest of us walked downhill to Tunnel Log. DaLea and Barry drove through the log while we watched :-). Leaving Sequoia, we hurriedly drove south to Reimers Ice Cream Shop in Three Rivers, trying to get there before they closed. We had stopped for ice cream at their shop south of Yosemite a few days prior and had decided to make an effort to visit their other location in Three Rivers. Their ice cream, especially the fresh blueberry, was definitely worth the drive!

After spending Friday night at the BNB in Yokuts Valley, we all left for San Francisco the following morning. Since Ed and I had a late flight, we decided to stop at Pinnacles NP on our drive to San Francisco. The temperature was 104 degrees and part of the park was closed due to the heat, but we were able to view the Pinnacles and to hike through the caves on the east side of the park before heading to the airport.

This was one of my favorite bike trips! Both the trail and the national parks made it a memorable journey.

Sacramento River Trail Photos

Sacramento River Trail Video

Sacramento River Rail Trail Video

August 4, 2024 by joyceswofford

Great Allegheny Passage, Connellsville, PA, to Cumberland, MD, July 14 – 19, 2024

Joyce & Martha, Paw Paw Tunnel, GAP/C&O Trails, 2011

This was actually the second time Martha and I had ridden this trail—the first being several years ago before we started our GeorgiaPedalPushers blog. At that time, our husbands Ed and Ron rode with us, and we did it in the fall with a lot of leaves on the trail (see photos below). It was really pretty then, as it was this time also. For this trip, DaLea Snell joined us, as she has done on our recent trips to Iowa, West Virginia, and Maine. She is a great third person: she is a capable rider with lots of optimism for our doing these rides. We thought she would enjoy this trail, since we liked it so much the first time we rode it. Because Martha didn’t want to take the long train ride, and because DaLea and I really wanted for the train trip to be part of the adventure (in addition to the fact that we could take our bikes on the train), Martha and Ed drove up to Pennsylvania in their camper and met us at the beginning of the trail on Tuesday morning, July 15, in the town of Connellsville.

To begin, I want to record for the future some of the details of our train ride. (In terms of time, we were on the train as long as we were on the bike trail.) The only Amtrak that goes from Atlanta to Washington, DC, and then on to Connellsville, PA, leaves at 11:29 at night. We thought we could live with that—Martha and I and Kay Shelnutt had done it years ago when we did our New England excursion—and the time to arrive in Connellsville was 10 pm the next day (reasonable) with a mid-day two-hour layover at Union Station in DC. The problem was that during the afternoon we received word of a delay on the Amtrak coming from New Orleans, which meant a delay in arriving and leaving Atlanta. Just in case the train made up time, Barry and Ron took us to the Amtrak Station downtown around 11 p.m. where we sat after they left us for another 2.5 hours because it was still delayed.

Dreaming of Rainbows on the Trail During Train Delays

Around 1:30 a.m. we were told we could get ready to board the train, first taking the elevator down to train level and then walking the bikes to the last car on the train, the baggage car, where someone was supposed to meet us and load our bikes and then we could take our panniers and board the train ourselves. We waited and waited and were getting nervous because everyone else had boarded, but no one had come to load our bikes. Finally, an Amtrak worker on another car called someone for us to remind them that we were there waiting, and eventually another worker did come out our way to load our bikes and then help us find the car where we were supposed to sit. Fortunately, that car was not full, so we were able to each sit in our own two seats and sprawl out for a little sleep. In Charlotte, NC, more people got on the train and Dalea had to have someone sitting next to her for much of the rest of the trip. We each got a little sleep—it was quite cold, but she had brought along a lightweight blanket and pillow, so she was a bit better off than I was. But we made it.

We eventually arrived in DC about twenty minutes before the next train was to take off. A nice worker named Leonard helped calm our anxiety about getting our bikes off the train and getting onto the next train in the short amount of time that we had. We just followed him through the train station, trusting, because we didn’t know where to go. The new problem was that we had to go to the ticket counter and check in our bikes before we could go to the platform and board the train. By 4:07 p.m., though, we had made it. Our bikes were loaded again at the last minute and we were led onto a nicer car than we had before, could sit together, and the car was not crowded, so we were on our way to Connellsville. The scenery was nice and the ride wasn’t bad, except that another delay on this stretch of our trip caused us to arrive in Connellsville two hours later than planned. And this was an experience of its own:

It was midnight when we got off the train at the small, rural station in Connellsville, Pennsylvania. We had our bicycles and pannier bags ready to leave for the Comfort Inn, but we didn’t see anyone else at the “station” except a man who was complaining because his bike had not been unloaded, like ours were, and we had no idea how to get to the Comfort Inn from where we deboarded the train. We were looking at the GPS on our phone when out of nowhere a fairly well-dressed man appeared at our side and asked where we were going and if we knew that the Crawford Road bridge across the Youghiogheny River was down, which was where the GPS was trying to lead us. He proceeded to give us clear directions—and repeated them twice—as to where to walk for the next 20 minutes to get to the Comfort Inn. Then he said he would be right there for a few more minutes if we needed his help. We thanked him and started walking. As we walked up the hill where he told us to start, we looked back to see him sitting on a bench by himself near the train tracks. We could see absolutely no reason for him to be there, as the next train wasn’t scheduled until the next morning. The more we thought about it, the more we decided that Heavenly Father was looking out for us and had sent this person to give us these directions. Without him, we would have been wandering with our bikes for a lot longer than we wanted to be walking or riding around in the dark. Whether he was a real mortal or a heavenly angel is still a question in our minds, because he was such a blessing to us to be there right when we needed guidance. Indeed, we believe the Lord watches out for us.

So to get back to the bike ride—we checked in at the motel, stored our bicycles in a conference room and were able to get a decent night’s sleep. At breakfast in the motel we met another couple—Mark and Gabby–doing the same bike ride and actually staying in all the same lodgings as us, but we didn’t make any effort to ride together. We did see them at each lodging stop and had breakfast together the other mornings. They were nice people from Morgantown, West Virginia, and were riding the C&O Canal trail to DC for another 180 miles. More power to them.

As planned, Martha and Ed came to the Comfort Inn about 9 a.m. where we gave Ed our panniers (a brilliant idea that DaLea had on the train trip up, instead of carrying them on our bikes the whole way) and the three of us took off for the trail right near the motel and Ed left us for the day. The ride was mostly along the Youghiogheny River, was hard packed gravel easy enough to ride, but slightly uphill. It was hot, but we were under the shade of hardwoods for most of the trail that day, so it wasn’t as hot as it could have been.

Restored Ohiopyle Train Station on the GAP

Unfortunately, Martha had been hiking in 90 degree weather the previous two days in Kentucky on the way to Pennsylvania and was beginning to suffer from heat exhaustion, so we stopped in Ohiopyle for a cold drink and then carried on. By the time we stopped for lunch at Outflow Soft Freeze in Confluence, she was about ready to give it up for the day. She called Ed to come get her, but after getting lunch and cooling off, she decided she could make the rest of the trip. DaLea and I shared a delicious chicken wrap, and we each had a big soft serve ice cream cone that hit the spot. We saw white water rafters on the river as we rode along and a couple of deer, but otherwise, the scenery was pretty much the same–trail and surrounding hardwoods. We had ridden 27 miles before lunch and rode another almost 18 miles after lunch, going through one tunnel on the way.

At Rockwood, Ed met us in the Masonic parking lot across from our B&B, the Rockwood Trail House, and they left. The rain came as soon as they left, so after waiting a bit and settling into the Trail House, we walked across the street to the Masonic Lodge and bought two meatball subs, chips, and water and carried it back to the Trail House where it wasn’t smoke filled and ate with Mark and Gabby. That was the only restaurant open that night, and it was raining. Then we went to bed around 9:30 sort of tired.

The next morning was a slight drizzle, with more rain expected during the day, so Martha and Ed came and picked us up and drove us to Garrett, PA, skipping about 6 miles of bike riding, in hopes of beating the anticipated rain on the rest of the trip. The plan worked for a while, at least until Meyersdale, maybe about 10 miles along. We stopped for a potty break at the Meyersdale Station and looked briefly around their interesting museum and then started out. The rain was just starting, so we donned our rain jackets and ponchos and rode in the rain. It lasted about 20 minutes, maybe 3 miles, but was enough to fairly well soak us.

When it stopped, we dried off a little from the rain and continued riding to Frostburg, Maryland, getting there around 2 pm. That was an interesting part of the ride: During that stretch, we rode across the long Salisbury Viaduct, the long Keystone Viaduct (great concrete bridges over roads, water, and railroad tracks), and continued the slight uphill climb to the Eastern Continental Divide, where we stopped and felt good about our efforts. It was pretty much downhill from then on. We rode through the almost mile long Big Savage Tunnel (had to use our bike lights because it was very dark) and passed the Mason Dixon Line on the way to the Borden Tunnel, which was shorter but we still had to use our bike lights. Martha’s chain came off just before this tunnel, but like a pro, she flipped her bike over and reattached the chain.

Mountain City Coffee House & Creamery, Frostburg

When we got to Frostburg, we discovered that to get to the town there was quite an uphill climb on our bikes. Fortunately, Martha had arrived there ahead of us (DaLea always waited for me to catch up) and had had a friendly conversation with a gentleman who was waiting on his wife and offered to drive us up to Frostburg for lunch. We gladly took him up on the offer, locking our bikes, and having a delicious lunch (and ice cream) at the Mountain City Coffee House & Creamery. Then we walked back down the hill to our bikes and took off again. We went through one more tunnel (Brush Tunnel) and enjoyed the downhill excursion into Cumberland. DaLea and I checked into the Ramada Inn and then Martha and Ed picked us up (Ed had moved their camper that day to a new nearby campground) and took us to the Bel Air Pickleball Courts, where we played pickleball for an hour. Fun way to end the day! Martha and Ed are great at the game and were trying to help DaLea and me learn the tricks.

Martha, DaLea, and Joyce, Garrett Trailhead, Day 2

After Martha and Ed dropped us off at the Ramada, we set out to get dinner and to find the shortest route to the train station for the next morning. Actually, there were two train stations, and we were glad we did this discovery process because the Amtrak station was not at all in the same direction as the other station. Ours was right across the tracks, but to get there we had to walk a stretch to where we could cross and then back to the station. So for lack of desire to keep walking, we just went to the McDonald’s close by and had a sandwich and a smoothie. DaLea bought her a sweatshirt for the train trip back at the nearby Rose’s store. Then back to the Ramada and packed to leave early in the morning and went to bed.

At breakfast the next morning, we received the text that our train was again delayed by a couple of hours. Full of patience, we slowed down our anxiety, went back to Rose’s where Joyce bought a shawl/blanket for the train trip back, and walked to Chick Fil-A where we got a to-go meal for our lunch on the train (DaLea treated me for my birthday). Then with our panniers on our bikes, we checked out of the motel and walked back to the Amtrak station and waited for about an hour for our train to arrive.

We left Cumberland around 11 and arrived at Union Station in DC around 3 p.m. The trip over was scenic and nice. We were able to sit together and relax, feeling good that we had done the bike ride. At the station, our bikes were unloaded as expected, so we went to the counter and checked the bikes in for the next leg of the trip to Atlanta, located the luggage storage area, paid the guy $10 and stored our bikes and panniers for the next three hours. We walked around the train station, took our pictures outside with the Capitol and Washington Monument in the background and texted my son Henry where we were. He was picking up Olivia and Owen from daycare and bringing them to the train station. That was fun because I got to hold Owen (8 months) and walk and talk to Olivia (3 years 5 months) and walk around the train station together for a while. It was good to see them all again. Daneille was at work for the night, so Henry was fine with the diversion and bringing them to the train station. We got our bikes out of storage and they walked us to the line where we waited to board. They left and we were able to go ahead of the crowd and walk our bikes down to the baggage car. Their delay in coming to meet us at the baggage car was par for course, and this delay caused us not to be able to sit together for the train trip home. The train pulled out of DC pretty much on time at 6:45, and we arrived in Atlanta about 8:30 the next morning. We each had a seat mate that we didn’t know, which was the worst part, but we each got a little sleep on the way back. This time we were on the front car, though, and so could hear the train horn blowing most of the night as it went across multiple train/road intersections. Ron picked us up at the Amtrak Station in Atlanta and took us home, It was a good trip: the scenery on the bike ride was beautiful, no need for any first aid, no flat tires, and good conversation. The train trip was an adventure but memorable. I am glad we did it this way instead of driving our own vehicles.

Great Allegheny Passage/C & O Towpath, October 2011

Joyce on GAP Trail — Joyce Riding on GAP Trail

Youghioheny River along GAP Trail — Joyce Riding on GAP Trail

Great Allegheny Passage, July 2024

GoPro Video (Day 1 & 2, July 2024)

November 23, 2023 by joyceswofford

Eastern Trail, South Portland, Maine, October 2 to 7, 2023

To this date, Martha and I (and DaLea has joined us for the last two trails in Iowa and West Virginia) have ridden all 35 of the Rail-Trail Hall of Fame trails. This trail in Maine is the 36^th inductee. When voting week came in 2022, we inundated the voting with votes for the trail—we are allowed multiple votes, which we took advantage of—because we really wanted to go to Maine, especially eastern Maine and Acadia National Park, for a biking vacation. When the trail won, we began our planning for lodging because places fill up so fast around Acadia National Park. We were fortunate again that Martha was on the ball in locating good places to stay and planning our on-road bike route to see several light houses on Maine’s eastern coastline.

We decided to start the trip by flying to Bangor, Maine, where Martha and Ed met DaLea and me with their truck and camper and drove us all an hour or so to Hadley’s Point Campground in Bar Harbor, just outside Acadia N.P. After Ed and Martha found their campsite and DaLea and I got checked into our convenient, clean, and sparse cabin, we headed over to Acadia for a hike on the South Bubbles and the North Bubbles trails. It was late afternoon but visibility was still good, so that at the two tops we could see other sections of Acadia and had enough time to explore around the big balancing rock at the top of South Bubbles. The two trail total hiking was a little more than two miles out and back, moderately difficult but quite do-able. It was a great way to introduce us to Acadia!

After the hike we went to C-Ray Lobster across from Hadley’s Point Campground for a delicious dinner of lobster roll and lobster panini sandwiches along with blueberry pie for dessert. Good choices. Back at the cabin, we surveyed the sparseness that I mentioned earlier: we knew we were supposed to bring our own sleeping bags and pillows and wash towels, so that didn’t surprise us. What we didn’t know was that for three quarters you put in the coin collector, you get seven minutes of hot water. We learned to take time efficient showers! Another sparsity was lack of any table or chairs or anywhere to put our suitcases, so if we wanted to sit down in the cabin, we had to sit on our beds. But we will say that it was economically and geographically convenient for our main purpose of seeing the national park, so we are not complaining.

October 3:

On Tuesday morning we arose early—early for me anyway—and had a quick breakfast sitting on our beds in our cabin—food we had brought from home, except for the milk, which Martha kept in her camper frig and drove it over to us each morning. Ed picked us up at 7:30 to drive into Acadia to the Ocean Path Trail, which we hiked on and enjoyed the coastline view. It was just under two miles and an easy walk. We ended up at Thunder Hole, a narrow place on the coast where the ocean makes a roaring/clapping sound as the tide enters the hole and hits the land and then flows back out. At that spot, we took the island shuttle back to the car and then drove to the top of Cadillac Mountain for a neat view of Bar Harbor and surrounding area. Ed drove back down, while Martha and DaLea and I walked down the North Ridge Trail, a little over two miles. It was a bit steep and rocky but pretty scenery all the way down. I don’t think I would want to walk up the trail, so we were fortunate that Ed was willing to pick us up at the bottom. He hiked a little way up and met us on the trail, so he got to do a little hiking also.

DaLea & Martha Biking on Carriage Rd, Eagle’s Lake

From there Ed drove us—thank goodness for Ed—to the Eagle’s Lake parking lot where we unloaded our bikes and began our 13-mile bike ride on the unpaved and a bit hilly Carriage Trail around Eagle’s Lake. Most people we saw had rented electric bikes, so we have to pat ourselves on the back for our stamina in doing the bike ride on a regular bike using our own leg muscles and breathing capacity. We stopped for our sack lunch at Bubble Pond near the beginning of the ride. On this trail, we picked up Aunt Betty’s Pond Loop, which was where most of the hills were. The end of the Carriage Trail took us back to Jordan Pond House, where we intended to buy one of their popovers with ice cream, but they were sold out, so I settled for a blueberry popsicle instead. We sat on the great lawn by the Jordan Pond House and enjoyed the view of the people and mountains. (We could see where we were at the North Bubble trail top.)

After our treats, we walked the Jordan Stream Path, about 1.5 miles, in the woods and enjoyed the scenery and the stone bridge that crosses the path. It was a full day of being outdoors! Great time! Back at Hadley’s Point, Ed grilled us hamburgers and hotdogs, and we enjoyed dinner in their mosquito tented picnic table outside their camper. (I might add here that today we deviated a little from our planned itinerary—substituted the Bar Island trail for the hike down Cadillac Mountain–and it all worked out well.

October 4:

Wednesday morning awake time was even earlier than Tuesday, but it was well worth it. We arrived at Ikes Point on Echo Lake by 7:30 am, ready to go kayaking in the early morning, hoping to see some Loons. It was a wonderful experience out on the calm waters, and we did see some Loons at one end of the lake and some neat cliffs at the other end of the lake. We stayed out about an hour, nice and peaceful. After Martha and Ed loaded the kayaks—once again thank goodness for Ed—he drove us to the Beech Mountain Trailhead on a different side of Mount Desert island from Bar Harbor, close to Echo Lake.

DaLea, Martha and Joyce on Beech Cliff Loop Trail

All four of us then hiked the Beech Cliff Loop Trail and the Beech Mountain Loop Trail, for a total of about two miles but with some moderate uphill climbing. ( I have to add how lucky we were before we started hiking to drive to the wrong place to park because at the wrong place we arrived at a large recreational facility for youth groups that had the cleanest, nicest restrooms—an important factor at our ages—and the person in charge courteously let us use the facilities. Compare this to the parking lot outhouses, and you’ll understand my comment.) From the tops of these hikes we had great views of the surrounding valleys. The hikes were not real steep but very rocky and therefore quite strenuous because we had to keep our eyes on the trail just ahead of us so we would know where to take our next step on the accumulation of rocks. After the hikes we drove to Bass Harbor, Maine, where we had some tasty claim chowder soup for lunch at Thurston for Lobster.

After lunch Ed drove us all to the Bass Harbor Lighthouse. It was so crowded on the access road, though, that poor Ed just had to stay in the truck with the traffic while the three of us walked to the lighthouse to see it and then walked back, and he did a U turn and gave up trying to see it for himself. A small parking area at the lighthouse is the reason for the traffic jam. On the way back to Bar Harbor, we stopped at a roadside place for a great ice cream cone. Because of time shortage, we skipped the Hadlock Brook Loop bike ride on our itinerary, but that was okay. We drove back to Acadia thinking we might go into the visitor’s Center, but it was way too crowded, so we went on to find a parking place for our Sunset Cruise with Acadian Boat Tours. That went from 4 to 6 pm and was quite interesting. The fog made it somewhat difficult to see, especially on the return part, but we saw several of the nearby islands and heard some good history from our tour guide. I’m glad we did that. After the cruise we had dinner in Bar Harbor at McKay’s Public House. Comment here is that even though we were not there in the “tourist season,” there were plenty!!! of tourists visiting Bar Harbor in early October. My memory of this says “don’t go to Acadia in the summertime” unless you want to be with the crowds everywhere. Parking was a problem even for us in October. I can imagine the problem in the summer!

October 5:

DaLea, Martha & Joyce, Portland Lighthouse

Thursday morning. Time to check out of Hadley’s Point Campground and move on to the real purpose for the trip—to ride our bikes on the Eastern Trail. After a three-hour ride to South Portland to the Portland Head Lighthouse, we unloaded our bikes, had a picnic lunch, walked around the lighthouse area, and then left Ed as we took off for the Spring Point Lighthouse. We had to deviate from our planned bike route today and Friday, since rain was expected on Saturday, so we moved the rides from Saturday into Thursday’s and Friday’s rides. This means that I don’t have my itinerary as a reference for how far our rides were this day, so I’ll have to guess. And I don’t have my odometer with me to refer to either. Between the starting point and the first lighthouse, which was neat because it was way out on a huge rock walkway, was probably 8 miles.

We were on city streets, not on any trail, that Martha had mapped out with an app on her phone, following part of the pathway of the Maine Lighthouse Ride, which had been the week before and about one hundred miles long. The streets weren’t really crowded, though, so it was okay. Leaving the Spring Point Lighthouse, we headed for the Bug Light Lighthouse, a neat smaller white lighthouse with a black top, located also in South Portland, Maine, also known as Portland Breakwater Light, with intricate architecture resembling Greek Revival architecture. It was a cute little lighthouse, and its location is the start of the South Portland Greenbelt Pathway, which leads into the Eastern Trail.

So that’s where our official start of the Eastern Trail occurred. It was about 3 or 4 in the afternoon, and we rode about seventeen miles, about half of it on the no-motorized traffic Greenbelt and the other half on regular roads, which was a little hectic at times due to traffic. Martha’s app guided us well. On the way we went through the Scarborough Marsh—the state’s largest salt marsh conservation area, which was interesting geography and saw a few birds.

Joyce & DaLea, Scarborough Marsh, Eastern Trail

According to the trail information, we rode along a seven-mile stretch of sandy beach, but I honestly don’t remember any beach along the trail—only on Friday when we left the trail to ride to the Goat Island Lighthouse. So maybe we saw it, and maybe we didn’t. If we did, it must not have been very spectacular to me. We finished this day’s ride at the Paradise Park Campground, where Ed had already set up their camper and checked DaLea and me into our cabin. This cabin was like a “honeymoon suite” compared to the other one—we had separate bedroom, a shower with free hot water, a refrigerator, a couch, a table and chairs, and a smart TV! After settling in, we all drove to a nearby pizza place Martha found on Yelp and then to an ice cream place for dessert. Great choices for food.

October 6:

Friday morning, and our last day of bike riding. Note that the Eastern trail is on the site of the former Eastern Railroad connecting Boston to Maine (1840’s). Only about 24 miles of off-road trail are completed of the planned 65 miles, which is supposed to extend down to the New Hampshire border. When completed, it will be part of the 3,000 mile East Coast Greenway, which will connect trails from Maine to Florida, and part of the New England Rail-Trail Network, which aims to unite the regions six states of Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. The three of us agreed that if we are still around and able to, taking this trail in ten years would be another welcoming experience. For now, though, we are content to do the 24 miles completed.

Ed dropped us off near where we finished the trail yesterday, and we rode the trail for another seven or eight miles until we had to leave the trail a couple of miles early because we wanted to head for Kennebunkport, Maine, in order to continue our lighthouse excursion. We were on public roads from them on, following Martha’s app, and had some hills to take on, but we did it! I can’t go as fast as them, and they told me I needed to wear something brighter so that they can always spot me in their rear view mirrors. Nice to be looked after. We went for about ten miles through the coastal towns and had great views of the Maine east coast. Eventually, we reached our goal for lunch—the Cape Pier Chowder House near the Goat Lighthouse, which due to fog was unfortunately not very visible, but the atmosphere in the area was memorable. And thank goodness they had a public restroom.

Leaving there, still on public roads, we headed for the East Point Sanctuary, approximately another ten miles, where we were taking a little walk to try to see another lighthouse in the fog and then meeting Ed. At one point along the way, we came to an old cemetery and stopped to take photos of the gravestones for Dalea’s latest adventure in photographing and recording for Billiongraves.com. When we met Ed, we loaded our bikes on the truck one last time and headed back to Paradise Point Campground. We all agreed to go back to the same pizza place for dinner and to the same ice cream place for our desserts. Too bad I can’t remember the names of either, but they were both good enough to visit twice! (Note from Martha: The pizza place was Pizza by Alex and the ice cream place was Fielder’s Choice).

October 7:

As predicted, when we woke up, it was raining, or at least sprinkling, at Paradise Park Campground. We packed our suitcases, rolled up our sleeping bag and pillow, and gave it all to Ed and Martha to pack for the trip home today. We had decided to sleep in a little, just a little, and spend our time this morning going to the L.L. Bean store in Freeport, Maine, on the way to the airport. In my perspective, it was just like another large sporting goods store. I looked at some other hiking shoes but didn’t find anything that I liked that fit, so I didn’t buy anything except our lunch from one of the many food trucks in the parking lot. It was fun, though. Then at the airport, DaLea and I passed the waiting time putting together a jigsaw puzzle of Maine that was just half worked on in the airport waiting area. That was different and fun. Our flight home was uneventful, and Ron and Johnny picked me up and Barry picked Dalea up, and we arrived home safely after another great adventure together. I’m so glad I asked DaLea to come to Iowa with us last year. She’s a wonderful roommate and cycling companion, and she and Martha get along well. We have a good threesome.

Now I’m writing this a month later while I’m in DC for the arrival of our new little grandson Owen Jackson Swofford. It’s been a busy month since the bike trip, especially because Ron and I went to Salt Lake City for the last week in October. I feel like I’m gone a lot this fall. And it isn’t over—for two weeks I’ll be back here in DC to help take care of Olivia and Trevor and hold Owen, and Ron and Johnny will be coming up also for a few days. Henry and Daneille are good to have us up here so often. We like coming.

Note from Martha: Joyce did such a good job documenting our journey to the Eastern Trail that I decided not to post a duplicate entry. Instead, I added the photos and videos to enhance her post.

May 28, 2023 by joyceswofford

Greenbrier River Trail, May 8 to 13, 2023

Martha, Dalea, & Joyce, Greenbrier Trailhead

I rode this trail with two friends—Martha Wicker and Dalea Snell. Wonderful companions on the trip! Logistics summary: Dalea and I drove to our place in western North Carolina and Martha and Ed stayed at Bear Den Camp Ground on the Blue Ridge Parkway. They picked us up on Tuesday morning at the bottom of Swofford Road to drive us to West Virginia. We left my truck at the Brownie house at the end of Swofford Road. They brought us back there on Friday evening, and on Saturday Dalea and I drove back to Atlanta. Interesting fact–Bear Den Campground is actually at the top of the mountain behind our house, but it takes 30 minutes to drive there on the state roads and the parkway.

The Greenbrier River Trail is definitely one of my favorite trails of all the Hall-of-Fame rails to trails, primarily because of the scenery—the many wild flowers along the trail and the presence of the Greenbrier River almost constantly at our side. Of course, the flowers could be because of the time of year we rode the trail, but I would guess that there are several flowers no matter the season. The trail was hard packed crushed gravel amidst the dirt but gave no problems with balancing or thorns in the trail debris. The one part that is paved on each side of Marlinton was nice, except that either because of the pavement or because of its proximity to the town, broken glass was strewn on the trail and almost unavoidable to miss.

Unfortunately, I picked up some of the glass and ended up with a flat tire about a mile out of town, going south. A group of riders were not far behind us, and they graciously helped me change the tire because I was having so much difficulty getting the tube out of the new tire. None others picked up the glass, but the riders in the group knew immediately where I had picked up the glass because we all saw it when we came upon it. They reported it to someone in Marlinton, so hopefully it will get cleaned up before anyone else gets a flat. The two young men who helped me were indeed a blessing to have come along just at the right time and being willing to delay their ride and help me. That’s what I like about biking—good people!

Other than the glass, the trail was well kept and deserves the Hall-of-Fame recognition. Fallen trees had been removed from the trail, outhouses with toilet paper and hand sanitizer were available along the trail, picnic tables and benches could be found along the trail, the width of the trail is suitable for riding side by side or passing other riders coming in the opposite direction, mile markers consistently told us where we were, water pumps were available near the two or three campsites we saw, tool stands were located in Marlinton and seems like one other place along the trail. And nature provided us with pleasantries as we rode—a flaming orange azalea and other pink azaleas could be seen in places, all the purple, pink, white, and yellow wildflowers (I can’t remember all their names—Martha and Dalea know them; I just enjoy them) and their butterflies accented the trail, frequent creek crossings and little waterfalls made good photo stops. Little chipmunks could be occasionally seen, birds could be heard especially in the morning hours, and the greatest treat was the bear cub who crossed the trail in front of us twice, ran along in front of us for a while and then ran in the nearby field trying to escape from our presence. Too fast for a photo, but Martha was able to turn on her video camera and get a glimpse of him running away.

The schedule we settled on was perfect: the first day we rode about 37 miles, the second day about 31 miles, and the third day about 11 miles—79 miles in all, and all a little bit downhill. Nice elevation change. We started in Cass, rode to Watoga State Park (right on the trail!) where Ed and Martha camped in their RV camper and Dalea and I stayed in a park cabin, and then the next day continued south from the Park to the Anthony Trail Access. On the third day we started at the Anthony Trail Access and rode to the finish line in North Caldwell. We have to admit that we slipped past the ”do not enter” part of the trail at the end because we had talked to a couple that day who told us that the trail was completed following the required work done after the flooding and who had been told by one of the workers that they could skip the detour and take the trail out of North Caldwell to the Hopper Trail Access—the northern point where we were supposed to have taken the detour south to North Caldwell. Once we arrived at the Hopper Trail Access and saw the steep hill that led to the detour, we unanimously voted to slip around the barrier and stay on the trail. It will be good when the trail is open all the way; we actually couldn’t see any reason for the trail not to be open on the day we took it.

Over the course of the entire trail, we got to ride through two tunnels, one on the first day and one on the second day. They were not long, but it’s always fun to have to pause to turn on the head or bike lights, remember to remove our sunglasses, and experience the darkness of the tunnel. Ed, Martha’s husband, patiently and graciously transported us and our bikes to and from the starting points. We told him he was indispensable, and we meant it!

Along with the riding, we had some other planned activities. We took a hike at the end of the first day on the Arrowhead Trail up to the Anne Bailey lookout tower at the top of the mountain and were treated to a wonderful view of the Greenbrier River valley. It was a rather steep hike—call it moderately strenuous—but it was well worth the hike. Only about two miles round trip. It was just that after riding 37 miles we were a little tired. We went back to their camper and had a delicious cookout that Ed had prepared for us. On the second day of riding we stopped shortly after lunch and rode with Ed over to the Greenbrier Resort in White Sulphur Springs where we walked around on their lovely grounds and then took the Bunker Tour to learn about the construction of the 1962-1992 location of Congress’ secret escape from a possible nuclear war. It was well worth the trip! The location of the Bunkers was revealed through a leak to the Washington Post in 1992 in an article entitled “The Last Resort” if any reader wants to read about it.

We used Martha’s very detailed, well-prepared itinerary for our trip, and Dalea and I were most grateful for the work she put into it. She built in ice-cream breaks on all days, had us stopping at the New River Gorge Bridge in West Virginia on the way up and New River State Park on the way back where we had two different spectacular views of the New River valley and bridge. One of the great side trip events on the way up on Tuesday was our hour-long kayaking excursion at Summersville Dam. She and Ed had brought along their three kayaks, paddles, and life vests for a wonderful experience out on the lake. We were able to kayak over to a waterfall and even kayak behind the waterfall. It was great! Along the trail, she picked out picnic lunch places next to waterfalls on the trail, zeroed in on Watoga State Park for a scenic lodging place, allowed us plenty of time to leisurely ride the trail and stop for photos, and yet made sure we were able to do all that we wanted to do in addition to the riding. On the first day she had a 45 minute “free time” allowance at the end of the day, supposedly before our 2 mile “moderately” strenuous hike. When I asked on the drive up why she had done that, she said we’d need it to get ready for the hike. Either coincidentally or because I was the one who questioned the need for “free time,” I was the one who got the flat tire and who used up the 45 minutes changing my tire. Consequences come when we doubt her wisdom in creating our itinerary!

Martha and I have ridden all of the Hall-of-Fame rails to trails, and in thinking about them all, I get nostalgic thinking of the many neat trails that I will ride again if opportunities appear, but I must still say that this is one of my favorite because of the isolated and beautiful scenery. In my mind, West Virginia is a hidden gem. Ron and I and Ed and Martha rode from Cass to Marlinton back in 2006 when we first started riding the Hall of Fame trails, and I was eager to do those same miles again plus the rest of the trail this year and to take my friend Dalea on this most enjoyable adventure.

Greenbrier River Trail Photos

May 21, 2023 by Martha Wicker

Greenbrier River Trail, WV (May 10-12, 2023)

Joyce & Martha, Sharp's Tunnel, 2006 — Joyce & Martha @ Sharp’s Tunnel, 2006

In 2006, just after I retired, Joyce and I biked the upper section of the Greenbrier River Trail from Cass to Marlinton with our husbands. I don’t recall a lot about the trail except Sharp’s Tunnel and my husband struggling to finish the last 10 miles due to a rear tire that was almost flat. We were novice bikers at that time and carried no tools or an air pump for emergencies. A lot has changed in 17 years when we first biked the Greenbrier River Trail – we now carry tools, extra food and water, head lamps for tunnels, rain jackets, etc. Since we never got to ride the lower portion of the trail, we decided to revisit it this spring and bike the entire 77.4 mile trail from Cass to North Caldwell.

On May 8th, my husband and I drove our camper trailer to West Virginia, stopping the first night at the Bear Den Campground on the Blue Ridge Parkway. We picked up Joyce and one of our new biking friends, Dalea, the next morning at Joyce’s farmhouse near Linville Falls, NC. Since there was no place to turn the camper around on the road leading to Joyce’s farmhouse, we arranged to meet them at a small church parking lot on Hwy 221. Originally, they had planned to drive down and drop off their luggage and gear, take Joyce’s truck back up to the farmhouse and then bike down to our camper. However, it was raining, so we had to unhitch the camper and Ed followed Joyce back up to her farmhouse where she left her truck, and then rode with Ed back down to the camper. After rehitching the camper, we were on our way about 8:30 AM.

On our drive to Watoga State Park in West Virginia, we stopped in Oak Hill to place flowers on my mother’s grave, and then we ate a picnic lunch at the New River Gorge National Park Visitor Center. After lunch, we walked to the overlook and I recalled the many times that we have visited the bridge, including a year that one of the base jumpers fell to his death when his parachute didn’t open. Bridge Day is an annual event in the fall when they close the northbound lanes to allow foot traffic and base jumpers to take their plunge to the New River below.

Martha Paddling to Waterfall in Pirate’s Cove

From the New River Gorge, we drove north about 30 minutes to the Salmon Run Boat Ramp on Summersville Lake where we put in our kayaks and paddled to Pirate’s Cove. I have been paddling for about 15 years, but Joyce and Dalea are new to the sport. It’s an easy paddle to the cove, and the reward of the waterfall makes it a worthwhile journey. After reaching the cove, we took turns paddling behind the waterfall while admiring the surrounding sandstone cliffs. We paddled back to the boat ramp and loaded our kayaks, and then drove east through the Monongahela Forest toward Watoga State Park, passing the Falls of Hill Creek and Cranberry Glades. Realizing that it was getting late in the day, we decided not to stop. After arriving at our campsite about 6:30, we unhitched our camper, and then drove Joyce & Dalea to the cabin they had reserved in the park. Returning to our campsite, which was located on the Greenbrier River, we set up camp and cooked penne pasta in the instant pot. Although we had visited Watoga SP several times, we had never stayed overnight. The campground and cabins are located in one of the most scenic spots along the Greenbrier River Trail, making it a logical home base for our bike ride.

Martha, Dalea, and Joyce @ Cass Trailhead

The next morning, we ate an early breakfast and drove our pickup truck, loaded with our bikes and gear, over to pick up Joyce & Dalea at their cabin. We drove north about an hour to Cass, which is the northern terminus of the trail. Realizing that the general store was open, we decided to use their restrooms and to shop for souvenirs since we would not be returning to Cass. Ed helped us unload and check the air in our tires as we placed our panniers and gear on our bikes. He chose not to ride the trail this time but to be our shuttle driver, which we appreciated enormously. At about 10 AM, we embarked on our 35-mile ride south to Seebert where we could bike across a bridge back to Watoga SP.

It was a cool, blue sky day as we pedaled along the Greenbrier River. We stopped several times to photograph scenic spots along the trail, and we passed a family group that we had met earlier in Cass. They had stopped for a snack at one of the many camping sites on the trail. Each trailside camping area consists of a picnic table, tent area, fire ring, covered shelter, restroom, and most have a water pump. We were very impressed by these convenient amenities, which are placed about every 10 miles on the trail. After using the restroom facilities at the campsite and chatting with the other bikers, we headed south toward the Big Run trailside shelter where we ate a picnic lunch. There was a beautiful waterfall adjacent to the trail and a wooden bridge crossing the small branch.

Our next stop along the trail was the Sharp Tunnel @ MM 65.7. The tunnel was built for the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway; it was completed in 1900 and is 511 feet long. Before entering the tunnel, we put on our headlamps and headlights because the tunnel curves in the middle, making it quite dark inside. When I brought my children here over 30 years ago, we were forced to turn around at the tunnel because we didn’t have any lights; this time, we were prepared! We pedaled through the tunnel and across the 229′ bridge on the south side.

Along this stretch of the trail, we passed another trailside camping area, benches along the river, and wildflowers. Although we smelled honeysuckle, I never caught a glimpse of it; however, we did spot some flowering apple trees adjacent to the trail. As we approached Marlinton, my husband met us on the outskirts to inform us about the change in location of the Dirtbean Cafe where we planned to stop for ice cream. Following his instructions, we biked another mile south on the trail, passing the only remaining water tank on the trail. When we reached the restored Marlinton Depot, we turned right into the town and met Ed at the Dirtbean Cafe. Although it was near closing time for them and their service was slow, the ice cream, milkshakes, and smoothies we ordered were quite refreshing – they even have a bike shop upstairs in case you need a repair or want to browse their selection of bikes.

We resumed riding on the trail after our sweet treat and encountered several broken glass bottles across the trail about a mile south of Marlinton. Unfortunately, Joyce got a flat rear tire from the glass. We tried calling my husband, but he was already out of cell service range. After weighing our options, we decided to change the tire. Dalea called her husband and we were able to unhook the brakes and chain to remove the wheel. However, we could not get the tire off the rim. Joyce’s tires were fairly new and very stiff making it difficult to get a grip even with the proper tools. Luckily, the family of bikes who we had met earlier had stopped for lunch in Marlinton and were just catching up to us. They offered to help, and it took all of them to help Joyce change the tube and reseat the tire on her bike. While waiting for them to repair her bike, I called the Greenbrier River Trail Office to report the glass on the trail, and I called Watoga State Park to ask them to deliver a message to my husband at our campsite so he would not worry that we were going to be late.

We finished riding the 10 miles from Marlinton to Seebert and crossed the bridge over the Greenbrier River leading to Watoga SP. From the bridge, it was a little more than a mile to our campsite. We met Ed driving toward us in his truck, explained what had happened and pedaled on to our campsite. After getting a cold drink and resting for about 30 minutes, we decided to hike the 1.6 mile Arrowhead Trail up to an old fire tower overlooking the Greenbrier Valley. The trail was steeper than anticipated, and Dalea felt a charley horse coming on in her leg so she decided to wait for us at the halfway viewpoint. Joyce and I trekked on up the steep hill and were pleasantly surprised by the beautiful, expansive view at the top. There were benches overlooking the river below, and we sat and rested for a few minutes before scaling the fire tower. The jaunt back down the trail was much quicker and we met Dalea heading down at the base of the lower section of the trail.

We returned to the campsite where Ed had made a fire and started the charcoal in the grill for cooking hamburgers and hot dogs. Joyce & Dalea brought slaw, and we decided not to bother cooking the baked beans that I had brought; I think we were too tired to really care. After a satisfying dinner, we heated marshmallows over the fire for s’mores. This was the perfect ending for our first day on the trail, and the memory of Joyce’s flat tire took a back seat to the abundance of good moments to remember!

The next morning, Ed and I made sausage biscuits for breakfast before driving over to pick up Joyce & Dalea at their cabin. Ed had suggested that he drive us with our bikes to the Seebert trailhead where we finished riding the day before instead of biking from the campground. We started riding about 8 AM, which was earlier than originally planned. Getting a headstart would help us make it to the Greenbrier Resort on time for our 3:30 bunker tour reservations. Biking south, we realized that this portion of the trail did not follow the river as closely as the upper section. As we passed an open field on our left, a medium-sized black bear ran up on the trail ahead of me. He started running down the trail as I repeatedly rang my bike bell and yelled, “Bear, bear!” I tried to capture him on my GoPro, but he was pretty far away by the time I thought to press the record button. He crossed over ahead of me and ran up the hill on our right. A few minutes later, we saw him cross back over the trail and into the field. I estimated that he was running about 20 mph toward the river. That was an exhilarating memory that we won’t soon forget!

We noticed flaming azaleas and many more wildflowers along this portion of the trail and made several quick stops to photograph them. After riding about two hours, we approached the Droop Mountain Tunnel, which is 402 feet in length. We turned on our headlamps and Dalea’s bright headlamp and proceeded through the tunnel. This tunnel is a little shorter in length than Sharp’s tunnel, but it is still very dark inside. After the tunnel, we pedaled past a private walking bridge across the river at MM 26, and we stopped for a picnic lunch at a trailside campsite @ MM 20.5 below Spring Creek. After our lunch, we rode about six more miles to the Anthony traihead where Ed met us in his truck. We loaded the bikes and drove to the Greenbrier Resort, which was about 30 minutes south.

Prior to our trip, when I made reservations for the bunker tour, the concierge told me that our bike clothes would not be appropriate attire for the Greenbrier Resort. So, we decided to park across the street at the Amtrak Station and to change clothes in the Christmas Shop/Train Station. After changing clothes, we took a minibus shuttle over to the main entrance of the resort. Ed and I had stayed at the Greenbrier a few years ago but had not taken the bunker tour. Since we had about an hour before the tour, we decided to get ice cream at Drapers and to take a self-guided walking tour of the resort. The ice cream was delicious; I had one scoop of coffee and one scoop of moose tracks. After the ice cream, we browsed the shops and walked outside past the chapel to the President’s Cottage. Realizing that our tour was about to start, we headed back to the Trellis Lobby to meet the guide.

Our 1 1/2 hour bunker tour was very informative, and we learned how the government built a safe space of the US Congress “in plain sight” underneath a new wing of the Greenbrier during the Cold War. Fortunately, the bunker was never needed and its location was later leaked to the press in 1992. Today, part of the space is used for secure data storage for several Fortune 500 companies. During the tour, we got to see the Senate & House temporary chambers, sleeping quarters, and cafeteria. However, we were not able to take photos and instructed to place our phones, purses, cameras, etc, in a locker prior to the tour.

After leaving the Greenbrier, we drove to the Food with Friends restaurant in Lewisburg for dinner. It was delicious! Ed and I had eaten there one other time during one of our trips to Snowshoe, a ski resort near Cass. With enough leftovers for another meal, we drove back to the campground. Since we were leaving with the camper the following morning, I decided to start packing while Ed dropped Joyce & Dalea back at their cabin.

Trail Barricade @ South End of Construction

The next morning, Ed picked up Joyce and Dalea before hitching the camper and driving to the Anthony trailhead where we finished biking the previous day. We started riding about 9:30 AM while Ed drove the camper down to the North Caldwell Trailhead parking lot. Prior to the trip, we learned that the trail had been closed from MM 5.5 at Harper (Hopper) to MM 3.75, but we had heard from a couple riding the trail the previous day that the closed section was completed and that they were allowed to ride on it. When we approached the Harper Trailhead, we noticed the trail closure barricades but also realized that the alternate route was entirely too steep for us to take. Fortunately, there was a narrow opening on the right side of the barricade where we were able to access the trail. The completed 2 mile, slightly uphill portion of the trail was very well constructed with a new restroom, camping area, and water pump. When we rejoined the original trail, we biked less than a mile before reaching the parking lot where Ed was waiting for us with the camper.

Sadly, our trip was almost over! The Greenbrier River Trail is one of my top 3 trails in the country, and I am so glad that we decided to finish riding the whole trail this time, even if was 17 years later. After loading the bikes, we drove west on I-64 toward Beckley and stopped at Grandview, which a New River NP overlook and picnic area. We ate a picnic lunch and walked over to the overlook area where you can see the New River made a horshoe turn below. We resumed our drive back to the Bear Den Campground on the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina. Reaching the campground at dusk, we unhitched the trailer and drove Joyce & Dalea back to Joyce’s farmhouse near Linville Falls. The next day, Ed and I drove back home to Georgia, and I’m already planning our next bike trip to ride the Eastern Trail in Maine in October.

Video Clips from Cass (MM 80.4) to Seebert (MM 45.8)

Video Clips from Seebert (MM 45.8) to North Caldwell (MM 3)

June 7, 2022 by joyceswofford

Midtown Greenway, Minneapolis, Minnesota, May 19

Because the Midtown Greenway trail is only about six miles long, we didn’t want to make a special trip to Minnesota for it, so we decided to combine it with this Iowa trip (it’s been a Hall of Fame trail for a few years now). On Thursday, after completing the Raccoon River Valley Trail, Dalea flew back to Atlanta and I rode with Martha and Ed to Minneapolis. Navigating Minneapolis traffic with the camper behind the truck was a bit difficult, so we decided to let Ed park the truck and camper just one time and we would ride the trail “down and back” instead of just one way. We parked at the Central Mississippi Riverfront Park (taking up two parking spots which Ed had to feed with quarters), unloaded our bikes and took off. We had been concerned about predictions of rain that afternoon, but the closer we got to Minneapolis, the later the predictions came, so we felt pretty good about the timing of our ride.

We rode along the West River Parkway Trail, along the Mississippi River for a spectacular view of the river, for about 3.5 miles and then turned to connect with the Midtown Greenway. That part was a little hilly in spots, but we did it fine. The actual rail-to-trail was flat and easy to ride, going through or near downtown Minneapolis to the “Chain of Lakes” area. It wasn’t actually very scenic except by the lakes, but wasn’t totally ugly either. Its practical use as an urban trail was probably the main reason it earned the Hall of Fame recognition. There was one tool stand located on it, and it was pretty well maintained, but there were no other amenities that we noticed. As we rode along, I recognized the names of some of the streets from graduate school days in 1969 and 1970, and that brought back old memories. I honestly don’t think I would have voted for it to be a Hall of Fame trail; however, since it was, we wanted to ride it to fulfill our goal of riding them all.

At the other end of the trail, I found a public restroom in a restaurant and then we headed back to the Mississippi River to meet Ed. All was going well until we were about two miles into the West River Parkway. We had just commented on how we were fortunately missing the potential rain when it started sprinkling. We were still optimistic and thought that we were close enough that we would make it to the end with only some sprinkles of rain. Oh how wrong we were! In just a matter of minutes, the sprinkles turned to rain and the rain turned to hail. Yes, visible ice pellets were hammering down on us. Other bikes and cars came to a halt (bikers under a bridge, cars wherever they were) to try to wait out the hailstorm. To protect my phone in its little “stand,” I put my hand over it, and boy did those ice pellets hurt my hand! Our helmets provided good protection for our heads, but we were soaking wet, and it was getting colder the longer we stayed under the bridge. After about ten minutes of waiting, the hail let up some, so we started back riding. It was still raining, but nothing like the hail!

Finally, we made it back to the truck. We each put on a dry shirt and I called Bev and Steve Atkinson, my friends from graduate school at the U of Minnesota, to come pick me up, as we had previously arranged. Ed and Martha took off for another campground, and I spend the rest of that day and evening and the next day renewing a long-time friendship. It was a good trip!

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Georgia Pedal Pushers

Riding the Hall of Fame Rails-to-Trails