Nothing makes you appreciate the fact that you are in the South faster than looking around you and seeing cotton fields as far as you can see on either side of the road. To this Minnesotan, it looked like we had received a dusting of snow last night! It is cotton harvest time, which is yet another reason why it is nice to do this trip in the autumn.
The Reelfoot Lake community, near Samburg, is holding its annual arts and crafts show this weekend, which is the biggest show of its type in this region. It is huge! Estimates were that between 40,000 and 50,000 people attended the show on Saturday and a crowd of the same size or bigger was expected today. The perfect weather undoubtedly helped.
Reelfoot Lake is a resort lake in here in western Tennessee that was formed from the series of New Madrid earthquakes in 1811 and 1812. Those were the biggest earthquakes ever recorded in North America. The lake originally had about 40,oo0 acres, but has only about 14,000 acres today, which is about the size of Lake Minnetonka. It is known as a very good fishing lake and Cypress trees grow in the shallow water near parts of its shoreline.
The ride today was on flood plains and on Tennessee's Great River Road, which goes along the top of the levee. So it was all flat terrain today, which was nice for a change! From the elevated vantage point of the levee it was fun to see all kinds of waterfowl.
I did encounter some adversity on the ride today. I had a flat rear tire that I had to fix (the second flat I've had on this trip). But if there was ever a good time to get a flat it was this afternoon - perfect weather conditions, almost no traffic on The Great River Road, and a new tube in my bag. Of greater concern to me is the fact that I am experiencing a little stiffness in my knee. So mind, body and bike were not in perfect synch today. The good news is that I am only about 100 miles outside of Memphis and I plan to take off a day or two there to enjoy the sights (Graceland, Beale St., Sun Records, BB King's Club, etc.) and sounds (blues) of that City.
So all is well with me down here in the South. By the way, if I lost any weight on the first 1,500 miles of this trip I think I am going to put it back on in the next 1,000!
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