Secret Rites and Weather Wrongs - a ride to a Tennessee Cave Degree

[Guidedawg]

I'm afraid this report will be long on non-riding text and short on motorcycle pictures, but if you'd like to hang around and read it, I'll share anyway because it's all about the experience.

As a freemason, I watch other masons receive degrees as they advance, but I have only witnessed the way that we do it in Alabama in Alabama lodges.  Each state does things a little differently and there is a lodge in Tennessee that makes an annual weekend of scheduling masons from different states to demonstrate their degrees, both in the lodge room....

And in a cave!

Yes, a non-commercial cave on private property belonging to the family of a mason in that particular lodge.  Each year since 1972 a team of masons from different states have raised a mason to the degree of master mason (no, it does not include a cape) inside the cave.  This year was not only going to be a group from Mississippi, but the Mississippi Mountain Man Degree Team who do the ceremony while dressed in period appropriate clothing.

Since I ride with the Widows Sons Masonic Riders Association, I mentioned it to some other men in my lodge.  None of us had ever attended so we made plans to ride our bikes up to north Alabama and meet up with other Alabama Widows Sons who planned to ride in on Friday morning.

The forecast called for lots of rain and my long-term plans would have been better suited with doing a different ride on another weekend, but after some back and forth debate, I decided I was going to take the experience when I knew I could.

One of our riders could not get off work Thursday until after 3 so it would be at least 4:00pm before we could leave.  I called relatives near our meeting place in Scottsboro and secured a free room.  Since I had not seen the family in quite some time, I told my friends I would leave a bit earlier to visit relatives and would meet them on Friday morning.

I had cleared the time off for work and had worked on some issues with the motorcycle in preparation for this trip, and I had made a hotel reservation for 2 nights in TN. But with the possible weather problems, I didn't really decide until Thursday morning to go through with it.

So when I came in for lunch on Thursday, I had to eat and pack the bike.  I knew my very-rarely-worn full face helmet would not fit in my saddlebags and discovered it would not fit in my motorcycle backpack type gear bag either.  I went through the closet full of travel bags and finally found one that would work.  It sat on my passenger seat while my CPAP went on the small luggage rack behind and I bungeed them together.  After I tossed clean clothes and rain gear into garbage bags (in case the soft bags leaked) I was ready to go!

[Guidedawg]

As I left my neighborhood, a rain drop splashed on my windshield before I had even traveled a half mile.  I looked up at the clouds and decided I should be able to outrun them.  Sure enough, even after stopping to fill up the tank, it wasn't long before I was beneath clear skies.  Still, I wondered if it was an omen.

Avoiding the Interstate, I took 231 north through Wetumpka.  Traffic was light as it became a two lane and Coosa County is always a pleasurable area to travel.  I particularly enjoy the towns of Rockford and Sylacauga as I pass through.  There was no time to detour on 280 and make a side trip along the Tail of the Lizard for practice so I continued on through Talladega on 21 and 275 and then up Hwy 77.

You can get an idea of the route below



I drove through Childersburg where I saw the road for Desoto Caverns.  Not this time – I'm going somewhere else instead.

When I stopped for gas at a Pilot station where the highway went over Interstate 20 I discovered I had left my cell phone at home.  Fortunately, I had my work-issued cell as a backup.  I had brought it because it has Verizon whereas my personal cell is on Sprint and I thought the work phone might give me a better signal if needed.

Unfortunately, all my contacts and directions were in my personal phone.  Hey, at least the weather was good.

It was between 5:00 and 5:30 as I made my way through Rainbow City, Attalla, and on 431 into Boaz and Albertville.  I cringed when I thought of the traffic going towards Guntersville, but it wasn't bad at all.  Besides, I killed a little time when I pulled off to use the Internet on the phone to look up my relatives' phone number on Whitepages.com   Thank goodness they still have a house phone; not many of us do anymore.  I let them know I was running a bit late, but still coming and confirmed I was eating supper.

I went over the lake in Guntersville and then through Grant on Highway 5.  This part of the route reminded me of weekends as a boy when we would drive from Mobile County along these roads to visit my father's aunt and family who lived up "on the mountain" in Woodville.  Yep, there's the KFC where we usually stopped and there is the Kate Duncan Smith DAR school.

I had not stopped for any other trip report pictures, but I had to stop here for no other reason than tradition and to enjoy the view from the scenic pull-off.  It really is a beautiful area and school.









But I wanted to make sure to arrive in daylight so I continued on.

There was a brief longing when I went past the entrance for Cathedral Caverns State Park.  It was always closed when I was a kid so I have yet to visit there.  But just like I told Desoto earlier; I was headed to another cave. So I continued on, crossed Highway 72 and made my way into Woodville.

Let's see...I remember that he said to turn by the bank and I would find Co. Rd 8.  Good, there it is, but which way?  The right looks more promising and..oh yeah, I have to cross the railroad track.  I followed the county road for 6 miles and encountered enough canopied areas and curves to let me know I was far removed from south-central Alabama.

I was pleased to have remembered the landmarks he mentioned since I had always stayed with my aunt and uncle in the past and this was the first time driving to my cousins' home.  I found the long dirt and gravel driveway, parked in the grass and enjoyed a visit. 

National Treasure was playing on TV when I came in.  I'm disappointed to say, that as far as I know, it is not a documentary and none of that masonic treasure has made its way to our lodge.

We stayed up way too late, but I was pleased to have made it so close to the kick off point for the next morning.

[Guidedawg]

I was told that I was only 30 or 40 minutes from Scottsboro and we weren't meeting until 9:00am so after I said my goodbyes, I only traveled a brief bit on Co. Rd. 8 before turning onto the road where my uncle lives.  I had visited last night so wasn't surprised again to see that it was paved much further down than it had been on my previous visits.  Although I didn't visit the waterfall, I just couldn't pass by without stopping at a graveyard near the intersection.

There are a few marked graves near the front, but several that are marked only by a simple stone and I'm sure some that aren't marked at all.  However, my visit was for the view.  There is a trail that leads to an outcropping where you can look out and see where the hills/mountains/ridges come together and it was one of my favorite spots when I was younger.

I walked through the tall grass remembering the discussion from the previous night of the unusually high number of rattlesnake sightings they have had this year and gingerly made my way to the lookout point.



However, I had nothing to fear because what animal is going to attack something that looks this ridiculous?


We see here the rugged "biker" wearing his vest, night/rain glasses, and his beard pulled into a hair band so that only the sides of it get blown into his eyes.  Approach with caution; preferably with sweets.


Then it was back onto the bike where I made my way into Scottsboro with plenty of time to spare.  I topped off the tank and joined some of the other brothers at Huddle House.


That's the top half of my head covered with the American flag doo-rag in the back corner.


Scary looking group, aren't we?  The other group I ride with is the "FaithRiderz" based out of a former church I attended.  Masons and Baptists – I'm a baaaaad dude!





Once everyone arrived, I think there were 9 or 10 of us who rode in together representing 3 or 4 chapters.  The two other riders from Montgomery had only made it as far as Ft. Payne the night before so I was glad I left early.  Other members and chapters were already at the destination because there was a Widows Sons rally going on in conjunction with the Cave Degree.

When we were still in Alabama we were on 72 and went through Stevenson and Bridgeport.  One day I'll finally get around to riding the annual Trail of Tears ride even though there are way too many bikes to make it fun (I assume).  Still, I have a friend on the board of directors and I want to do it at least once.

We were led on a back route around Chattanooga (only on an Interstate between two consecutive exits), driving in a valley where views often looked like this on each side



Looking back now, I think we may have taken 28 to 111 and then to 27, but I was happily along for the ride at that point, so I am not sure.

Most of our group stopped at their hotel in Harriman, but those of us from Montgomery had booked a room in Kingston where we were only a mile or so from the lodge.





It was a simple old-school motel (real room keys and everything!) and met our limited needs well.

Once we unloaded our gear (my plastic garbage bags all ripped on bolts as I removed them from the saddlebags) we decided to check out the rally.  This was the first time it was only the 3 of us from the Montgomery area riding together and it was obvious they were more spirited riders than I was on the curves.  Oh well, I'm much better than I was last year and hopefully not as good as I'll be in another year or two so it's all fine and we are all friends so it's no problem.

I caught up with them at the turn off to the rally.  This was a small affair compared to most state rallies that are for the purpose of Widows Sons gatherings.  This one was a local chapter hosting riders who come in for the cave degree so it was a rider who generously opened his property for those who needed a place to pitch tents or park campers.  However, the property was down a steep hill in what turned out to be a very soggy area.

We arrived just as the group was leaving to ride to lunch.  We had to help some of them as their bikes slipped and more than one fell over while trying to make it out of the boggy area.  Fortunately, I had parked back far enough to turn around and get out without difficulty, but since we had stayed behind to assist, most of the others had left and we did not know where they were going.
Oh well, the three of us ventured out on our own.  Since it was not yet raining, we decided to take a stab at "The Devil's Triangle".  We stopped at a Sonic along the way and it started raining.

Since we still had a way to drive to get there we decided to just head back to the hotel and try it some other time in the weekend.  I threw on my jacket, but didn't bother with the pants since it was raining so lightly.  However, by the time we made it back to the room, I was soaked from my knees down due to the rain on the road and splashing of other vehicles in the standing water.

We laughed at the irony of skipping a free meal at the lodge to eat at Sonic since we ended up at the lodge anyway after postponing the trip.  I threw on my other pair of jeans and we spent the evening watching a group from New Jersey demonstrate the Entered Apprentice degree in the lodge room.  Some of them fellers talked funny!

I slipped out during part of the degree to chug some cold bottled water downstairs.  I had gotten a bit dehydrated during the ride and could feel the heat coming from my arms.  I shouldn't need to remind myself that I should take a drink when riding for a few hours and maybe apply a bit of sun screen when wearing short sleeves.  But the rest of the lodge took a break soon afterward and I returned with them to further my culturization.

The forecast for Saturday was an 80% or 90% chance of storms all day long so one of our group made a call to his cousin in Lenoir City and hooked us up with plans for the day.  We called it a night

[Guidedawg]

Saturday morning arrived, and my companion's cousin Mike came by in an SUV to pick us up since we decided to leave the bikes at the motel.  Mike is also a mason so we all went to the lodge where breakfast was provided.  They also had maps to the cave and it was open for touring for wives and family members from 9 to 11 with the degree starting at 1:00PM.

We had been encouraged by those who had done this before to bring camp chairs with us into the cave.  Fortunately, cousin Mike had those for us also.  He was a very handy guy to have around!

When we arrived at the parking area for the cave, we saw that they had set up a separate area for motorcycles across the street. Even there they suggested you have something to place under your kickstand because the ground was soft.




Once our credentials were verified, we were allowed to walk the somewhat steep path that took us to the cave entrance.





I was particularly intrigued by the mist that hung in the entrance.  Of course, it was 56 (non-masonic) degrees in the cave and we had been warned to bring jackets.



The cave was much larger than I expected.  We went in and set up our chairs when we were able to find some level spots.  Those who arrived closer to the starting time were not so lucky.  We decided to just stay there since we had no other plans so we were inside the cave from 10AM to 3:30PM and my feet were pretty cold by the time we exited.












The only light in the mail chamber was from 3 Coleman lanterns.  One of my companions had to show me where to find the flashlight app on my work iPhone since I normally use an Android.  They sat while I explored a bit.  The cave had a few short side passages and the main path went back well past our "lodge" area until the roof gradually lowered to the path.  I understand it went back further, but I wasn't going to crawl and find out.  I know I was told that if you crawled through a hole in one of the side passages you would come into another large chamber like the one where we held the degree.

There were just over 300 men present for the degree representing 17 states.  And the degree was presented by the Mississippi Mountain Men Degree Team


Okay, maybe we don't control international banking and shadow governments, but we do have secret handshakes, passwords, and invite the cool guys into our clubhouse!


When they presented the colors, every man stood without being told, and unlike highly paid NFL players, we recited the pledge in unison which sounded pretty dang cool inside the cave.


Once the degree was presented and the lodge closed, we returned to the sunlight.








We returned to the lodge for an excellent barbecue supper.  They provided meals free of charge (donations gladly accepted) for all visitors throughout the weekend.

It had been a long day, but we weren't done yet!

[Guidedawg]

I had successfully accomplished most of my desired tasks:  I had seen degrees from other states, I had specifically seen the Mississippi team, and I saw a Mason raised inside a cave.  But since we were this close to The Devil's Triangle, I also wanted to take the opportunity to visit a "named" motorcycle route – something I have never done.

My plan to camp at the Cherohala Skyway last fall and use it as a base to ride fell through.  I'm likely to make that one up, but this route is a bit further west from most of those so this was a good time to ride it.

Here it was late afternoon, and it had not rained at all!  We had discussed trying the ride on Sunday morning before going home, but now decided to go ahead and knock it out on Saturday night.



We went from Kingston to Highway 62 and rode it clockwise going to 116N.  As we approached the beginning of 116 we encountered a long line of stop and go traffic and a road sign warning of traffic delay due to event.

One of the first things mentioned on the route in Brushy Mountain Penitentiary which had been closed for years but just reopened a week or two before we visited.  The former prison now includes a restaurant, distillery, and offers tours.  It is also a concert venue and we foolishly thought we could just cruise by on a night that Jamey Johnson was giving a concert.  When we got close enough to find a side road, one of my friends consulted his GPS and we took a shortcut through a neighborhood where I could almost hear the faint strains of banjo music played by some bald-headed inbred kid.

We came out much closer to the venue and asked if we could cut into line since we were not going into the concert.  A polite motorist agreed and our wait was shorter.  Just as we started to move into the empty lane of opposing traffic I felt a tap on my shoulder.  No ma'am, I'm afraid I cannot give you a lift to the ticket office, but thanks for asking.

We went around the traffic and were set with an empty curvy road ahead!

And that's when the bottom fell out and the rain started.

Remember my packed rain suit?  Since I had worn the jacket on Friday night, I left it hanging in the bathroom and my pants were also in the room.  We didn't originally plan to be on the bikes Saturday and the weather looked clear when we were at the motel, so no one thought of packing them.

That turned out to be a foolish mistake.

We turned into a gravel quarry looking for shelter and found nothing but someone sitting in a pickup beside the office.  He didn't say a word to us when we circled by him.

Nor did he say a word when we parked and stood....in the rain...for at least 30 minutes while we debated what to do.  It looked like it might clear and we had driven a decent distance just to get there, plus we had already waited to get this far.

On the other hand, it was getting dark, we were wet, and it had been a long day.  Who knew how long the rain would continue or what condition the roads would be?

In the end, we pressed on when the rain slacked up.  I have no photos from the route but you can see the curves on 116 going north, and there are a handful of switchbacks on the southward portion.  I rode my own ride while my friends moved ahead, waiting on me at intersections.  A deer crossed my path once, and I will confess to using my brakes more than I had wanted.

Nevertheless, I can say that I had ridden the Triangle..in the rain..at night (at least by the time we finished).  We were all glad that we had done it.

So, did we return to our motel?  Of course not!  We returned to the Widows Sons rally site because every rally has a branding ceremony for those who have not yet been so initiated.  We arrived around 9:00PM and parked just off the street rather than going down into boggy hollow.  Impressively, they had dumped gravel on the road going in and out since our visit the day before.

We were just in time for the ceremony and hung around socializing a bit before we returned to our rented beds.

[Guidedawg]

One of my friends and I split a room with 2 double beds, while our other friend had a king sized bed in his room below.  He and I were the earlier risers, so my roommate did his best to sleep while I packed on Sunday morning.  He was going to stay an extra day and do more with his cousin who had chauffeured us around the day before.

So it was the two of them coming up while I traveled solo, and now it would be another two of us returning, while a different third came home alone later.

We chose to return the way we came on Hwy 27, but we remained on it all the way into Chattanooga and then got on the Interstate.



From there, it was I-59 South, exiting at Atalla and returning the way I came up on Thursday. 




My lodge brother is a fairly recent transplant from Mississippi and Arkansas so this was his first time on some of the roads.  We did stop in Fort Payne and took shelter under a gas station awning while a brief shower passed.  He had the radar displayed on his phone and the weather was clear until we stopped to fill up in Sylacauga.  We decided to take a lunch break and sat inside while it started raining harder.

It finally settled into a light steady rain that "probably" wouldn't get us too soaked, but I had learned my lesson after two days in wet jeans.  We put on the rain gear before we left (though I still didn't put on the full face helmet.  I never used it all weekend)  The rain did get a bit harder before it finally stopped about half way to Wetumpka so we finally made the right decision.

All in all, it was a good weekend filled with riding, masonic activities, and talking to a lot of people from across the southeast and then some.

I'm in no hurry to return to the cave degree, but Alabama holds an annual outdoor degree at Fort Gains each spring, Georgia holds one in a quarry, and I found out about a few other outdoor/specialty degrees held annually within riding distance.

It's highly likely that our masonic trio will ride again.

[Crandon]

Brother, I wished that I could have made it to the Cave Degree this year but reading this made it seem like I was there.   ???

[kylepeterson]

man, that's a really cool story. loved all the pictures and seeing how your club does stuff.

thanks for taking the time to carry our minds along.

[Nice Goat]

... Since it was not yet raining, we decided to take a stab at "The Devil's Triangle".  We stopped at a Sonic along the way and it started raining.  Since we still had a way to drive to get there we decided to just head back to the hotel and try it some other time in the weekend...

We've ridden the Devil's Triangle in the rain, and I can tell you this... you made the right call.

@KevinB @speedfire @TFancher @Shepcam

...
Nevertheless, I can say that I had ridden the Triangle..in the rain..at night (at least by the time we finished).  We were all glad that we had done it.
...

Oops!  Spoke too soon!  Glad you completed it and made it out alive!