Photo tag social distancing

[Guidedawg]

My bi-monthly meeting with other Alabama Santas was scheduled for Tusclaoosa and since my wife was not planning to attend, I planned to ride my motorcycle.  However, the meeting was cancelled due to COVID-19 fears.

Fortunately, JBMFT had been kind enough to relocate the photo tag to Centreville earlier in the week and that was most of the way up to Tuscaloosa if coming from Montgomery, so I decided to at least get the bike ride in while remaining socially distant.



There was a light drizzle when I walked outside soon after dawn.  I went back in and grabbed my windbreaker to toss in a saddlebag just in case.  I had traveled less than a mile when I pulled over, put in on over my short sleeve shirt, and threw my vest on over it.  The entire trip was overcast and much cooler than the temps of the previous week.

As I was about to enter Prattville on Hwy 82, I stopped to take a pic of this structure that often catches anyone's eye as they pass.



I considered making this the next photo tag but did not.  I couldn't find much on it
https://www.roadsideamerica.com/tip/52063
but have read other places it was once going to be a resort area and that the center of a pool.

Traffic was light along what is normally a busy road.  I was pleased to find the rest area at Maplesville still open and it was not long before I found myself in Centreville at a Mexican restaurant to claim the photo tag.

Rather than return the way I came, I decided to make a loop of it and chose to travel south on 219 through the Talladega National Forest into Selma.  It was an unhurried country road through rural areas and a small town or two.





I started to take the normal bypass of 80 around town, but instead chose to go into Selma to drive past a few closed businesses, the synagogue and a few churches, and over the Edmund Pettus bridge to cross the Alabama River.





I pulled into Craig Field just south of Selma.  This former Air Force base was used to train pilots, especially prior to WWII and Vietnam.  My uncle was stationed here in the mid-70's and I recall spending the night there once as a boy on a family visit.  Today it is a civilian air field, industrial complex, and home to Alabama state trooper training.



It was still early in the day, so I decided to take another alternate route to parallel the 4 lane of Highway 80.  I turned in the community of Benton and found a narrow paved road that took me through Whitehall.







I considered visiting the Robert F Henry lock and dam or Prarie Creek Park campground as I passed because I've never seen either but continued on.  However, I did take a slight side trip when I noticed a sign for another campground.



I had hoped to read some historical markers of info of this engagement of the Creek Indian War of Alabama History.  It was here that William Weatherford took his horse over the bluff and across the river to escape the militia.  However, most of the park was closed off so I circled through a boat ramp on the Alabama River and made my way back through Lowndsboro and along the Old Selma Road to come out by Maxwell Air Force Base, completing my loop and taking me back into Montgomery.



My route took me through Montgomery, Elmore, Autauga, Chilton, Bibb, Dallas, and Lowndes Counties.  I passed many blooms of wisteria vines in trees along the way, noticing their sweet fragrance and appreciating the fact I was open to scents and the sounds of insects, even if I was a bit chilly for the experience.

[JBMFT]

Great report! Riding has been good lately, hoping to get more in this week too!

[klaviator]

Glad you were able to get out and ride.  Nice report!

[Nice Goat]

Looks like a great ride.  Thanks for taking time to post and share!

[lazeebum]

Thanks for sharing. The pictures were nice too.