A weekend of Wiregrass riding

[Guidedawg]

Although this report contains photos there are many more interesting ones from this trip posted in other areas.  Please follow the links embedded in the report to get the full experience

The Alabama Widows Sons Masonic Motorcycle Riders Association has an annual rally at different parts of the state.  This year's event was held September 23-26 at Bama Slam Saloon in New Brockton, near Enterprise.   A handful of us from the Montgomery chapter rode down together, stopping at Julia's in Troy for some lunch along the way.





We knew we were approaching our destination when  we saw all the army helicopters flying about.

Bama Slam is an outdoor activity center with lots of dirt trails for ATVs and Side-by-sides.  The roads were dirt/gravel with occasional gravel covered pavement, so there was a lot of dust and slow speed baggers/cruisers.  On some particularly sandy routes, we rode in the grass paralleling the road.  A few of us did encounter a rattlesnake crossing the road but got past before he got too agitated.

The saloon area and swimming hole were pretty nice.







Although several had campers set up, our group stayed at the nearby Hampton Inn in Enterprise which was a nice place to relax and shake off the trail dust.



I declined going on the group ride scheduled for Saturday morning, preferring a less-crowded solo trip.  As is my habit, I mapped routes that would take me to buildings on the National Registry of Historic Places so I could add their info to our site.   Please follow the link to see the photos I uploaded for Coffee, Dale, Houston, Henry, Barbour, and Bullock Counties.

https://www.motorcyclealabama.com/rides/index.php?board=19.0

Since I was staying in Coffee County, I went into downtown Enterprise where I took pictures of the Boll Weevil monument, depot, and a historic hotel.  Although I was very near the Coffee County courthouse in Enterprise, this is one of our counties that has TWO courthouses, and I had to drive a bit to get to the other, which is the only one on the register.





One of the sites on the list was the Pea River Hydroelectric Power Plant on County Rd. 411.
This is Co. Rd 411



After riding around the Bama Slam grounds, I wasn't intimidated, and it was only a half mile road before coming to a dead end at a gate.  The dogs at the nearby house greeted me but were polite.

I'm not completely anti-social, so I did join the group riders for their lunch break at Dothan Harley-Davidson, but not before I went into Newton to get a photo of a Dale County library.  I went through and got the remaining sites on Sunday, but this was more convenient on the way to Dothan and saved me some time the next day.



Had I gotten an earlier start, I would have traveled to Columbia and Ashford before going into Dothan, but I did not so I'll count on some other member here to ride by those for pictures to complete Houston County.

As the group ride continued into a brewery in Florida, I went into downtown Dothan to not only get the historical sites, but also to capture photos of some of the many murals also.  There are quite a few and I was able to add them to the mural thread of our photo & video section

https://www.motorcyclealabama.com/rides/index.php?topic=4271.0 

There is even a website dedicated to the story behind some of them.  You will find a link in the Dothan post of the mural thread.  In fact, I also added murals from Enterprise, Ozark, and Union Springs and they all tell a story.



There was a lot of pedestrian traffic downtown and when I encountered a closed street while trying to get to the federal courthouse, I discovered it was the day of the fall festival which added a lot of color and celebration to my day.

After putting around Dothan for the afternoon, I returned to the hotel to rest before going back to Bama Slam where we left the saloon for a spot in the woods and our mysterious ceremonies (cue ominous music)




Sunday morning came and most of my chapter members were setting their own schedule rather than riding back together.  This worked well for me since I had already chosen a less than direct route back home.




This route allowed me to add Henry, Barbour, and Bullock Counties (in addition to Houston added the day before) to the list of counties I have visited since setting up that section of our site under Riding Games.

https://www.motorcyclealabama.com/rides/index.php?board=71.0 (This is separate, and much less involved, than the Historical Register section under Best Roads & Stops)

I completed Dale County and then rode through Abbeville to get two homes for Henry County, completing it as well.  There was no way I was going to take the time to go through Eufaula for Barbour County.  As much as I love criss-crossing a county getting photos and learning history, I'm not as comfortable when it is an occupied residence, and I believe many of those Eufaula mansions are directly on the street leaving nowhere to park to get off the bike for a photo.  Maybe some other time.

Instead, I went into Clayton and picked up properties there, including the only surviving antebellum octagonal house in Alabama.

Although I was playing hooky from church, I visited no less than 3 on my way home.  None of them were in use for congregations, but I did take time to stop and listen along the way as another church was playing "A Mighty Fortress is our God" on the loudspeakers (recorded bells) summoning the faithful.

I could have gone into Spring Hill for another historical church, but I let that one go so that I could pass through this community instead.







Admittedly, there isn't much to Smuteye but when I saw the name on the map, I knew I wanted to be able to say I had been through.  I even read about the origins on a related website http://www.smuteye.com/history-smuteye.htm

I continued into Union Springs where I picked up another mural or two along with the Bird Dog statue honoring the Field Trial Capitol of the world.


I also stopped for a little bit more history on the way home even though it wasn't on the list







I always like reading about the Old Federal Road or 3-Notch Road as I explore Alabama and its history.


Alas, this trip has taught me that it might be time to embrace technology.  If you've read my trip reports, you know that I normally write out directions on note cards and tape them to my fuel tank.  That just wasn't practical for all the riding I had planned over the weekend, so I had lots of paper – print outs of Google Map routes I created and photos of the Historic Place listings, so I'd have descriptions.  If you look at some of my photos you will likely see some folded up and sitting in my cup holder.  I would look at the mileage and unfold it when I got to a stop so I could see my next destination.  I think I'm going to bite the bullet and get either a phone mount or a motorcycle GPS to mount.  I've not looked into it before because of the wires that would be necessary, but for trips like this it would save me a lot of time and backtracking.  I had to pull over several times to check my phone and see where I was.

It was a great weekend with perfect weather.  I was able to spend time with my brothers and friends, share motorcycle experiences with them, and pick up plenty of new places and counties for my obsessive lists while enjoying some solo riding.  As always, those sections are not for me alone, so I appreciate all contributions to them.

I started in a town with a statue of a bug in the middle of the street and made my final stops in another that has a dog statue in the middle of theirs.  I love Alabama!

[jrobinson]

I've eaten at Julia's a few times. Sandy buys a couple of togo plates and eats off it for a week.

We found ourselves on 3notch Rd and I did a little research also.

Great report.

[JBMFT]

Great report!
Take a look at https://www.rokform.com/
I have been using their cases and mounts for years. They make using your phone as a bar or dash mounted GPS with google maps very, very easy.

[Nice Goat]

Nice job on the report, Guidedawg.  I visited many of these places back in 2014 as part of my County Courthouses tour and Postmaster's statewide POI challenge.