Miles: 460
We had a pretty big day planned and we wanted to ride as little interstate possible so we altered our route slightly and rode down south of Richmond before jumping off. We stayed on US421 which is such a great road until we got to KY11 and headed east following Laurel Creek and Goose Creek into the town of Onieda on the Red Bridge River and KY66. We stopped on a little two lane bridge spanning the river to stretch our legs. Nothing much at all. Interestingly two different vehicles stopped to make sure we were not having any trouble. We caught back up with US421 and rode it south over Pine Mountain into Harlan where we stopped at the old abandoned Baxter Bridge. This bridge was built in 1924 and used by US119 until US421 bypassed it with a new bridge in 1977. The bridge was still in use until 1983. Continuing on US421crossed over into VA at Pennington Gap and bid farewell to US421 and picked up VA70 over Powell Mt. Just before Blackwater VA we turned on Dr Andrew Jackson Osborne Rd and headed into Melungeon territory just over the Tennessee line. We visited here once before after reading an article about these peoples. Their ancestry and identity are a highly controversial subject, and one that I know little about. I remember discussing this topic with Father who was raised less than a hundred miles from the epicenter of their community but knew nothing about them. There is a nice cabin and museum across the street from the old school house. Its worth a visit and now our second time there. We turned on TN66 and headed over the ridge line and into Sneedville. TN31 took us over Clinch Mt and then down through Morristown for a quick ride on I-81 exiting to Seiverville, and before too much four-lane road we were on the Foothill Parkway. The new section of the Foothills Parkway running from Wears Valley to Walland is really very nice and opened just a couple of years ago in 2018. There are several viaducts on the new portion like the Lincove Viaduct on the Blue Ridge Parkway. This was really the beginning of our highlights for the day despite the other roads getting here were also pretty good at times. We stopped once on the newer portion at Caylor Gap and then one last time at Look Rock which towards the western end of the parkway. As the Parkway ended we we turned left on US129 and started down the Dragon. The Tail of the Dragon never gets old and I love riding it. There is also nothing better than riding it late in the day on a Wednesday in the fall; not many people out there, in fact the picture had already packed it in. We decided to stay at tDeal's Gap Motorcycle Resort and we knew we were going to arrive after the store closed so Steve called in the afternoon and arranged for them to stock the refrigerator in our room with some beers so when we arrived we were all set to relax and enjoy the evening. All in all, a great day.