Our first day is a long one, so we decided to leave early to avoid the crush of Atlanta rush hour. We got an early start and got all the way through Atlanta with very little traffic. It was quite cool, but no rain in the forecast, so we put on several layers, wrapped Kat in her electric blanket and headed to Birmingham. We usually never take the Interstates, but because of our route today, decided it was best to take I-20 straight to Birmingham. We gained an hour in Alabama and stopped in Oxford, AL for breakfast, then continued on to Leeds, AL where we planned on stopping at the Barber Vintage Motorcycle Museum. But, because of the early hour and gaining an hour, we might get there too early. Fortunately, luck was on our side. A couple of miles from the exit in Leeds, there was an accident that stopped traffic on the Interstate for what seemed like an hour. We slowly crept along, or stopped, for quite a while. We finally got through and made it to the museum and because of the traffic jam, were only 15 minutes early. We probably would not have waited if we got there an hour early. But, was it ever worth the wait!! Mr. Barber started collecting motorcycles and it sort of got out of hand. The collection is housed in a beautiful new five story building. The floors are connected by ramps so you can easily go from floor to floor. There are over 1000 bikes in the collection, but only about 670 on display at any one time. The collection included makes and models from all over the world and from the late 1800's to present. When you enter, its sensory overload, you just can't take in the enormity of the displays. Every motorcycle has been restored to like new condition and there is a restoration shop on the premises. We spent over an hour but could have spent all day. It's well worth a visit!
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| Motorcycles on Display |
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| Another Display |
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After leaving the Barber Museum, we headed through Birmingham and onto
Hwy. 78 toward Tupelo, MS. We were on our way to our next much
anticipated destination. All of you that saw the movie Sweet Home
Alabama are familiar with scene in the Coon Dog Cemetery. Well, there
is a real coon dog cemetery and its located in deepest northwest
Alabama, about 12 miles south of Tuscumbia. After passing through
Hamilton we arrived in Russelville. This appeared to be the last of
civilization until after the cemetery, so we stopped and filled up with
gas and ate lunch at the "Frosty Mug - since 1960"! We had a couple of
burgers and root beer, but alas, the root beer is no longer served in
frosty mugs! We then turned onto a smaller highway and drove until we
got to Coon Dog Cemetery Road, which was a paved road, but just barely!
After a few more miles we then arrived at the cemetery. It was started
in 1937 by Key Underwood who buried his loyal companion, Troup, in the
place he loved hunting 'coons the most - the Freedom Hills Wildlife
Management Area. Others soon followed and there are now about 180 dogs
buried there.
See: coon dog cemetery
    
It was a somber place containing the final resting places of many
faithful companions, such as Troup, Black Ranger, Felix and Doctor
Doom. After paying our respects and signing the guest book, we
continued on to Tupelo where we would spend the night.
After leaving the coon dog
cemetery, we continued on for several miles down a road where we wondered
how long it would be, if we broke down, before anyone would find us.
But, eventually, we reached Hwy. 72 near Cherokee, AL and drove a short
distance to the entrance to the Natchez Trace Parkway. We then had a
nice cruise down the Parkway to Tupelo where we stopped by the
birthplace of Elvis. We then got something to eat and then on to our
hotel. We'll get a good night's sleep before continuing to Natchez
tomorrow.
Elvis' birthplace
Total miles today: 439
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