Overview
On September 13, 2025 I rode a portion of the Foothills Parkway Tennessee after riding the Tail of the Dragon from North Carolina. This was part of a full day ride exploring some of the regions roads, was a good day!
Pictures Along the Foothills Parkway
September 13, 2025
The weekend of 9/12/2025 – 9/14/2025 I rode a fantastic weekend trip up in the North Carolina / Tennessee mountains and rode the Tail of the Dragon (and several other roads).
It was a bit sketchy and rusty in the mountains as this was my first real ride of any kind in two years! Since the conclusion of my USA Midwest 2023 trip on September 16, 2023, I had only ridden about 200 miles, 200 miles in two years!
Shortly after the USA Midwest 2023 trip I had began working two jobs and simply had no time for, well pretty much anything. I quit my second job in late June 2025.
So, naturally after only riding for about 200 miles in two years, I logically concluded the first road trip would be Tail of the Dragon, a highly technical road in the North Carolia / Tennessee mountains. I must admit that indeed, I felt rusty and took the pace even slower than I normally ride. However, it was still fun, and the scenery was amazing (though admittedly I really was not paying attention to the scenery while riding).
As the day progressed I rode several other mountain roads, and became more comfortable in the saddle.
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Days 15 and 16 were combined to complete USA Midwest 2023. This was not the plan of course, more about this in just a bit.
Rolled out from my hotel in Peru, IL, rolled south on Illinois Highway 251 onto Interstate 39 South, Interstate 74 East, and finally onto Interstate 57 south stopping off for lunch at Dairy Queen Grill & Chill in Arcola, IL.
From Arcola, IL, I stay off the Interstates for a while because traveling via state and local roads I believe is just way more interesting. Interstates are great for chewing up large amounts of miles in a condensed timeframe. But IMO, I find riding on Interstates to be boring but a useful means to an end at times. I-70 in Colorado however is an exception to this, that is a very interesting ride.
Riding back roads I work my way from Arcola, IL to Evansville, IN, then roll south via US Highway 41 / Interstate 69 and then roll east to Days Inn in Joelton, TN via Interstate 24. This was the planned stop for Day 15 for total of 439 miles for the day.
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September 14, 2023
Part 2 of Day 14, I rode the Mississippi River run rolling south from Prescott, Wisconsin on Wisconsin Highway 35.
When I lived in Minnesota, this was one of my favorite routes to ride motorcycles. Back then, that motorcycle would have been a Honda VTX 1300C (that I crashed in California in August 2017). The Minnesota side (Highway 61) of the Mississippi river is also a nice ride. I do prefer the Wisconsin side as there is more visual scenery, and more sweeping curves. I often would ride south on the Wisconsin side and cross the river either into Winona Minnesota or across the river into Minnesota from La Crosse, WI and roll north on Highway 61.
Today, there was no crossing back into Minnesota as I was on my return part of this trip back to where I live now near Atlanta, Georgia.
I completed today’s ride stopping in Peru, Illinois staying in a hotel overnight.
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On this day, I started my return trip back to Georgia and take a short tour of Saint Paul, Minnesota. Included in the video is a tour of Como Park, the Minnesota State Fair Grounds, Summit Avenue, the State Capitol, and Downtown Saint Paul.
I lived in Saint Paul, Minnesota for 12 years from 2001 to 2013. I think Saint Paul is a great city to live in, but I am not a huge fan of the Minnesota winters which is why I moved to California in 2017 and near Atlanta, Georgia in 2020. 😊
Day 14 Part 2 will cover the ride on Wisconsin Highway 35 along the east side of the Mississippi River and onto Peru, Illinois.
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September 12, 2023
I take a ride into Minneapolis from the north via East Lake Road / Marshall Street. A quick ride around Nicollet Island and a portion of downtown
Not on camera I also rode down to and around Lake Bde Maka Ska (formerly Lake Calhoun). I did take a photo of Downtown from the lake vantage point.
Photos
September 12, 2023
I ride through Anoka, Minnesota and Coon Rapids, Minnesota. Anoka is my hometown, so this was really a ride down memory lane for myself. I take a quick ride (twice) through downtown Anoka on Main Street, have lunch at Riverside Park on the Rum River, ride past Fred Moore where I went to Junior High School (grades 7,8, and 9) and passed Lincoln Elementary where I went to grade school (grades K-6). I also briefly rode by the home I grew up in and quickly toured the neighborhood.
From there, I work my way to Coon Rapids Blvd and ride through Coon Rapids until I get to East River Road.
Day 12 starts with my departure from Diamond Lake Count Park near Kandiyohi Minnesota. I rolled south to US Highway 12 and headed east rolling through Atwater, Grove City, Litchfield, Dassel, Cokato, Howard Lake, Waverly and Montrose. From Montrose I roll north through Buffalo and then St Michael, Rogers, Dayton, and finally Champlin.
This portion total Miles was about 92 miles.
September 10th, 2023
After raining heavily all night the weather broke in the early morning shortly after sunrise. With the rain stopped, I quickly took a few photos of Devils Tower shrouded in low clouds, packed up my soggy camp and loaded up Dexter (my 2005 Harley-Davidson Ultra Classic) and rolled out of camp eastward to Fisher Grove State Park Campground in South Dakota.
With temperatures hovering around 40 degrees Fahrenheit, this morning’s ride was chilly and damp. In South Dakota, I had caught up to some of the rain systems that had earlier soaked my camp at Devils Tower.
Total miles for today = 353 Miles, predominantly riding on US Highway 212 most of the way.
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I depart camp from Douglas KOA in Douglas, Wyoming and roll north on Wyoming Highway 59, stopping in Wright, Wyoming for a quick gourmet lunch of Chef Boyardee canned spaghetti and meatballs with Tabasco Sauce and water, pretty fancy!
After lunch, I continued northbound on WY Highay 59 to Gillette, Wyoming and then head east on Wyoming Highway 51 to US Highway 14 East and finally northbound onto Wyoming Highway 24 to Devils Tower, Wyoming.
Total miles for today = 178 Miles, so a low mile’s day that allowed for some relaxed riding and plenty of time to set up camp and hike around Devils Tower.
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Wanderlust Lyfe 