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| Shiloh National Military Park |
I woke up at 5:00 with the intention of getting on the road as quick as I could. I have packed most of my stuff last night. As I carried my first load outside, there was no refreshing coolness . It was still in the mid 80s and very humid. I hope this doesn't mean that the whole day will be uncomfortable.
I didn't use my hydration pack yesterday, because my son Kyle doesn't use ice so I couldn't load it up. This morning I made sure to load up the pack on the bike . That would help keep me hydrated.
I got everything loaded up and then started the bike. It was still dark out, and the headlights didn't seem to be lighting up the road as I turned around. I flipped on and off the high beams and it made no change. I walked around to the front and sure enough , no headlights.
I decided it would be okay to ride to a nearby gas station and gas up. By that time the sky was lightning barely so I went and hopped on the freeway. I stayed close behind a semi truck but I need to have bothered. The sky was planning to light to see the road by now. I only want a few miles down the freeway and at 6:00 I pulled off to the first McDonald's I saw.
After I ate my breakfast sandwich, I went out to the bike to start trying to get diagnose the headlights. All of the fuses look good and the relays seemed have power to them. I don't really think it's possible for all four headlight bulbs to burn out at once. After I fiddle for about 15 minutes I decided to let it go. I'll work on it when I have a little more time but in the meantime headlights aren't essential and I need to get moving before it gets too hot.
Out on the highway the temperature came down a couple of degrees and made the writing more bearable, but the humidity was still cloying. I've seen a lot of police out on the roads lately so I kept my speed right at the speed limit. About mid-morning I saw some hopped up car just scream past me. He was zipping past a large line of cars when suddenly the black Mustang four or five cars ahead of me flipped on lights and pulled out behind him. Who expects an undercover mustang?
I stopped once after about an hour to gas up and chug a Gatorade. When I was about 5 MI from the Shiloh Battlefield I stopped again. I just planned to get gas and a drink, but the lady was just walking out of the kitchen with a fresh basket of deep fried chicken. It smelled so good I asked her for a couple pieces. She listed off what she had and I took two thighs. It was heavenly.
I had also bought a cold bottle of water and drenched my evaporative vest. I headed off to the Shiloh Battlefield contently full of food and drink.
When I arrived I took my 360 camera and walked over to get a picture in front of the National Battlefield sign. I also took pictures by a few of the large placards lining the road.
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| One of the signs by the entrance |
I wanted to start my tour by driving around the grounds and listening to an audio tour. Last night I found an audio tour that I could buy, but I didn't buy it. Now, when I went back to buy it I realized that I had almost no cell service. So I sat there for about 15 minutes buying it and letting it download. Even thought I was in the sun, I was scared to move in case it somehow lost cell service. That will teach me to be lazy and cheap.
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| Sitting in the hot sun while my audio tour downloads |
The audio tour directed me to ride to the visitor center before starting it. It's one of those tours that gets automatically triggered as you drive past certain points.
I know the story of Shiloh fairly well. I've listened to the civil war books by Shelby Foote several times. In fact I just finished listening to them about 2 weeks ago. But it was fascinating hearing the audio tour recount sections and being able to see the area where eveents took place
It was about 102° , so I took every opportunity to park the bike in shade while I listened to the tour. It was too hot to park the bike get off and back on over and over and over again so I just sat on the bike through the whole tour.
I AM NOT GOING TO CAPTION MOST OF THE PHOTOS
YES! I AM RIDING WITH NO HELMET ON! DEAL WITH IT!
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| I often stood up to try to get air to cool me and the vest off |
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| Shiloh Chapel (replica) where the battle gets it's name |
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| Memorial to Confederate General Sidney Johnston - Highest rank to die during the war |
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| Riding down to the Tennessee river |
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| Pittsburg Landing where fresh Federal troops landed to help win day 2 |
I spent about 2 hours touring the park. I took over 8 pictures, but they get redundant pretty quick. When I was done I rode back over to the visitor center and parked the bike in the shade. The Visitor Center was wonderfully air conditioned. There was a documentary movie about Shiloh was just starting so I thankfully sat on a bench and enjoyed both the movie and the cool air.
After the movie I wandered around the museum for a bit. One map showed Shiloh and about 30 miles was another Visitor Center in the town of Corinth. The Confederate army that attacked Shiloh had come from Corinth. I decided to go visit that visitor Center as well since I was already here.
I went down my vest and hopped on the bike and made the ride over. There wasn't nearly as much stuff here but there was a different movie that was a little more in depth about to start an end of the battle . It was interesting to watch.
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| A cannon in Corinth. My pants are wet from the evaporative vest - REALLY!! |
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| Fortifications in Corinth |
By now it was 3:00 and the bike said it was 106°. I didn't want to get a hotel yet because I still have 5 hours to my next stop in Vicksburg. I found another town about 30 miles farther south with a little fast food restaurant in it. I rode down and ordered a plate of wings and a drink. It was very empty so I could write the blog using voice to text on my phone without bugging people. I figure I'll sit here and join the cool the wings a drink, and getting stuff done while it's hot outside. The only problem is that the waitress keeps hearing me talking and keeps coming over to ask if I need anything. I've told her 3 times I'm editing, but she keeps coming over.
Hopefully it will cool down by 5:00 and I can ride another 100 miles or more before I stop for the night.
SPOILERS! It didn't cool down. I just reached real time and had to stop. And the waitress did keep asking if I needed anything. I kept having to edit out "You need something else hon? Maybe a refill?" from the blog.
I figured I had another hour in me so I looked about 50 miles down the road for a hotel. At 80 miles I found a motel for only $60. My buddy Mike would never consider something this sketchy. But the reviews said it had been recently refurbished so I took the chance.
I threw everything on the bike and rode across the street to a gas station to fill up and buy another cold bottle of water for my vest. Even though it was still over 100, it didn't feel so bad. The sun was getting lower in the sky, and like last night, the trees beside the road were often casting shadows that helped allot. I went south for about 55 miles then turned west directly into the sun. I also left the 4 lane highway and was now on winding 2 lane roads that were often fully enclosed by the tress on each side. If I was so tired I could have really enjoyed the ride. But at this point it was more an ordeal and I just wanted to be done.
I reached the town of Houston Mississippi and my motel. There were allot of cars in the parking lot, but they all turned out to be for the Chinese buffet that shared the building. I checked in and went to unload. In true motel fashion, I parked right by my door. The room was hot and the AC was turned off so I got that rolling first. Then I peeled off all my gear and sat in front of the blessedly cold air for 5 minutes.
I'd eaten already so there was no need to find dinner. I did go get some water bottles, but mostly I've just sat here editing pictures and finishing the blog. I have 3 hours riding to get to Vicksburg tomorrow. I hope it's cooler tomorrow morning that it was today.
Daily Miles: 349
Total Miles: 1693
