We headed for Piedmont Alabama today to stay in the Roberts Home and Museum and ride the Chief Ladiga Rail Trail. We started on the scenic route heading for an overlook on the Foothills Parkway. We just needed to see those mountains one more time.
Our next destination was the Sequoyah Birthplace Museum about 30 minutes away. Cell connections are very spotty in the mountains but Tom had the route downloaded and we were enjoying the scenery as we noticed the roads getting very narrow, winding, and very uphill! It reminded us of New Zealand with sheer drops on the side and no guard rails. We climbed up and around the mountain, a significant feat for the minivan and its driver! As we finally descended we realized that we were back at our original overlook destination – Google maps must have restarted somewhere along the drive and taken us on the very scenic route! It made for an interesting start to the day!
We eventually made it to the Sequoyah Museum and very much enjoyed our visit. Sequoyah created the Cherokee syllabary, a written form of the Cherokee language. The syllabary allowed literacy and printing to flourish in the Cherokee Nation in the early 19th century and remains in use today.
We stopped in Chattanooga for supplies and lunch on the way to Piedmont and gained an hour as we crossed into the Central Timezone. We needed that extra hour after the mountain excursion!
The Roberts Home and Museum house was built in 1800 and is now owned by the Piedmont Historical Society which houses an extensive collection of local history and rents the entire museum out, often to bikers riding the Chief Ladiga Rail Trail. They definitely understand the appetite that a good bike ride works up; the stock of snacks here is staggering!
