I got in a short ride a couple of weeks ago, but then Saturday I got back out in cooler weather and with lots of free time to get picks of those old country stores that I was seeing on my Cookeville, TN route. Well... I thought there were 4 or 5, but I did find 3, and then one that was abandoned but not really an old country store, and then one that was an old country store in name only, but I just had to get a pic anyway....
I got on the bike and saw the F-Trip was activated, so I headed to Temple Hill for fuel. The town is a tiny little town, maybe 150 people, but the school district covers a lot of territory, so they have a pretty big Elementary school. A little gas station, Dollar General, and a school. Filled up with fuel and headed down south to Tompkinsville on Hwy 63. Hwy 63 is a nice, curvy road with a lot of roller coaster hills. Every year they have a huge string of yard sales on 63... miles and miles of yard sales! They call it "Roller Coaster" because of the very curvy nature with the sharp hills. It was apparently intended to get some attention to straighten / flatten the road out. I guess the complaints fell on deaf ears. That's fine for me. It's a great motorcycle ride.
I got to Tompkinsville, and discovered that the Saturday before Labor Day is the Watermelon Festival. I got into town just before the parade started, but I managed to get through just one or two cars before the parade started. I just rolled through on the way to Celina, TN. A short slab out of Celina on 53, and I was on TN292 and into the curvy, forested roads toward Hilham, TN. Nearly zero traffic and lots of great scenery and curves.
Turning left at the edge of Hilham onto TN 85 took me quickly to Mayhue Masters General Merchandise. I guess there was a big birthday party going on that day, so I didn't venture in. It sounded like a big party, and there were cars parked along the road for a ways, and then a lot of cars parked in a nearby field. I pulled in and chatted with the guy out sitting on the porch in the rocking chair.
It looked like some of the attendees brought their cool cars with them. Just a few, but they were pretty cool. I have a soft spot for the late 60s Chevy SS's. The Camaro was pretty nice!
OK, Back on the road, and just a few miles down the road, in the tiny "town" of Burristown was an abandoned gas station. This maybe doesn't qualify as the "old country store" but I guess it's kind of a reminder of a town that maybe be on the path to "ghost town." Just kind of makes me think a bit... I got a pic anyway!
OK, Hwy 85 down to Gainesboro and down to Hwy 135 in Cookeville. Both of these roads are nice and curvy... great riding roads! Cookeville is the home of Tennessee Tech University, and 135 takes you through the campus, through town, and down to 70N to the west. Topped off the tank in town and headed west to Baxter. 70N is nice once you get out of town. Great pavement and lots of curve there. Just before the intersection with Hwy 96, I found Cole's Country Store. I pulled in for a pic, but I did notice the sign that says it's no longer a store, and now a residence, so I didn't hang out long. Cool little store, though!
From Cole's, I headed west on 70N to Hwy 53 North. This road is ok, but not the most curvy in the world. It takes you up to the town of Granville, on the Cumberland River / Cordell Hull Reservoir. Apparently, Granville was an agricultural town that was doing well until they flooded a lot of their farmland. They have a marina now, but most of the established economy was pretty much destroyed by the TVA project that built the lake. I guess their partial solution was to become "Tennessee's Mayberry." Yep... Aunt Bea's house, Floyd's Barbershop, Barney's police car... and a theatre where they do Andy Griffith Skits / Plays. I thought about pulling over and just catching a few pics, but you can't park on the "Mayberry" Street, and I wasn't going to pay for parking for a couple of pics. I rolled on through. I wish them the best!
OK, back to 70N via Hwy 96 (another nice and curvy road), and them over to Hwy 56 North to 290. 290 is a really nice road that winds through lots of "hollers." One little almost ghost town is Nameless, TN. I saw a few signs that referred to a guy Named J.T. Watts, and a road named after him. I haven't done the searches to find more about him, but he had a country store in Nameless... just across the road from the Nameless Community Center.
It looks like they are trying to keep this place looking nice, but peeking in the windows, it looks just like it probably did when they closed up shop. Lots of dust. I think that's pretty cool.
OK, so I headed on down the road, 290 up to 53 and back to Gainsboro, then NW on Hwy 135... another great curvy "Holler" run. About 7 or 8 miles short of the Tennessee / Kentucky Line, I figured the country store pics were done. Well.. they were, but there was this place... next to the Union HiIl Church of Christ. There's probably a connection. As I rode by, I just kind of got a smile out of it, so I turned around and got a pic.
A couple of things on the shelves and an honor system cash box for payment. You don't see things like that anymore.
From there, I rode back up to Tompkinsville and Temple Hill to fill up for the next ride, and then home! Temps never got out of the mid 70s, and started out in the lower 60s. A nice day for a kicked back ride! ~6-1/2 hours and 215 miles. Great Day on a great bike!