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Well if you make it through east Tennessee or north Mississippi check out the Natchez Trace. This road is old, and by old I mean either Lewis or Clark died on it on his way back from exploring the West. Lots of small towns and rural areas. It winds through a couple of other states as well I think.
If you get to north Alabama look up Moulton in Lawrence County. Lots of stuff to see around the county. In Moulton proper you can eat at Nesmith's Hamburgers. About half their burger is a bread core which is a little different. A few miles from Moulton is the unicorporated community of Oakville where you can see Indian mounds and a statue of Jesse Owens who was born in Oakville. A big ways outside of town is the Bankhead National Forest complex of wild areas. If you buy a map from the trading post on the way in or download one off the internet with a drive down some old logging roads and a 12 mile round trip hike you can see the Big Tree. It's the biggest tree in Alabama. It isn't as big around the sequoias in California, but it is absolutely gigantic for the east. Plus a few hundred yards up the trail there's another tree almost as big. Be ready though because the park rangers only clear the trail once a year so it can be easy to lose. On the other side of the county you can see the mansion of General "Fightin" Joe Wheeler. He was the youngest general in the Confederate army, later a senator, and later still he commanded the US forces in Cuba during the Spanish-American War. In a fair bit of the county there are still cotton farmers, and many people keep some livestock.
Well if you make it through east Tennessee or north Mississippi check out the Natchez Trace. This road is old, and by old I mean either Lewis or Clark died on it on his way back from exploring the West. Lots of small towns and rural areas. It winds through a couple of other states as well I think.
If you get to north Alabama look up Moulton in Lawrence County. Lots of stuff to see around the county. In Moulton proper you can eat at Nesmith's Hamburgers. About half their burger is a bread core which is a little different. A few miles from Moulton is the unicorporated community of Oakville where you can see Indian mounds and a statue of Jesse Owens who was born in Oakville. A big ways outside of town is the Bankhead National Forest complex of wild areas. If you buy a map from the trading post on the way in or download one off the internet with a drive down some old logging roads and a 12 mile round trip hike you can see the Big Tree. It's the biggest tree in Alabama. It isn't as big around the sequoias in California, but it is absolutely gigantic for the east. Plus a few hundred yards up the trail there's another tree almost as big. Be ready though because the park rangers only clear the trail once a year so it can be easy to lose. On the other side of the county you can see the mansion of General "Fightin" Joe Wheeler. He was the youngest general in the Confederate army, later a senator, and later still he commanded the US forces in Cuba during the Spanish-American War. In a fair bit of the county there are still cotton farmers, and many people keep some livestock.
Funny thing, in all my travels I never did the Natchez Trace. came close many times,in our vintage car tours, it just never happened for us. I am not a big fan of that part of the south ether....until I get to New Orleans of coarse !
I don't dislike the mountains at all. But we love the Ozarks. For us there's an allure and a draw to them and moving here was like coming home. People mistakingly refer to the "Ozark Mountains" because they aren't. But that also begs the question of whether the region is Ozark or the Ozarks. Is the Ozark is or are the Ozarks are? The region encompasses the upper third of NW AR, two thirds of SW MO and a slice of SE OK. Our "town" from which we get our mailing address because that's where the rural post office happens to be actually straddles the MO-AR border and is nine miles from us. The population is split with 136 on the MO side and 29 on the AR side. Hardly a tourist draw. Besides the post office there are two liquor stores and a greasy spoon plus five churches. We have to travel about 20 miles to get to any real shopping, including grocery. Other shopping, the hospital and other amenities are a bit further and the closest "real" cities are 40 miles to our south or 60 miles to our north.
But we do have the lake with it's 745 mile shoreline as well as two others which is why it's known as the Tri-Lakes area. However, our home and small community are well-insulated from the tourists as we're off the beaten track.
Some day I will have to tell all about my one week, one night in South West City, Mo.!
I also meant to say more about the Ozarks. I have to agree they have a lure many fold when it comes to Midwest fisherman . I have know many over the years who retired to the area from the upper Midwest. Worked with some in Joplin. One of the first companies I cut my teeth on back in the late 60s/ 70s was located in Joplin. I spent many a trip at headquarters, so I know a little about the area. It was in the Vietnam war wind down years and we had a lot of DOD Contracts for munitions transport, as well as the AEC which I had security clearance to a point.Those were boom time years for a small company that delivered dynamite to the mines in SW Mo., to become one of the largest trucking operations in the world almost over night. There were lots of Union problems when I started with the company, unfortunately the largest explosion ever in the US happened on the Interstate outside Springfield. when a disgruntled worker shot into a semi with a high powered rifle . Unfortunately the truck laden with 40,000 lbs of explosive blew a very deep hole on both sides of I-44.They only found very small parts of the truck, and driver.
Anyway, as I was saying, most of the " official" maps today show the Ozark Mountains. I do understand what you are saying however. Its not like you guys are in the Canadian Rockies !
My ftaher every years would take off with my brther inlaw on a trip thru small town Texas. They basically would travel what use to be the major raodways that went thru very small town before interstates highways existed in mnay areas. If they traveed the hill country it was always in spring for wild flowers.
So the OP wouldn't go through Mackinaw on their way to the UP?
Also, how could anyone want to miss out on the Mackinac Island fudge?
If you want to make a loop you can take the bridge then go west 200 miles, Marquette, copper country,the Porkies.....then return via wi. And Illinois to south east Mi.
Well if you make it through east Tennessee or north Mississippi check out the Natchez Trace. This road is old, and by old I mean either Lewis or Clark died on it on his way back from exploring the West. Lots of small towns and rural areas. It winds through a couple of other states as well I think.
If you get to north Alabama look up Moulton in Lawrence County. Lots of stuff to see around the county. In Moulton proper you can eat at Nesmith's Hamburgers. About half their burger is a bread core which is a little different. A few miles from Moulton is the unicorporated community of Oakville where you can see Indian mounds and a statue of Jesse Owens who was born in Oakville. A big ways outside of town is the Bankhead National Forest complex of wild areas. If you buy a map from the trading post on the way in or download one off the internet with a drive down some old logging roads and a 12 mile round trip hike you can see the Big Tree. It's the biggest tree in Alabama. It isn't as big around the sequoias in California, but it is absolutely gigantic for the east. Plus a few hundred yards up the trail there's another tree almost as big. Be ready though because the park rangers only clear the trail once a year so it can be easy to lose. On the other side of the county you can see the mansion of General "Fightin" Joe Wheeler. He was the youngest general in the Confederate army, later a senator, and later still he commanded the US forces in Cuba during the Spanish-American War. In a fair bit of the county there are still cotton farmers, and many people keep some livestock.
If it's small town America you want to see, then make SURE you do take the back roads, and allow yourself plenty of time.
I have traveled across the country twice, but was moving each time an on a tight schedule - if you stay on the interstates, no matter what state you stop in, all you will see is the following:
A Wal-mart, Lowes, Applebees, The Home Depot, McDonalds-Wendys-Taco Bell-KFC, Chain Convenicnec stores/gas stations, strip malls, oh, and every hotel chain there is. At the next state you come to, when you pull of the interstate you will see Wal-mart, Lowes, Applebees, The Home Depot....
Just make sure you have plenty of TIME if you really want to see America. Otherwise, it's pretty much all the same.
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The region encompasses the upper third of NW AR, two thirds of SW MO and a slice of SE OK. Our "town" from which we get our mailing address because that's where the rural post office happens to be actually straddles the MO-AR border and is nine miles from us. The population is split with 136 on the MO side and 29 on the AR side. Hardly a tourist draw. Besides the post office there are two liquor stores and a greasy spoon plus five churches. We have to travel about 20 miles to get to any real shopping, including grocery. Other shopping, the hospital and other amenities are a bit further and the closest "real" cities are 40 miles to our south or 60 miles to our north.
Gotta be a mega-load of chicken houses there judging by the demographics.
