Hello Everyone!
Well it has definitely been a tough week out here in Montana. The bad news is that I’m stuck in Missoula waiting for parts for a major and expensive repair to Shadow Catcher’s rear end. The good news is that at least I’m in Missoula which is a lovely city with a lot to keep me occupied.
When I wrote last week I was on my way into Missoula with an appointment to have someone look at one of my air shocks which still wasn’t working properly. On the way into town, I started feeling some vibrations coming from the rear end. When they looked into that issue, what they found was that the bearing which had been replaced in Idaho a few weeks back had failed completely causing major damage to my axle which now needs to be replaced. Finding the parts has been challenging and time consuming and so even though they are ready to move ahead with the repairs there’s not much else to do but wait.
Winona, Mississippi got its start when Colonel O.J. Moore arrived from Virginia in 1848 and established a plantation in the area. When the Mississippi Central Railroad came through in 1860, they bought a part of Moore’s land and ran tracks which would eventually become part of the Illinois Central Line from Chicago to New Orleans. Moore sold some more land around the station and a few businesses sprung up to serve the rail travelers. When the town was incorporated in 1861, they chose the name Winona, which is apparently the name an Indian Chief would give his first-born daughter. After the Civil War, Montgomery County was organized, and Winona was chosen as the county seat. While the trains no longer pass through Winona, it still sits at the crossroads of highways 51 and 82 and is just a short distance from Interstate 55.It also rests right between the Delta and the Hills regions of the state. Winona has often been called the “Crossroads of North Mississippi”, but I’ve also seen it called the “Art and Soul of Mississippi”, a nickname which I think I prefer. This Norman Rockwellesque town of about 5000 is definitely full of charm and worth a detour from the highway. I wasn’t there long, but I definitely enjoyed my stay in tiny Winona, Mississippi. I hope you enjoy these photos from my visit.
The southeastern corner of Athens County, Ohio sits right across the Ohio River from West Virginia, making it a perfect transition as I begin my month-long exploration of the Buckeye State. While the city of Athens is home to Ohio University and exhibits all of the best qualities of a quintessential college town, you don’t have to drive far before it becomes clear you are definitely still in Appalachia. As I drove the back roads and explored the history and culture of the area, I found it both new and familiar at the same time. The history of Athens County is fascinating, and in this post I’d like to tell you all about it through six stops I made as I visited the region.
