More from the November 14 Ride!

Previous post had some photos from the Morrow Mountain ride, but prior to getting to the Overlook to see the wonders of fall laid out before me, took a couple of stops in Baden, NC. A very nice town; it is the home to Baden Lake. There was for years an Alcoa Plant there which provided a number of jobs; since closed the town goes on. I took this photo at left of two Gold Wing riders checking out the lake. The lake is a beautiful and popular spot and I enjoy going by there. The ride to Baden is also very nice, I enjoy the backroads that take me there. This trip rode up NC-49, to NC-52 and then up 740 into Baden past a great deal of country scenes.
This is downtown Baden. Founded at the turn of the century many of the buildings are old, and it is a "small town" that John Mellencamp would certainly find song worthy. Quiet on a Sunday, and peaceful, like the old stone wall in the background photo with my trusty motorcycle in the foreground.
Baden is just outside of Morrow Mountain State Park; which I mentioned (and had a number of photographs of) in my previous post. I also have a number of photos published on my photo page which can be seen via the link on this page. It is a very nice place to explore, and has a very nice festival which unfortunately I missed this year.
Riding back from Morrow Mountain, I took this shot of downtown Albemarle, NC. Like with Baden, and typical of many North Carolina towns, they largely take Sunday off so it was very quiet. Albemarle is famous I suppose for being the home town of American Idol contestant (and country music star) Kellie Pickler. Like with many Carolina cities, it has an "old" downtown, and a more active "other downtown" with malls, gas stations, stores, and a number of (usually) chain restaurants. I prefer the old downtowns though for the history and the different stores. Have found some great places to eat in places such as this.
One such great place to eat is Harmanco's which is located in Albemarle, NC. I like to stop here when I am in town, and this is a very popular place with the local community (also a favorite stop of bikers). One summer day a couple of years ago, during a major thunderstorm in the area, we all stopped here (had my riding buddies also a few dozen other bikers) to wait it out and to enjoy the great food and the big screen tv's as the storm raged outside. Rain happens when you ride on two wheels, but lucky to have a good "port in the storm" to ride it out. I have found that the local places, the non-chains are great places to eat. This of course is the "smoking area" as most of the bars and restaurants in NC are now totally non-smoking inside. At any case, a great days ride and a fantastic time on the motorcycle in a fine area of the great State of North Carolina on a remarkable fall day!