2014 Eufaula via The Old Federal Road

This trip began at the suggestion of one of Pam’s  coworkers who volunteers at The Ridge archaeological site on CR 10 in the Macon County community of Warrior Stand.  He thought that the road’s rolling hills and turns that follow the ridge line of the Old Federal Road might be a good ride of our group.  Unfortunately, the museum at The Ridge is open only on a couple of Saturdays that did not coincide with out trip.  We  had considered having lunch at The City Grill in Hurtsboro, just down the road, but the buffet selection was limited so, where’s the next closest restaurant?  Only 45-miles farther down the road.  OK, let’s make this a Eufaula destination.  Downtown Eufaula is a picturesque small town with its antebellum homes, restored storefronts in the quaint shopping district frozen in time on E. Broad Street with live oak trees, statues and fountains in the median.

We had 2 MGs, 2 Jaguars, 2 MINIs, and 2 “My other car is a Triumph”s.  Our trek began at the Pike Road Station parking lot on Vaughn Road.  This location was chosen to minimize the traffic lights that complicate keeping a caravan together.  Our first traffic light was in Tuskegee, some 30-miles into our ride.  Even with eight cars versus five closely-spaced (but not synchronized) lights , we managed to get through Tuskegee together, then it was another hour-and-a-half of traffic light free motoring into Eufaula.  We did pause for a few minutes at the Big Cat in Midway for obvious reasons following several cups of coffee earlier. 

The drive from Midway to Eufaula is mostly straight and flat, so we made good time.  Our restaurant was  across the Lake Eufaula causeway just over the Georgia line in Georgetown.  Michelle’s main draw is their buffet, but ordering from the menu was optional.  Following lunch,  we spent a few minutes checking out the flea market that was located next door before returning to Eufaula. 

Cathy and I had scouted out the trip on a weekday and were as surprised as everyone else to find that most of the downtown shops closed on Saturday.  Oh well, the temperature was in the upper sixties with some breaks in the clouds and we enjoyed the stroll.  Despite a forecast of 10{d7bb5f80100d9cc8ed36d8b44483fdbf859ff4aee0deeb25afed5de8e54bd8dc} chance of rain and mostly cloudy skies, we remained raindrop free for the entire trip.

Russell

[PHOTOS]

March 2014 BMC Road Trip Agenda

  • Date:  Saturday, March 15, 2014
  • Destination:  Eufaula, AL
  • 96 miles / ≈ 2-hours.  This was our Route Map.
  • Except for a few miles at the beginning of CR 10, the surfaces were good to excellent
  • We used 2-way radio channel 5  (channel 5.0 for digital radios)
  • The average high temperature in Eufaula for March 15, is 72 degrees.  We reached 70 degrees on this day.
  • We met at the Pike Road Station parking lot, at 8:45am and  rolled out at 9:00am.

Points of Interest:

Federal Road:  Old Federal Road Map:
Our drive along US 80E and later CR 10, paralleled or went right over, the Old Federal Road that evolved from the Creek Indian trails.  If your ancestors came to Alabama from Georgia or the Carolinas in the early – mid 1800’s, it’s a good chance they traveled this way.

Abandoned Seaboard Coastline Railroad bed:  Once we were on US 82E, on the south side of the highway, we saw embankments, bank cuts, and trestles of the now-abandoned railroad tracks.

Foliage:   We saw green shoots in the hardwoods, redbuds, plum and pear blossoms, yellow jasmine waking up from their winter naps and palmettos in the wetlands.

White-quartz sand:  As we passed over the many creeks and streams on our route, we saw the sugar-white sand.  From the Deep Sea News Website:

During the Cretaceous, 139-65 million years ago, shallow seas covered much of the southern United States.   These tropical waters were productive–giving rise to tiny marine plankton with carbonate skeletons which overtime accumulated into massive chalk formations.  The chalk, both alkaline and porous, lead to fertile and well-drained soils in a band, mirroring that ancient coastline and stretching across the now much drier South.

You can see the remnants of this ancient coastline on a satellite view of Alabama. The arc extends from Macon and Columbus Georgia, through Auburn, Montgomery, Selma and Demopolis in Alabama and continuing up through Columbus, Tupelo, and Corinth Mississippi.   Sharks teeth and fossilized oyster beds can still be found in road cuts here. Note US Silica just west of Hurtsboro.  They’ve been playing in this sandbox for 50 years.

Antebellum Homes:  Once we entered the city of Eufaula along N. Eufaula Avenue,  we saw the restored antebellum homes with manicured yards.  We  see more on our trip home as we motored out N. Randolph Avenue.  The Eufaula Pilgrimage will be on the weekend of April 3-6 if you’d like to see more.

Lake Eufaula:  We crossed the Chattahoochee River/Lake Eufaula into Georgetown GA where we ate at Michelle’s Restaurant.
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g30514-d1204048-Reviews-Michele_s_of_Georgetown-Eufaula_Alabama.html

Shops on E. Broad Street:  After lunch, we’ returned to East Broad Street in Eufaula to look in the shops and stores.

 Returning home:  We returned on US 82 West, but this time via Union Springs & AL 110