One could argue that the Trail of Tears ride begins on the Monday before the day of the official ride, the third saturday in September. This year, once again, a group of riders left texas, on that monday before the official ride, to join the official trail of tears commemorative motorcycle ride in Bridgeport. This ride, from Texas to cherokee, nc, is called the louis hutton memorial ride, in honor of a long time supporter of the ride. This group traveled from San Antonio and rode the natchez trace parkway from its origin in natchez louisiana for 380 miles all the way to Tennessee. Then they rode the Cherohala skyway from Tellico Plains, the tail of the dragon at Deal's Gap and then made their way into cherokee. More info on the LHMR can be found here.
more pictures from that ride can be seen here.

A few days later a group of riders left out of Bridgeport Led by Ike moore, org Prez, on thursday morning for the annual ride to cherokee. this year the weather could not have been better. we had sunshine and beautiful temperatures every day. When we pulled into cherokee in the early evening it was warm and the ride down into the town (after a day of riding through the smokey mountains) was beautiful. Some of the gathering group stayed at the coolwaters motel, run by our friend ned, a native american and long time supporter of the ride. And some stayed at the Rolling Hills lodge.

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but we got together for dinner at one of the town's fine restaurants, Paul's Family Restaurant, had a great meal, good fellowship, and renewed friendship with those we hadn't seen since the previous year.

special recognition to the following law enforcement agencies for their gracious support in providing escort and traffic control. This year we enjoyed having the majority of our entire route from Cherokee, NC to WeWoka, oK escorted by our friends in 'Blue'.
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Cherokee PD, Cherokee County, Polk County, Bradley County, Bridgeport PD, Colbert County, Tishomingo County, Corinth PD, Alcorn County, Tippah County, Walnut PD, Shelby County, Memphis PD, ARkansas State Patrol, Crittenden County, Searcy PD, Conway PD, Mansfield PD, McAlester PD, Lighthorse PD.

the two groups met up at the Cherokee fairgrounds and departed for historic Ross's landing in chattanooga, on friday morning.

the departure from cherokee, escorted by the cherokee pd, was on time, and once again the weather was warm and beautiful. The journey back to bridgeport takes US-74 through the smoky mountains and rides alongside some of the beautiful rivers and streams running through the mountains. It is one of the most beautiful rides you'll ever enjoy. most of the ride from cherokee to Ross's landing is escorted by the various Law enforcement agencies of the towns and counties on the route. so the ride, along with the approximate 50 to 60 riders, is leisurely and safe.

arriving at ross's landing we were joined by a large group of riders nearly doubling the group size. after a brief stop at ross's landing the riders continued on to bridgeport for the kick-off party. the kickoff party was, as usual, a festive scene with the usual good food. vendors and riders and visitors had the opportunity to walk around and greet old friends. the party starts with a brief introduction of the org's members that put the ride together followed by entertainment provided by several different local bands and concluded with the As usual, our good friend and ride supporter, andy 'barney fine' woods was there. barney is a good friend of the ride and a great brother.
more photos from the friday ride can be seen here.

the start of the official ride on saturday saw a gathering of several thousand riders in bridgeport, again, under beautiful skies and warm weather. Leaving from Bridgeport we rode US 72, the regular path established as the official Drane-Hood route of the tRail of Tears all the way to Redstone HD for our lunch stop.

a delicious lunch was enjoyed listening to the live entertainment and viewing the information and wares of vendors at the dealership before we continued on to Waterloo. the ride to waterloo was good. Along the entire route from Bridgeport to waterloo the people of alabama line the highways to wave and encourage the riders with respect for what we are doing. The entire route is escorted by police and every intersection is blocked while the procession passes by. So the ride is very much like a parade. we arrived in waterloo at the park where the pow wow is held and enjoyed the Indian dancing, food and drink vendors, and the many vendors of Native american crafts and biker goods.

Before heading to the Coldwater inn for the night the organizers and some riders had dinner in muscle shoals. The texas riders decided to visit the famous rattlesnake Saloon, which is a really cool restaurant located under a cliff overhang off a country road just south of Tuscumbia. We enjoyed the simple fare and the live music and spent a great evening resting and enjoying fellowship with rider friends.

In the morning we headed for Spring Park to gather and begin the ride West. The organization that puts on the ride, the alabama tennessee trail of tears corridor association, has placed a statue and plaques in spring park that commemorate the trail of tears. we gather there and hold a small ceremony each year before we leave for our westward destination which, this year, was the seminole nation in wewoka, OK.

the 'ride after the ride' this year to wewoka had our first night's stay planned  to searcy arkansas where we stayed at the la quinta . The ride to searcy took us out of alabama and on to memphis Tennessee where we stopped for lunch at the east end bar and grill. The grill is a favorite stop in memphis where they always treat us well. after lunch we departed for searcy being escorted out of town by no less than 18 of Memphis's finest motor patrol officers who did an incredible job of getting us on our way.

in the morning we left searcy for the ride to mcalester, Ar, where we stayed at the hampton inn.

Tuesday morning we left mcalester en route to wewoka where we were greeted by chief Lewis Johnson who gave us a warm welcome and a talk about the history of the seminole people, his own personal history, and a tour through the seminole Museum.

chief johnson is a very warm and welcoming person. The talk he gave about the history of the seminole people was deeply personal and extremely informative and provided us with a real look into the heart and character of the seminoles. the presentation and tour through the museum was a fascinating look into their culture and style. this was, for me, one of the best experiences in the many years I've been doing this ride... one that I will long remember.

For more pictures of this year's ride and the museum click here.

Afterwards we all said our goodbyes to old friends and new friends we've made on the journey, looking forward to being reunited again next year for the 32nd annual trail of tears commemorative ride.
our deepest and most sincere thanks to all those that particpated in the ride, especially to those that joined for the entire ride from cherokee, nc. to wewoka, ok. if you haven't made the entire ride with us, please consider making plans to join us next year for this most unique, inspiring, and important ride to bring remembrance to the trail of tears.
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whether it rains or shines the annual trail of tears commemorative ride goes on. and those that ride it are fulfilling a 'duty' to insure that this event in history is remembered and that its remembrance will serve to provide perspective, reconciliation, and direction for our future.
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