Fourth of July Ride

Where does a group go on Independence Day? The Cliffs of the Neuse State Park of course.




The first portion of the journey would take us through Trenton, Phillips Crossroads, Sandy Bottom, Moss Hill and to Seven Springs where the park is located. We let the GPS guide us since we had chosen a back road route that kept us just south of Kinston.


Pat and Ray joined Chad, Lynn, Debbie, and me for the trip. Five Harleys cruising down the back roads of eastern North Carolina on the Fourth of July in perfect weather....it doesn't get much better than that. It was an hour from New Bern to the park and we arrived at about 10:45.




The park is quite impressive and has much more to offer than we expected. Even the fence is designed with the outdoor rustic experience in mind.








We checked out the museum and then headed to the actual Cliffs.







The Cliffs are a very short walk from the main parking lot and the view is simply amazing. Those of us in New Bern take the Neuse River for granted since it doesn't appear to change much day-to-day. But here you can see the way the river alters itself on a regular basis. This looks like one hell of a water hazard on a golf course. In reality it's one fantastic get back to nature experience.






If you look carefully nature will provide surprises at every turn.










There are several trails in the park and all the trails are worth a look. This trail leads to the river from the main parking lot. The scenery at the rivers edge is worth the walk.







The canopy that the trees create near the rivers edge is impressive. During the walk down you are in what I believe to be a climax forest due to the absence of pine trees.

Climax Forest – a forest community that represents the mature stage of natural forest succession for its environment.





This view is from the rivers edge. The area at the top right is where the main parking lot is located.









Green is considered one of the additive primary colors. The perception of green is evoked by light having a spectrum dominated by energy with a wavelength of roughly 520–570 nm.

I'm thinkin' 565....







The lush green foliage is almost over powering.









Huck Finn and Swimin' Hole comes to mind for some reason.










The trek back to the top.










Just when you think you've seen it all at the park you realize there is a lake. How about a grassy beach?









There are numerous places to enjoy the scenery and access the lake.








There are even peddle boats for rent.









We left the park and headed to Goldsboro via Mount Olive. We stopped for lunch at Ruby Tuesday's in Goldsboro and then followed Ray on a back road run to New Bern by way of Snow Hill and Fort Barnwell.



This was one of those perfect trips that you will remember for years to come. The park is a destination that I highly recommend. We have plans to return soon, have a cook out and rent the peddle boats. The roads we took on the trip usually have light traffic and the scenery is quite enjoyable. Our round trip mileage was 178 miles and the Ultra is now getting 42 miles to the gallon.