Tenn-tucky roads

The forest and hills of Tennessee and Kentucky make for beautiful winding two-lane roads.  There usually a little town every 8-12 miles along the way.  Not many pull-outs which is unfortunate since there are numerous scenic overlooks.
There are a lot of rivers and streams in the valleys as well.  Too many to build bridges over, so they still operate a number of ferries, just as they've done for centuries.  Couldn't help but think of the scene from the Outlaw Josey Wales and his Missourah Boat Ride.  Fortunately that didn't happen!

The hardwoods and crops also provide plentiful forage for the region's white-tailed deer population.  Makes 'em grow big too.  But, not necessarily smart.  One spike in particular, about 150 lbs., just refused to ignore my flashing lights and swerving on the Western Kentucky Parkway.  It was either him or the ditch.

If you don't have a grille guard for your vehicle, let me try to talk you into one ... and putting an extra spare tire on it can be helpful as well.  Do the math on a 150# deer hitting a 2006 suburban doing 65 mph about 1,000 miles from home and you'd calculate an expensive and complicated trip back to Helena.  Nope ... buck-fifty at the car wash because the front of the truck looked and smelled like it had hit a deer, and $18.50 for a headlamp and turn signal and we were back on the road.  Have about $350 into the grille guard and a $500 deductible, but moving on to Sophia's next state ... priceless.