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The True Story of the Philippi Mummies!

In the town of Philippi, West Virginia there is a museum.  This is the Barbour County Historical Museum, and it is staffed by the nicest lady you could ever meet, along with her two young helpers.

Barbour County Historical Museum Staff

Barbour County Historical Museum Staff

The museum is inside a old railroad depot and is right next to their famous covered bridge.  Much of the museum is devoted to the history of the bridge.  I have a personal relationship with the bridge because I have a friend at work who used to live in Philippi and his best friend burned down the bridge.  I would tell the whole story here, but I am not going to so you have a reason to go visit the museum.

In this museum are many items of historical significance.  The first amputation happened in Philippi.  The first chairman of the FCC came from Philippi.  The Kodak camera was invented there.  Civil war battles were fought in Philippi.

Among the many items of interest the strangest thing is the Mummie Room.  Thats right, honest to goodness mummies.

Philippi Mummie

Philippi Mummie

Of course, like most things there is some controversy about the mummies, and I am told that you can’t believe the stuff you see on the Interwebs about them.  RideWithTank.com is all about setting the record straight, so I am not going to say another word about them.  I’ll leave that to one of the nicest ladies you will ever meet.

Explanation of the Philippi Mummies from Tank on Vimeo.

She has the full story on every single item in the museum and she absolutely loves to tell the stories.  When you visit be sure to ask about the player piano.  She will also tell you where the saying “Top Notch” comes from, and be sure to ask about the story of the lightning bugs in the jar.

The roads around Philippi are motorcycle heaven, and the Barbour County Historical Museum is a visit you will never forget.

Bananalicious!



Bananalicious!, originally uploaded by Tank Mobile.

Phillipi Mummies



Phillipi Mummies, originally uploaded by Tank Mobile.

I finally made it to see the West Virginia mummies! I am just posting this blurry photo to prove I have been there. A full report will follow in a few days.

Hillbilly Hotdogs has Banana Splits!

Hillbilly Hotdogs



Hillbilly Hotdogs, originally uploaded by Tank Mobile.

Here I am at Hillbilly Hotdogs! Some Gold Wing rider parked his bike right in front of the window!

Deals Gap, May 2009

Well my first big adventure of the year is over. I went to the Gap with a bunch of folks from RideOhio.org and it was a really great time.

We had quite a bit of rain, but it really did not hurt the fun very much. The best thing about having a bunch of friends with you is that you can still have a lot of fun even if it is raining.

As always the staff and management of the Deals Gap Motorcycle Resort went out of their way to insure we all had a great time. I know I say this all the time, but these folks are just good people. They take such great care of their guests it is unreal. I have stayed in a lot of different places but I have never stayed anywhere that I felt more welcome.

I have to admit we behaved badly a few nights. What with all the rain we were left with nothing more to do than consume enormous quantities of alcohol and I hope we did not make a lot of noise and disturb any people who were trying to get some sleep. I know the one night most everybody who was spending the night was drinking with us so hopefully we did not disturb anybodys sleep.

There have been some menu additions to the Dragon Grill. They still have all the old favorites, but the new additions are great! The best thing is the Key Lime pie. It is spectacular. It is honestly the best I have ever eaten. They also have poppers on the menu. I loves me some poppers, and these are super good. They have also added cheese sticks. They are basically bread sticks with cheese inside. I think they would be better with some garlic butter on them, but they are still pretty good. There was another new desert item as well, but I don’t remember what it was because all I ate was Key Lime Pie. The controversial item for me was Sweet Potato Pancakes. I think I was pretty closed minded about them because pancakes are pretty dear to me. Cathy got an order and I tried a bite but didn’t really like them. Ben seemed so disappointed when he asked me how I liked them and I said “They’re OK”. The last morning Cathy got them again and got full after eating half of them. I finished them off and I have to admit that the more I ate the better I liked them. I suspect the first time I tried them there was not enough butter on them. I like a lot of butter. I often bring my own butter because I will use a whole stick of butter on my cakes and it must cost Brad a ton of money when I use 40 or 50 of those individual packages. Next visit I will bring a stick of butter and try them again, and I believe I will be able to say that the Sweet Potato Pancakes get the Tank Seal of Approval.

A very special friend made me lemon bars again and brought them to me fresh from her oven! That is the best food I ever get down there not just because they are delicious, but also because I appreciate the gesture so very much.

As I write this the great state of Tennessee is paving 93 pulloffs along the Gap and I just can’t express how good I think this will be! I can’t wait until they are finished! Take some time and send TDOT an email and let them know how much we appreciate how well they take care of our road at TDOT.Comments@tn.gov! This should greatly reduce the amount of gravel in the road and should encourage slower traffic to pull over and let faster traffic around. It will also make it far safer to pull over on our bikes to do some bike watching.

The best thing about my trip as always is getting to spend time with my friends as well as making new friends. It was great to see some of the locals that I have not seen since last year and it was great to spend some time with all my friends. I made several new friends that I hope to run into many more times!

To finish up I am just going to post up some of my favorite pictures from the trip.

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Friday Morning Overlook



Friday Morning Overlook, originally uploaded by Tank Mobile.

The only thing good about rain is that it does allow new photo opportunities. This is the scene that awaited me on my morning run this morning.

Porkfest



Porkfest, originally uploaded by Tank Mobile.

Thursday we had a break in the weather and here is one of the plates I ate at Bread of Heaven. There is nothing better than all you can eat pulled pork that has been smoked.

Rain Sucks



Rain Sucks, originally uploaded by Tank Mobile.

Rain. More rain. Drizzle. Rain. It just will not let up. We thought today would be better, but once again it is raining. All I want is one day of blue skies all day.

Maybe tomorrow…………

Foothills Parkway



Foothills Parkway, originally uploaded by Tank Mobile.

Here is one of the fantastic views from the Foothills Parkway. It is also the last time we saw blue skies on Thursday.

Johnnys Tire



Johnnys Tire, originally uploaded by Tank Mobile.

Johnny is a cheap bastard. He gets evey mile he can out of his tires.

Drinking Night



Drinking Night, originally uploaded by Tank Mobile.

Here I am with the Arkansas guys and the BMW guys. There were a great bunch of folks saying at the motel this night and we all had a great time.

Bad Hair Day



Bad Hair Day, originally uploaded by Tank Mobile.

Tree Almost Falls on Tank!



Tree Almost Falls on Tank!, originally uploaded by Tank Mobile.

After visiting Fontana Dam we stopped at Fontana Village for some ice cream. On the way out a tree fell down in the road between Pete and I. Here you see Joe making his way around the tree.

Fontana Dam Fog



Fontana Dam Fog, originally uploaded by Tank Mobile.

We took the short trip to Fontana Dam. It rained like crazy while we were there, but that provided a great photo opportunity.