Author Archives: Wyetta

After a short 5-10 mile ride from Blythe Ferry to Dayton, TN, I ducked into the Huddle House for some breakfast. I hadn’t even set down my helmet when a woman at the bar exclaimed, “Bless your heart. I saw you peddling down the road all weighted down. Your breakfast is on me.” Bless herContinue reading “There’s dogs in them there hills!”

My second day of riding concluded at the southern banks of the confluence of the Tennessee and Hiawassee Rivers. The Blythe Ferry was the way in which many of the detachments crossed these mighty rivers. Getting 1,000 people, several hundred horses, and a few hundred wagons across the river was no easy matter and oftenContinue reading “Blythe Ferry”

Currently, I sit on the bluff above the confluence of the Tennessee and Hiawassee Rivers. For the Cherokee, South of here is the old homeland, north of here is not.   Before coming on this trip, I had read of the Brainerd Missionary. The Brainerd Missionary was a place where many preachers were dedicated to helpingContinue reading “Brainerd Missionary Cemetery”

Towards the end of my first day of cycling, I arrived at Red Clay State Park, just over the border into Tennessee. I was struck by the beauty of the trees and undulating landscape of the park. Back in the 1800s, the Georgia state government became more and more intent on seizing the Cherokee lands.Continue reading “Red Clay State Park”

New Echota was the capital of the Cherokee prior to the removal. Here are a few interesting things that I learned… Many Cherokee integrated with the white colonists. I’ll make the claim that they were more integrated than the other tribes. They had very colonial looking houses made of hewn wood.  They were also aContinue reading “New Echota, GA -The Starting Point”

I posted my prayer for this journey.

My flight departs in about 6 hours. I am pleased to report that I am now packed, pretty much right on schedule, at least for me. The bike fit snuggly in the bike box that transported her from Santiago de Compostella, Esp in 2014. It was a little bit tighter this time because the silverContinue reading “Packed”

Over the past few weeks, I have been busy preparing and humbly building excitement for the upcoming journey. With each new project, I have felt open, patient, and optimistic about the outcomes. The silver steed now has a new cassette, chain, motorcycle style center stand, front rack, panniers, dynamo hub, tires, tubes, USB charger, andContinue reading “Chicks & Tiggers”

There’s a brief article by Tim Alan Garrison called Cherokee Removal that summarizes what happened. There’s also a large volume of books and websites on this subject. I encourage you to visit these for more authority and detail. Here’s my rendition of the story. Essentially, the white lawmakers in Georgia wanted the Cherokee lands forContinue reading “Why were the Cherokee removed from their native lands?”

My name is Wyetta Bontempo. Somewhere in northern West Virginia or Southwestern Pennsylvania, a woman by the name of Waetta (pronounced Wai eeta) saved my great grandmother’s life when she fell into a river. My grandmother, the oldest child of my great grandmother, was given the name Waetta. My grandmother never used the name preferringContinue reading “Who am I?”