Features Editor

Pike County has long been known for its roadside humor.

Several decades ago, Troy brandished a welcome sign that read: 15,000 friendly people and two or three old grouches welcome you to Troy.

Not too many years ago, a local quick-stop raised billboards encouraging travelers and home folks alike to: Eat here and get gas!

Now, a folk humorist has paid good, hard-earned money to reroute traffic off busy Highway 231 with a sign of invitation: Scenic Dirt Road – Turn Here.

David Holmes,

a dirt road sport, is the man behind the sign.

He said some folks might think he’s lost his marbles, but he decided people take life too seriously and don’t take the time to stop and smell the roses.

Holmes travels the "scenic dirt road" daily. He walks with his dogs and for his health -physical and mental.

"There’s nothing like taking a walk along a dirt road and enjoying all that Mother Nature has to offer," he said. "The peace and quiet. The wildlife that is teeming along the scenic byway. The hills that get the heart pumping and the valleys that bring it back to normal.

"The dirt road offers so many things and all of them are good for you. The beauty of the dirt road is there for everyone to enjoy, just

by taking a short drive or a long walk. Much of it is covered by trees. In Florida, covered roads are protected. We should think about doing the same thing here."

The wildlife that is safely at home along the scenic drive includes, chipmunks, squirrels, turkeys, fox squirrels, deer and often a possum or raccoon will lumber along.

"In the spring and early summer, the fireflies are everywhere and birds sing all year long," Holmes said. "Dirt roads are quiet and scenic.

We all need to get off

the super highways every now and then and enjoy the beauty and peace of traveling the roads less traveled."

Holmes walks the scenic route and he thinks others might enjoy walking it, too – or driving it.

However, he does sometimes worry that the rumbling automobile coming behind him on his walk might be the men in white coats coming to take him away for doing such silly stuff as designating a Pike County dirt road as a scenic route.

If they come, he will go quietly as long as they take him along a scenic dirt road route and there are 350 miles of dirt roads in Pike County on which to travel.

However, only one is posted, but all of that could change when motorists "get off the road and back to nature."

Pike County’s first "posted" scenic dirt road is located off U.S. Highway 231, three miles north of Brundidge or seven miles south of Troy. From Brundidge, turn

left

two miles passed Henry Farm Center. From Troy, turn right 100 yards passed Wallace Pump and Supply.

Follow the red dirt road and Holmes’ advice, "Take time to smell the roses."