Last Day - It is Over

Day 8

September 7, 2018

Last day of the rally; a free day to rest, do a ride we might have missed or just visit.  Don and I rode in to Big Stone Gap and visited the Southwestern Virginia Museum and the Coal Museum; sat in rockers in front of the Visitor Center and talked to a local and took some pictures.  Back at the hotel lunch was at the Huddle House and then worked on the word challenge.  I’m only missing one word but who knows if I have the others right or not.  Gary said the hotel asked him for information on all our rides and what we did so they have something to share with other groups.  That is a real honor I think.  Well as usual the Banquet was wonderful. Great food, wonderful presentation and the program Ruth, Mina and Gary planned was beyond fun and funny.  I won the translation challenge of Appalachia terms with 42 out of 47 correct.  In fact, I was singled out for several gag gifts for different things I did during the week; leading a group, losing my keys, having a jacuzzi in my room.  The mayor of Big Stone Gap presented Gary with a replica rife of the frontier era; a wonderful gift and I really think Gary was touched by their kindness.  Well the trailer is almost packed, we are ready for bed and will leave tomorrow morning around 7 and we have decided to cancel our reservation at Lexington and just drive as long as we can and then find a hotel.  I would love to make it all the way home.   

A few pics from today

Me with the Woodbooger

Looking at Norton from the top of High Knob

Does Roger know the answer?

Yes Don had the answer!

High Knob a real challenge

Day 7

September 6, 2018

Rode to Harlan, Kentucky for lunch at the DQ and then back over more twists and turns.  We have ridden in Virginia, Kentucky and Tennessee and due to heading in the wrong direct yesterday we all most made it to West Virginia.  Been working on my Appalachia story Gary gave us and I’m still about 9 words or phrases short out of 50.  Tonight, we wear our coonskin hats and it is game night and I have no idea what Gary and Ruth have planned I just know they have put a lot of work into it.  Our ride today was short, left at 10 and got back by 1:30 and I wanted to ride to High Knob and Flag Rock.  This had been a ride scheduled but after riding it in the truck and then asking another experienced rider to ride it Sunday Gary decided it was just too much of a challenge for our members.  He was concerned that some might try to ride it even if they didn’t feel comfortable.  Of course, I wanted to ride it and heard that Bob and Cathy Fulmer rode it the other day so they agreed to ride up again with me.  Roger also went with us.  The road was hardtop all the way with a few patches on part of it.  The road was wide enough for a car to pass but barely since riding in the middle was safer.  About 10 hairpin turns where you would be heading up or down and the bike right behind you was still on the down grade.  Hairpins are a real challenge and I love it.  Seldom got out of 2^nd gear.  Got to High Knob and parked and walked the remaining few yards (all up hill) to the tower and what a view!  The air is thin at 4,233 feet and there were more flowers blooming than I’ve seen all week.  Then back on the bike and another stop at Flag Rock where we first saw the statue of the Woodbooger and then walked several yards over hard rocks to the edge of the mountain to observe a flag flying on a large rock outcropping.  The story is an Irish Immigrant was so happy to be in America that he climbed to the top of the rock and planted a flag.  The town of Norton maintains that flag to this day.  Eight people have left to head home.  We still have a large group.  The meeting tonight was game night and oh so much fun.  We each took turns popping a balloon with a question inside and each question had 3 possible answers.  Gary had told us something about each question and it was great fun to see what we remembered or better didn’t remember.  If you got the answer right, you selected a prize, but the big fun was you could trade for any prized taken before you.  Two or three of the prizes made the rounds with lots of laughter and some good-natured name calling.  It was a great hour and a half of good fun.

A long day of fun

Day 6

September 5, 2018

Two separate rides today – one group went to ride the back of the dragon a road about 30 miles long of hairpin turns while the rest of us went to the Breaks and the Ralph Stanley Museum.  Our ride started out on 23 (only way out of town) but then turned on a lot of back country roads with hairpin turns, mountains to climb and descend and views to take your breath away.  The country is beautiful, but the area is so impoverished now that most of the coal mines have closed.  I cannot even imagine what live would be like if suddenly we lost our only means of income.   Riding along one road the river was running close to the road so all the homes built on the “other side” had to build bridges to their homes; some looked pretty sturdy some not so much.  A few of our members are planning to leave tomorrow; they will be missed.  But we all will be packing in just a day or two.  I am tired; it’s hard work having so much fun.

A few pics of Monday and Tuesday

Gary White

An Early Station 

Gun Smith

Chair lift at the Natural Tunnel State Park

The Natural Tunnel

Beauty beyond words

Dale and Don

Tyler Hughes

More roads, mountains and valleys

Day 5

September 4, 2018

Pulled out of the parking lot at 9AM in 3 groups; this is working pretty well.  Riding up and down route 23 and 58 a few times to see the Clinch River Trail, Coal Heritage Trail; The Crooked Road (country music road); roads with twists and turns; up hill and down; grass growing right to the edge of the road and mailboxes but no visible home (one must be there some place).  Past a couple active coal operations and hundreds of train cars loaded with coal waiting to be shipped to far away destinations.  Back at the hotel for a quick shower and then off we went again to Norton to the Wood Booger Restaurant.  The folks around the Appalachia area swear the Wood Booger lives in the mountains.  A creature others call Big Foot or Yeti.  Back to the hotel for an hour or so of Mountain music by Tyler Hughes a very talented young man born and raised here in Big Stone Gap.  He is also the youngest elected city counsel man.  This area has great things in its future with all the young’uns they are putting their faith in.  About 110 miles today.  

Such a beautiful location

Day 4

Monday, September 3, 2018

We have 38 members on 24 bikes and 2 cars.  Largest number in years.  Gary suggested we break the group into 3 riding groups; all going to the same locations just leaving 4 or 5 minutes apart in order to make it easier to hear on the radio and get through intersections.  It worked great.  Gary led group 1 with 8 bikes, Jimmy led group 2 with 8 bikes and I led group 3 with 8 bikes.  I almost always had group 2’s tailgunner in view but even if I couldn’t hear Gary I could hear Jimmy and he could hear me and information could be relayed.  Went to so many places today, Cumberland Gap State Park, Wilderness State Park and toured a “station” which is much like a fort, talked to a gun smith and learned about how a young boy would become an apprentice to a master tradesman and after about 7 years become a journeyman in that trade.  Learned a lot about Daniel Boone and the other frontiersman who traveled the gap heading West.  We rode miles of great roads past some small log cabins, houses of white clapboard and beautiful brick homes.  Hay fields mowed and baled; rolling hills and mountains dotted with cattle; mountains with stark stone faces etched with time and areas over taken with the Kudzu vine making the mountainside look lush and green like a thick carpet and covering the trees making them look like large monsters.  Our last stop was the Natural Tunnel and we took a chair lift to the bottom where we found a large natural tunnel carved through a mountain by the running river over many years.  A train track runs through the tunnel that’s how large it is.  The river – just a small stream of water now that a child could wade in.  Arrived back at the hotel around 6 just time enough for a quick dinner at the Huddle House next door and then to our meeting for the evening at 7 PM.  Up to the room by 8:30 for a hot soaking bath to ease the aches.  About 157 miles.

And the rally begins

Day 3

Sunday, September 2, 2018

Pulled out of the parking lot at 7 just as planned and the fog was so thick you could cut it with a knife.  Had heavy fog for an hour and then patchy fog for the next hour.  Gas and rest stop at 9 and then back on the road.  Traveling I 81 allows for making great time.  We reached Big Stone Gap by 11:35 AM.  The mountains are beautiful.  Once we got off I81 and on to 58 we traveled through a couple of small towns and then mostly open country with lush green growth, corn fields and one or two fields of tobacco just now turning yellow.  A total of 239 miles today. Room wasn’t even ready yet so we walked next door to the Huddle House for lunch.  Our room is beautiful!  Fireplace, jacuzzi tub; large screen TV, balcony and a king size bed.  At 6PM we all gathered in the lobby to follow Gary to the Visitor’s Center downtown.  The town is old, very old, and much like other small towns across our nation with one exception – they have a young tourism director and a young city manager and they have some very upbeat ideas.  As the city manager said they do not have the land to attract businesses but they have the one thing most people now days are searching for – nature, God’s creation and a slower way of life.  They have created a 3 mile greenway for walking and biking and plans are in the works to expand that to about 18 miles connecting to a near by town.  The region has developed hundreds of miles of ATV trails and already it is bringing in about 20 million dollars to the whole region.  We met the mayor, city manager, tourism director and a historian who was full of information.  He has lived here all his life, worked the coal mines and is now involved heavily with the development of the town and the region.  Very informative.  Gary then gave us some history of the places we will visit, Ruth shared a song we are to learn and then of course Gary handed out a paper with a story but a lot of the language is in the Appalachia English.  We are to translate the various terms.  I worked on it last night for about an hour using the Internet.  I was also very surprised to find I use or my family used a lot of the “Hillbilly” English.  Who would have guessed I was a Hillbilly?

Short ride

Day 2

Saturday, Sept. 1, 2018

Arrived in Lexington by 11:30 way too early to check-in so we decided to ride south on US11 to the Pink Cadillac Restaurant; a 50’s restaurant we found the year we brought the kids down.  After lunch we planned to ride out to Rockbridge Bath but the sky was getting dark and we could hear thunder rolling so back to the hotel and we could check in at 2.  In just a few minutes the rain came down and the thunder rolled.  We put on our rain gear at 5:30 and walked down the hill to a very good Mexican restaurant.  Off to bed for an early morning.  Want to eat breakfast by 6:30 and head out at 7.  Road 153 miles today.

Had to leave a day early

Day 1,

Friday August 31, 2018

Decided to leave a day early!  Just cannot wait to get on the road.  Started to rain just a little 30 minutes after leaving and then stopped by the time we reached the Bay Bridge.  Arrived at Fredericksburg VA by noon which was our first stop.  Nice room and plenty of time to rest before dinner at Cowboy Jacks right across the parking lot.  Great food cheap drinks during happy hour.  Only rode 153 miles. Breakfast early and then we head out on the open road for Lexington VA.