The
group had a reasonably sedate night and then met in the morning
for another trail run. We split into 2 groups. Pat and
Steve went to explore the harder trails and test the capabilities
of his newly-purchased 406. The rest of us went on an easier
trail.
The photos below are what we saw.
We
headed out on toward the trail and along the way we passed this
sign. The sign may or may not be true, but hopefully he will
be preceded by the English teacher.
When
we stopped so I could photograph the sign, I also got a shot of
each of the trucks. Above is Garret's 416
Bob's
very clean 404 with new canvas top.
Cliff's
710 Pinzgauer. Kathleen elected to ride with Cliff.
Bob's
1300L with Alaskan camper.
Just
down the road we passed another odd sign.
Garret
was leading the trail run and took us to the top of Cross
Mountain. Cross Mountain used to be the home of a radar
station that protected the Oak Ridge uranium processing
facility. Now, the mountain is the home of a set of
commercial and amateur radio repeaters. The facility on the
right is for a local TV station.
On
the path down from Cross Mountain, we elected to take a side
trail. The trail narrowed quickly and was choked by
low-hanging limbs. The limbs rapidly became an obstacle that
we elected not to endure, so we turned around. Above, you
can see the height of the limbs relative to Bob's cab.
Bob's
404 got turned around without too much trouble.
At
a rest stop, we spotted these fossils in the rocks in the cliff
above the trail. This fossil is the bark of an ancient palm
tree.
While
looking at the fossils, I spotted this frog in the grass.
We
found this petrified wood in the detritus of the cliff.
Some
of the flakes of rock had other kinds of leaves.
This
fossil was yet another kind of leaf.
Further
down the trail, we came upon an open area that allowed the trucks
to get some exercise. Garret attacks the hill with his 416.
He
turned around on the top and backed over the upper berm with no
difficulty.
Further
down the trail, we got a nice view of the Oak Ridge valley.
Note that the kudzu is taking over the hillside. Our camp is
the open area in the center-right of the photo.
Back in camp, it was cocktail time. At dusk, we spotted this brightly colored bird in the brush near our seating area. Later that night, we had a fire with coal that we picked up along the trails. The bugs were not too oppressive, so it was a good night.
Next
day, we headed back to Bob and Kitty's ranch for a much-needed
maintenance stop for Thor. Back at the farm, we completed
our repair to the inside of the camper, changed oil, filters,
etc. The splint was finally acceptable after 5 coats of
paint, so we slathered it up with panel adhesive and stapled it
over the wound. The original corner covers were reused to
minimize the visual impact of the splint. Sad to say, but
the repaired section is much stronger than the original component.
We had a great
time with the southeast mog contingent.
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Photos and Text Copyright Bill Caid 2012, all rights
reserved.
For your enjoyment only, not for commercial use.