Dusty Boots Posted May 30, 2016 Share Posted May 30, 2016 I used to have a thread by the same title where I chronicled my travels, but looks like it got dumped when we moved to the new format(?) Anyways, I''ll be keeping a bit of a journal of my trips in this thread. My 1st trip of this year (leaving June 1, 2016) is a 2 week stint taking me down to a couple of camp outs in the States. 1st one being at Willville Bike camp, a motorcycle only campground by Meadows of the Dan, VA, which is just off the Blue Ridge Parkway. I'll be making my way over to the next camp out at Hunt's Lodge Motorcycle Campground, on the outskirts of Tellico Plains, TN, (near the western terminus of the Cherohala Skyway) for the following weekend. Then it will be a fairly quick trip back home. I'll add some photos of the trip, routes taken, etc when I find WiFi en route. I camp in various ways, but this trip I'll be taking my tow behind camper. Here is the 1st 2 days of my planned route to get down to Willville, with a stop over at a friend's place in Lowell, OH the 1st night and then we'll both head down to Willville the next day. (I usually shun the Interstates, but my buddy is in a hurry to get there!) https://goo.gl/maps/RQzdVJorvpB2 Dusty 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CenCom Posted May 31, 2016 Share Posted May 31, 2016 Fun,safe travels to you. ? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dusty Boots Posted May 31, 2016 Author Share Posted May 31, 2016 Thank you, Mary!! Dusty 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dusty Boots Posted May 31, 2016 Author Share Posted May 31, 2016 Everything is done ... except for the waiting. Off early to bed tonight, up @ 3 am and gone by 4. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dusty Boots Posted June 1, 2016 Author Share Posted June 1, 2016 Currently having breakfast in Clyde, OH. Traffic has been fairly light, even through Detroit . Nice sunny day and starting to warm up. Looks like I'LL have to get a 1156 bulb for my right rear turn signal, as it appears to be burnt out. Looking forward to the rest of the ride down to my friend's place in Lowell, OH. More later Dusty 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dusty Boots Posted June 1, 2016 Author Share Posted June 1, 2016 Made it down to Lowell, OH around 12:20. Forgot how nice the views were on I-77 and eastern OH. Found out my problem with the turn signal wasn't a bulb, but rather a disconnected connection for the turn Signal. Apparently when a friend was over verifying whether a wiring harness he recently purchased was defective or not by testing it on my bike (I have the same one), he hooked it up to my bike and when he disconnected his and hooked up my wiring harness back up, one of the connectors was not fully seated and shook loose on the way down. Easy fix once we uncovered access to it. Tomorrow we are headed to Willville Motorcycle campground, so will probably have no WiFi access for a few days 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dusty Boots Posted June 3, 2016 Author Share Posted June 3, 2016 Had a nice ride to Willville, part by I-77 and part scenic, twisty back roads. - https://goo.gl/maps/8ZZi4eRRLZs Had the odd rain drop on the way down and then a brief, light shower after we got set up. Here's a few shots of the campgrounds at Willville Bike Camp ... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dusty Boots Posted June 3, 2016 Author Share Posted June 3, 2016 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dusty Boots Posted June 3, 2016 Author Share Posted June 3, 2016 Tonight's dinner .... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dusty Boots Posted June 6, 2016 Author Share Posted June 6, 2016 We had some showers off and on today, with some pretty good downpours around mid afternoon, so I decided to stay put and will ride the Blue Ridge Parkway down to Hwy 276 in NC and over to Blue Ridge Motorcycle Campground tomorrow. Except for 3 of us, all the other attendees left for home this morning, before the showers started up. I'll check in once I get set up at BRMC, tomorrow afternoon. Dusty 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dusty Boots Posted June 8, 2016 Author Share Posted June 8, 2016 Had a great day for riding down the BRP to my next night's campground at Blue Ridge Motorcycle Campground. - https://goo.gl/maps/EiUTfmGkhwu Such a scenic and relaxing ride with just 1 stop sign at the very end of the 469 mi long Parkway (actually a yield if you turn right to head along US 441 and over The Great Smoky Mountains National Park) I stopped in at Asheville, NC to pick up some supplies and when I came out of the store, there was a huge ominous black cloud overhead, moving to the NE, so I was able to skirt it once back on the BRP and arrived at the BRMC dry as a bone, in mostly sunny skies, to set up camp for 1 night. A few shots follow of the ride down along the BRP and at BRMC. .... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dusty Boots Posted June 8, 2016 Author Share Posted June 8, 2016 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dusty Boots Posted June 8, 2016 Author Share Posted June 8, 2016 Blue Ridge Motorcycle Campground (BRMC) .... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dusty Boots Posted June 8, 2016 Author Share Posted June 8, 2016 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dusty Boots Posted June 8, 2016 Author Share Posted June 8, 2016 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dusty Boots Posted June 8, 2016 Author Share Posted June 8, 2016 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dusty Boots Posted June 15, 2016 Author Share Posted June 15, 2016 On Tuesday, June 7th, I rode up through Waynesville/Maggie Valley and then hopped on the BRP to the end of it. I then took US 441 up through Great Smoky Mountains National Park and then hopped on Little River Rd just before Gattlinburg, over to Townsend and Marysville and on over to Hunt's in Tellico Plains, TN. https://goo.gl/maps/5XwGWtkvXB32 The day was warm and sunny and although the traffic through GSMNP and Little River Road was busy and slow going, the sights/scenery were well worth the traffic conditions I endured once I resigned myself to the slow pace and relaxed. Sorry ... no photos along the stunning stretch of scenic, twisty roads, as traffic conditions and the nature of the road didn't allow for me to take any shots while riding them. Once I got over to Hunt's I quickly got set up and awaited the arrival of 45 other like minded souls to arrive for the Cherohala Camp Out. On Thursday, I was on the road by 6 AM and rode down into Atlanta, GA to visit a good friend of mine for the day who has been battling Cancer for the past 5 yrs. Happy to report that he is kicking it's ass! I arrived back at camp @ 8:50 PM to find more people had arrived while I was gone.Temps Thursday - Sunday were hovering either side of 100*F. , with sunshine the whole time I was there. We had a great Potluck Dinner Saturday night and people pulled out on Sunday, bound for home, or other destinations, all of us looking forward to next year's camp out. Riding along Hwy 68, nearing Tellico Plains. Here are some shots taken at Hunt's .... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dusty Boots Posted June 15, 2016 Author Share Posted June 15, 2016 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dusty Boots Posted June 15, 2016 Author Share Posted June 15, 2016 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dusty Boots Posted June 15, 2016 Author Share Posted June 15, 2016 I left Hunt's on Sunday morning, accompanied by a fellow (Craig) who rode down from Halifax, NS. I had decided to break the ride home into 3 fairly equal days and Craig decided to ride with me as he was planning on visiting his mother in Shelburne, ON on the way back. We rode from Hunt's up to Taylorsville Lake State Park in northern KY. - https://goo.gl/maps/A2W4rGaRBaA2 Again it was a hot day with temps in the upper 90sF, with high humidity. We got camp set up, had showers and went for a walk around the campground. We scared up a skunk along one path and got back to our site as it started to lightly sprinkle. I had saw some towering Cumulus clouds start to form, so I turned on my NOAA weather radio and there were reports of heavy thunderstorms, high winds and pea sized hail just to the NW of us in nearby Louisville, KY, We went to bed after the brief sprinkles and thunder boomers had subsided and I was awoken in the middle of the night when some coons raided my cooler of the front of my camper. I closed and secured the cooler lid with some heavy bungee cords. When I had to make a 'midnight visit' to the washroom, I detected a tick on me and quickly removed it.. We were up, packed and on the road the next morning by 7 AM. Some shots of Taylorville State Park. .... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dusty Boots Posted June 15, 2016 Author Share Posted June 15, 2016 The next morning, (June 8) we packed up and were headed towards Lima, OH, to stay at the Ottawa Metro Park Campground. - https://goo.gl/maps/Vh2v62dNgf82 While the day started off fairly cool, it started heating up and were glad to ride under some fairly heavy tree canopy in the earlier stages of the day's ride. It was in the upper 80s when we arrived and set up in this large city park complex, where there were no shade tress as the big Ash trees that were there before, fell victim to the Emerald Ash Borer. We decided to set up our campers in one of the large RV pull through sites so we would have lots of room for both our bikes and campers and be close to the newer shower house. On the way up to Lima, my bike rolled over another 'milestone', just after I filled up. A few pics .... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dusty Boots Posted June 15, 2016 Author Share Posted June 15, 2016 On the final day of my trip, we were on the road by 8 AM and rode up through Detroit and crossed over on the Blue Water Ferry, from Marine City MI, over to Sombra, ON. https://goo.gl/maps/5pRNKrPG2Am Since crossing at the Ambassador Bridge in Detroit with a camper in tow is so expensive ($12.50 each way) I opted for the ferry route which is not only far less expensive ($5 with the camper each way), but it is also a lot faster as there are virtually no line ups through Customs, or at the toll gate. After we crossed over, we parted ways, with Craig bound for his Mother's place in Shelburne, ON and I for home. Total mileage for me on this trip was 3,567 KM/2,230 MI You can view the photos of this trip - HERE DUSTY 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beaner Posted June 17, 2016 Share Posted June 17, 2016 To be retired or to have unlimited vacation time off of work, to cross off some of those bucket list roads.Thanks for keeping us (CMC) in the loop. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dusty Boots Posted July 21, 2016 Author Share Posted July 21, 2016 This morning (July 21) I'll be heading out for my annual ride up to Cycle Moore, up in northern MI., for a camp out with other members of another forum I belong to. I'll be meeting up with fellow 016 members Lorne and Judy Grigg at the Riverview Restaurant in Sombra around 7:30 for breakfast, then taking the Bluewater Ferry across to Marine City, MI where Judy has to pick up a package at her US shipping address and then we'll be following this route up to Cycle Moore - https://goo.gl/maps/ZosYW3k6ivH2 I should be returning home Sunday sometime and then prep things for the National Rally in Milverton the following weekend. I'll add some shots of the ride up and the camping area/festivities there. Dusty 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WildWilly Posted July 21, 2016 Share Posted July 21, 2016 Ride safe and have fun buddy. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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