Bit of bother in West Virginia!

After travelling across Ohio to West Virginia we stopped at the campground in Buckeye State Park.

Walking around the lake we spied a young eagle about to fly the nest!

We travelled south to ride the Hatfeild McCoy trails. These are designated routes for ATV and dirt bike riding with marked routes.

Folk travel for hundreds of miles just to ride these trails. They camp in wooden cabins in the woods and the paths get crowded!

The campground in the Kanawha State Forest just outside Charleston was our home for a few days.

We decided to explore the forest trails. However the railway line from the coal mines also wound through the forest.

Then we had a bit of bother as a front wheel bearing collapsed! Vernons garage in Madison provided a parking place while repairs were done!

Dot went off to get her haircut and explore the shops and mining museum.

Two new rear tyres were also fitted and we were on the way again. The winding road took us past the huge coal mines that supply the power stations in the area.

Unfortunately after only thirty miles the front wheel bothered us again.

It was evening when we arrived at Oceana and needed to find help.

Ricky Hicks and his son Ricky came to our rescue and allowed us to park outside their house where we could use tools and equipment.

 This pick up truck is bigger than our bus!

Suddenly a lot of bleepers went off and everyone drove away in their big pickups. They are all volunteer firemen and had to answer an emergency call!

Meanwhile Jim carried on with the job of reseating the new bearings and as darkness fell the guys returned. When the work was complete Kenny Justice took us to the ambulance station where we parked up for the night.

Thanks guys!

Along the Parkway we stopped to talk to this gentleman who was counting broad winged hawks ( buzzards) as they gather to migrate south.

He spends all his spare time in autumn and spring collating information on all the bird species that pass through.

    At Blowing Rock, a small town just off the Parkway, we spotted this unusual Morris Minor.

The town is full of trendy shops and was very busy but all we bought was ice cream!

    Flat Rock Manor was the country home of Moses Cone who made a fortune from blue denim.

It is now a craft centre and we took a tour around the upstairs rooms. It is a shame that they are unfurnished and bare.

The gardens were lovely and the topiary was amusing, this is an English racehorse-below is the Russian area.

The Blue Ridge Parkway was closed after the storm so we took the regular road to Cherokee to spend a little time at the museum and Indian village.

At Bryson the Smoky Mountain railway company were holding a train festival so we took a look around the engines.

This unusual mini had lost its tyres-no wonder it was for sale.

This is Ara a great chef from Naples, Florida and he travels on a bike for six months every year.

His BMW was well equipped and he makes fantastic Key Lime pie

As soon as he can find a 24inch knobbly Jim will be out on a Triumph 2300cc Rocket three!!!

In the meantime he was trying to get his new Yamaha to keep up with Dot's old TTR on the hills.

We decided to try and stay on the dirt roads and found FR81 was just perfect.

It started just outside Robinsville and wound through the forest

Along the track is the Stewart cabin where pioneers lived-it would be a harsh environment today and it made us wonder how they managed in the 1800's.

At a height of 4300ft the track crosses the Tennessee border and passes underneath the Cherahala Skyway.

We stopped for a picnic lunch before riding onto Tellico Plains where we refuelled before returning along this great track-60kms each way!

Up along a track classified as suitable for experienced off road riders we arrived at the top to find a group of cars belonging to volunteer bird banders-

we left a card so they would know who had called by!

Another day we managed to ride a circular route from  Robinsville starting with the Tatham Gap road and returning along the Little Snowbird Trail.

The Tatham Gap road was built in 1836 by General Scott as part of the route taken by the Cherokee Indians when they were removed from their fertile lands here and taken to the poorer land in the west.

The route is known as 'The Trail of Tears'

Another great ride started on this bridge over the Nantahala river. Called the Winging Stairs track it would take us up the mountain and across the Appalachian Way.

Famous for white water rafting the river was empty of boats when we rode by.

We spotted this waterfall along the way and a great view back down the valley.

This wood yard and old red barn on the Tellinco road are typical of many we passed on or rides.

After the huge storm which was the tail of hurricane Ivan there was a lot of damage to many roads.

Needmore Road runs beside the river and had been washed away in places, much to our delight!

The spillway at Fontana dam was in full flood and the water made a spectacular splash as it hit the river.

The Cheaoh dam spillway was also in full flow after the rain.

We rode the Tatham gap track in the opposite direction and found many trees blown across the route-no problem for us but the road was closed to 4x4 and ATV's so we had a good blast!

Even though we had to use a lot of tarmac roads to get to the dirt tracks the area is so beautiful-a bit like Mid Wales-it was not too painful in the warm sunshine.

This parking sign was under water just a few days later as the Little Tennessee River rose over six feet.

On our rides we crossed the Appalachian trail many times and saw a variety of signs to aid walkers-

who must be well armed!

 Jim celebrated his birthday at Ironhorse and John's wife, Charlene, baked him a yummy chocolate cake!