The Three Daves II

Dave Murray and Dave Ellingham went down to Wellsboro, PA to meet Dave Jones at 10:30 AM Oct. 4. We rode down with pitch forks blazing and the sky falling in the liquid variety. We listened to the meteorologists tell us of a cold front coming down to the top part of TN and our wives thought it was a good time for us to get out of Dodge.

Little did we know that it was going to keep going into Mexico. We went west down PA's US 6, and down a Rt. 66 to west on I-80. We then picked up I-71 and went to a "Ohio Buckeye Lake State Park" to camp out.

Jones cooked our suppers which consisted of Campbells chunky soup, raisin bread, apple sauce and hot chocolate. It started raining hard at midnight. Murray picked up the tent without a fly when he packed, and got soaked. We all rolled up our sopping wet tents, gear, and headed back on our trek on I-71. We then picked up I-65 and headed south.

We stopped in Bowling Green to refuel and a Mickey Dee stop at about 4:30 with about 250 miles to go. Murray and Ellingham decided to camp out at a nearby motel so Murray could dry his clothes and sleeping bag in a laundromat dryer and get a good night's sleep in a real bed. Jones went on to the rally and ended up not finding the rally site till the next morning as he got up early and removed himself stealthily from the TN state park on the west side of the river.

Murray and Ellingham arrived at the TVA site at the Pickwick Dam & lock on the east side of the TN river. We had a nice view watching the barges being pushed up and down the river. The rally fee was $15 which included primitive camping in the pines. Murray, Jones, and Ellingham opted to pay extra to be near each other as Murray had a Golden Eagle pass which got us a site with electric for $7.50 per day.

If I'd known that the temps would go into the high twenties, I would have packed a space heater with ext. cord. But we were still cozy without one.

The rally had door prizes; Jones won a float bowl gasket kit and Ellingham won a cap. We had to buy our meals at a restaurant on site which really brought the rally fees into an expensive area. We really can't recommend going to this rally again but who knows if they have an improvement process like we do, just maybe!

Jones decided to go with Shamu to his home at Stone Mtn., GA and possibly on to Ft. Wilderness in Orlando, FL for a few days while it warmed up for his trip north. Murray and Ellingham decided to head north Sunday morning 32 degrees. We went east on I-40 and I-81 north to Bristol TN where the temps started plummeting again, and holed up in a motel. We opted to go up I-77 north, 19 bypass, I-79 running into snow and rain in WV and rain in Pittsburgh. At Grove City, PA we decided to pack it in as the temps were dropping down into the thirties again.

I'm so happy that I bought a motorcycle with heated seats, heated grips, cruise control, and the windshield is adjustable. I even activated my ABS braking system and avoided a possible rear ender. Murray and I arrived home about 4 PM Tuesday just in time to go to our monthly meeting.