Vol 18 No 2 - 30 April, 2014

Jim and I loaded up the truck on 1 April, caught up with Bob Stanton for a quick lunch before we left Daytona Beach and then headed north towards Savannah, Georgia.

Loaded 2 April at the Georgia Port Authority in Savannah – one used military truck from overseas and delivered it at Red River Army Depot west of Texarkana, Texas on Friday morning.

Savannah GA to Texarkana, TX

Friday afternoon, Jim and I stayed in the truck at Lake Greeson Narrows Dam 6 miles north of Murfreesboro, Arkansas.

Internet:  Narrows Dam is a gravity dam. The core is concrete, the foundation is rock.  A gravity dam is an engineering structure that by its own weight resists the forces imposed with a desired factor of safety.  Gravity dams are designed so that every dam section is stable, independent of any other dam section.  Narrows Dam is 941 feet long, with a height of 183.5 feet.  The Dam impounds the waters of the Little Missouri River to form 7,000 acre Lake Greeson, a prime recreational lake in southwest Arkansas.  Authorized as a flood control and hydroelectric power project.

Saturday morning we loaded diving equipment.  Army Engineer Divers had completed a repair on the dam.  A grate 80ft down the dam wall had to be replaced.  The US Army Corps of Engineers Divers are trained to undertake reconnaissance, demolition, and salvage tasks underwater.

They had three 20ft containers (one was a decompression chamber) and three smaller containers of equipment, oxygen, etc.  Another truck arrived Saturday morning.  Two 20ft containers were put on us, and the rest on the other truck.

Lake Greeson Narrows Dam, Arkansas.

After the trucks were loaded, they were going fishing!

We had not been in this part of Arkansas - very picturesque, rolling hills, lakes.  Just south of Murfreesboro is Crater of Diamonds State Park.

Internet The "crater" is an eroded lamproite pipe where diamonds were discovered in 1906.  100,000 were found by 1933. It is the only publicly-owned diamond site where visitors may search for diamonds and other gems and keep what they find, regardless of the value of the stone.  Other than diamonds, other precious and semi-precious stones are found within the volcanic matrix such as garnet, amethyst, jasper, agate and quartz.

I looked on the ground where we were loading, but didn't find any diamonds!

Drove the remainder of the weekend and delivered the containers to Fort Eustis, Virginia on Monday morning.  The same divers met us there.

We have been to Fort Eustis several times in the past:  Fort Eustis is an 8,300 acre Army installation in southeastern Virginia, within the City of Newport News.  Fort Eustis is the Transportation Corps Training Centre, providing training in rail, marine, and amphibian operations and other means of transportation.  Fort Eustis is virtually a city in itself - complete with a shopping mall, bank, credit union, post office, hospital, chapel, a USA and Red Cross and many other facilities.

We delivered in the rain, then reloaded in Chesapeake, VA – not far away.  A packing company that picks up overseas containers from the Port and distributes them.  Part of a used manufacturing plant!  Greasy, dirty, loose bits and pieces, it was still pouring rain.  Ughhh.  Lots of straps and chains and trying to get all the sticking out bits inside the trailer so it would be legal. (Anything sticking out past the trailer edge requires an oversize permit.)

Wednesday, 9 April, we delivered that in Pontiac, Michigan to a machinery movers company, they will assemble it – the men that unloaded us were not very excited about the load either!

That afternoon there was about a 300mile deadhead, but we loaded in Wadsworth, OH going to Florida.  It was rolled roofing with a skid of hazmat (adhesive) and tarped.

We had experienced two frosty morning while in the north of the country.  Jim found a drive tyre had a portion of tread off.  It still had a lot of wear on it, but we replaced it on the way to Florida.

Needed a tyre on the way to Florida.

Delivered the rolled roofing near Orlando, Florida then to the house in Daytona Beach.  Spent the weekend catching up with Ron Hewitt, and Jimmy was in town also.

I play Trivia when we are in Chinchilla, Queensland and Daytona Taproom has a Trivia evening on Mondays and we attended to see how it worked over here.  Jimmy came with us, it was quite different from Chinchilla but we caught on fast.  Lots of fun and some nice beers at the Taproom!

Trivia at Daytona Taproom.

Trivia comperes.

We spent a lovely evening at Lis and Harvey’s in De Leon Springs , and out for pizza and beers with Jimmy at Panhead Pizza.

Had wanted a load out by Wednesday 14^th, but nothing suitable came up.  Jim spent two days polishing the cab of the truck.  That is a BIG job by hand.  Still have to finish up the roof fairing, but ran out of steam.  

Also, wire brushed and painted the trailer wheels.  They had some rusty areas especially from sitting in the salt air while we are in Australia.  Looking a bit spiffy now!

Wildwood, Florida to Suffern, NY.

Left the house early Easter Sunday morning to load in Wildwood, Florida, two and a half hours away.  It was a full load of disassembled metal shelving, and heavy.  Time consuming to load and strap it on, because all the sharp edges required padding to protect the straps.

Easy drive to Suffern, New York, delivered on Tuesday morning. The parts we had were to make huge shelves for a furniture warehouse. Over to Muncy, Pennsylvania and loaded big drain pipes and delivered them the next day in London, Kentucky.  North to Lexington, Kentucky to load Trane air conditioners.

Muncy, Pennsylvania to London, Kentucky.

Lexington, Kentucky to Charleston, South Carolina, Trane air conditioners.

The loads fell into place for us to visit friends, Chris and Judi Collins.  They live in Wisconsin and three years ago bought a ‘cottage’ in Gatlinburg, Tennessee - a Ridge Top Retreat.  It is for holiday rentals, but they spend a week at a time there, a few times during the year.  They had the last week in April allocated and invited us to visit while they were there.

Thursday morning we left the rig at a truckstop east of Knoxville, Tennessee and unloaded the motorbike.  An hour ride south through beautiful terrain, and the towns of Sevierville and Pigeon Forge to Gatlinburg.

Wikipedia: Gatlinburg is a mountain resort in south-east Tennessee, (population about 4,000) it is hemmed in on all sides by high ridges.  Pigeon Forge is approximately 6 miles (9.7 km) to the north, and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is approximately 2 miles (3.2 km) to the south. Gatlinburg is an important tourism destination in Tennessee, with many man-made attractions, and the only ski resort in Tennessee – Ober Gatlinburg.  Because of the ease of obtaining a marriage license in Tennessee, Gatlinburg is a popular destination for weddings and honeymoons with over twenty wedding chapels in the town and surrounding areas.

Chris and Judi's house is high up a mountain, a very steep and winding road up, it is built on the side of the ridge.  Great views of mountains towards the east.  The house is three levels, with three decks to view the mountains.  It is beautiful, though not much level ground!

Inside.

Thursday afternoon, Chris and Judi showed us the sights of Gatlinburg and a car ride along Roaring Fork Motor Trail.  It was early Spring and new leaves were just emerging, and the wildflowers were abundant.  A beautiful and unique time of the year.

Roaring Fork Trail.

Internet:  Once the site of a small Appalachian community, today the stream's area is home to the Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail and the Roaring Fork Historic District.

Like many mountain streams, Roaring Fork is volatile. While the stream presents as a peaceful trickle on any given day, it quickly becomes a raging whitewater rapid after a mild rain shower. The "roar" of the water is amplified by its echo on surrounding mountain ridges.

From its source, Roaring Fork drops 2,500 feet (760 m) over just two miles (3 km).

Hardy, independent and resourceful people settled in the mountains, and some of their buildings have been preserved.  The small pioneer cemetery was poignant.  Most ‘headstones’ were unmarked flat pieces of rock, and I wondered how they found a level plot of ground that could be penetrated to bury the deceased.  Around the fence line was a man-made rock wall that held the soil in to form the cemetery.  With the large rocks and tree roots, there was barely ‘dirt’ to plant crops, but they had obviously carted the soil to make the cemetery.

We had several photo stops at a mill, waterfalls, old buildings, bridges, babbling brooks.

Smoky Mountain Brewery in Gatlinburg for dinner and sampled some of their beers.

The morning view from Chris & Judi's deck - which was the main feature for buying the house!

Friday was for rain forecast, we opted for a car ride to Dandridge to the Bush Bean factory, visitor centre, museum, and cafe located in the original 1897 A.J. Bush General Store.

Duke (the dog), Chris, Jay Bush and Jim.

Bush Bean can.

The Theatre featured Jay Bush and Duke: Jay Bush is the current family spokesman and appears in commercials, Duke is his golden retriever.  They have been making Bush commercials for 17 years. 

Jay had told Duke the family secret recipe, and Duke’s entrepreneurial efforts to ‘sell’ the recipe are very popular.  Oh, Duke the dog can talk!

The museum displays over 100 years of canning at Chestnut Hill.  That was fun and interesting! “Roll that beautiful bean footage!!”

We had lunch at the Café, the featured baked beans were the maple cured bacon ones. Bush’s have 9 varieties of baked beans, and many other canned vegetable products.

Jim and Chris ordered chilli, Judi and I had the pinto bean and pecan pie with ice cream!

We spent Friday afternoon in downtown Gatlinburg, first stop was Ole Smoky Tennessee Moonshine!  I have previously considered ‘moonshine’ to be hazardous and avoided it for the most part, but the tasting counters and presenters were fun and hard to resist!

Ole Smoky Moonshine samples.

Ole Smoky Website:  Born from the fertile soils of Eastern Tennessee, born from river streams winding through thick forest, born from hollers deep and hidden, born from passed-down secrets, and passed-on traditions. Born from good people and passed on to the same.

Ole Smoky is the first federally licensed distillery in the history of East Tennessee.

Wikipedia:  Moonshine, white lightning, mountain dew, hooch, and Tennessee white whisky are terms used to describe high-proof distilled spirits, generally produced illicitly.  The word “moonshine” is derived from the clandestine nature (i.e. by the light of the moon) of the operations of illegal distillers who produced and distributed whiskey.

Many songs and movies made about moonshine!!

Also, a very good band played!

Judi treated us to a chair lift ride!  Jim has a fear of heights, but he made it to the top and back to town!!  We got quite a lot of entertainment from his terror! Skylift – “Come fly up Crockett Mountain on the best seat in Gatlinburg”.  Some beautiful views of Gatlinburg and the mountains.

Gatlinburg!

Saturday was a beautiful, warm and sunny day, so we went exploring on the motorbikes through Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Website:  Ridge upon ridge of forest straddles the border between North Carolina and Tennessee. World renowned for its diversity of plant and animal life, the beauty of its ancient mountains, and the quality of its remnants of Southern Appalachian mountain culture, it is America’s most visited national park.

View at Clingman's Dome.

Part of the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Appalachian Trail passes through the centre of the Park.  Elevations in the park range from 876 feet (267 metres) to 6,643 feet (2,025 metres) at the summit of Clingmans Dome.  Within the park a total of sixteen mountains reach higher than 6,000 feet (1829 metres).

We rode through the park, stopped several times for photos – at Clingmans Dome and the Tennessee / North Carolina state line.  Exited the southern entrance of the park in North Carolina at Cherokee, stopped in Maggie Valley for a late lunch, then back to the house.  A spectacular day!

The Home Owners Association for Chris and Judi’s ‘ridge’ had a rather lavish function at the Gatlinburg Convention Centre that evening.  Lots of great food, an open bar, and a band with dancing.  It was festive and people were very friendly.  We ate well, and danced a bit, much hilarity ensued!  We had fun.

Sunday morning, Jim and I had to leave.  The Great Smoky Mountains have the largest black bear population east of the Mississippi River. Chris and Judi have seen them on their property and the day before we got there, but we didn't see any.  (A mother and two cubs visited three days after we left!)

So much to see and do in Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge, and the Great Smoky Mountains – we definitely want to come back.

We headed back to Knoxville, loaded the motorbike on the truck, did some maintenance, and headed to South Carolina to deliver the air conditioners on Monday.

Two stops, took a long time waiting on forklifts: one at the airport, the other at the Air Force Base at Charleston, South Carolina.

South to Savannah, Georgia and loaded Tuesday morning at Keen Equipment.  Loaded a loader and a roller.  While we were loading I noticed anti-freeze pouring out from the engine!  Headed to the truckstop and had the radiator hoses replaced, so it was 1pm before we got rolling.

Pooler, Georgia to Houston, Texas.

Break down!

The load was for Houston, but our Aussie friends, Dave and Linda were in Louisiana.  Met up with them Wednesday mid-day in Covington, Louisiana - we got a motel room.
The plan was to visit the Abita Brewery in nearby Abita Springs!  It was a good place to make more memories!  A small brewery, but is expanding.  Abita beer is available in a lot of states. 

Website:  The tasting room is where all tours of the Abita Brewery begin.  Take a seat at the 24 foot polished mahogany bar and enjoy samples of almost every Abita Beer, inspired art and shop for Abita Beer merchandise.
Since the turn of the (last) century, people have been travelling to Abita Springs, Louisiana for pure, clean-tasting water.  Thus, with its fitting natural resources and small-town Southern charm, it became clear to us that Abita Springs would be the perfect place to pioneer the freshest and most unique tasting beers available today.  Established in 1988, Abita Brewing Company is proud to be the oldest and largest craft brewery in the southeast. 

Starting on the very first keg of Abita Beer, we have understood our responsibility to be a good corporate citizen.  This year we will donate more beer and root beer to various charities and fundraising events than we brewed our first year of business.  In addition to our in-kind support, we have also launched several highly successful fundraising events.

Less than 60 days after the April 2010 explosion on the Deepwater Horizon drilling platform in the Gulf of Mexico, the first bottles of Abita SOS (Save Our Shore) rolled off the production line.  We donate 75 cents from every bottle sold to a charitable fund that assists with the rescue and restoration of the environment, industry and individuals fighting to survive the disastrous oil spill.  To date, over $500,000 has been raised for the cause.

The tasting involved getting a cup and walking past all the taps and pouring your own.  People kept going around and around, getting samples and drinking each one while waiting in line for the next sample.  Seven flagship brews, then several seasonal brews.  Very impressive beers and community spirit.

We had a late lunch / early dinner at the Abita Brew Pub Restaurant and it was excellent Southern food!

Spent the evening at the motel, catching up with Dave and Linda’s travel experiences for this trip.  Included a 7 day cruise out of Houston, Texas to ports in Mexico, and driving to San Antonio and Dallas (Texas), St. Louis (Missouri) to Shreveport and flying out of New Orleans, Louisiana on Saturday to Los Angeles.

A bit of wildlife – a geese family outside the motel. Linda and I watched them for a while.