DAY 3 and 4 OF THE #Ridgieinvasion

Wednesday, April 7, 2021

Jimmy and I have new passengers today....A young couple needed some fun so we each took one. I have Olivia 14 and he has Joe 16. Olivia's mom and dad are on 4 wheelers and this terrain is not suitable for two on a 4 wheeler. Or these lovebirds just needed some time away from parents, or they like the idea of going really fast. you be the judge.

First up for fun is a mountain tunnel, look's like Jimmy and Joe will try it. 

Assuming we will fit too......here we go. Scrape...Scrape...Scrape

Well, like they say..........

   There is light at the end of the tunnel. I guess we will make it..

By the way, it is straight down at the exit if you don't make the turn..

Would this be called a Gaggle, a Flock, or a Herd of Buggies???

Looks like Oliver or Dexter (I get them mixed up) has the girls looking for Gold in them thar hills. Lily and Grace are always up to a challenge. Those Sandbeck girls!!!!

And we are off......

BUT ONLY TO STOP AGAIN...

Back at the cemetery, a few missed it last time and we were in the area so..........

just had to show off our shirts....

This stop was not planned, second flat tire so far. This one was a plug and go.

Yesterdays was a busted sidewall so jack'er up and throw on the spare..Only problem was that he did not have the correct lug nuts for the spare...So we took one off each wheel of his buddies buggie and got him going.

Waiting for the air compresser

to do it"s thing.

Another chance to Social Distance.

Notice how we are all staying at least 6 ft apart.

They all have mask on too but they are looking the wrong way.

And here is the "Fastest Ridgie in the Woods"

Ursula....

This gal can wheel a RZR thru the trails better than most of the guys.

AndySandbeck  might have had that record up until she had a bad crash just a couple months ago.

Andy is doing good and back on the trail. Lucky girl.

Speaking of Andy.....this is the mother of the Sandbeck Girls...

We are all so glad she is OK....

More play time at the falls...

Coolest place so far.

Looks like Andy is eating in her sleep...and our fearless leader Carl (in the red jacket) is explaining how to get out of a deep mudhole.

Lots of tales told here.

Another Kodak moment

And the kids keep playing......oh wait..

Those are the adults....lol

And here is Carl again....still trying to explain how big that F......ing Mudhole was.

And here is the Old Guy that just tags along to take pictures and tell stories.

As they wrap up a great Ridgie Ride tomorrow I will be slaving away at the camper to finish this blog, clean up the buggie, load the camper, and be in London, Ky. by noon to get an A/C replaced under warranty before they close.

Never a dull moment.

And before I close out this adventure I want to give a High Five to this little cutie that rode all day with me.....This girl was never scared and loves to go fast, loves to get air on the jumps, loves busting mud holes wide open and there ain't no mountain high enough to make her say no.  Olivia, you are a champ.

                            FOOTNOTE......

And the rigs just keep coming in...

The folks here at Devils Backbone RV Resort go out of their way to make your stay a good one. As an example the construction supervisor got this tractor and towed in a camper whose truck had broken down on the way. He parked the toyhauler and helped them set it up.

 Tuesday, April 6, 2021

We start Day 2 with a stop at the Hatfield Cemetery....one of the reasons this group chose to visit this portion of the Hatfield-McCoy Trail System which consists of eight different trail systems, they wanted the historical aspect of these hills.

Quite a memorial for a man of his means and meanness.

He was the most feared of the two clans...Hence the name "Devil Anse"

Just a country cemetery on a hillside in a small community (wide place in the road)..

Must have been a creekside Rest Area back in the Horse and Buggy days...The creek splits behind the building and runs down both sides....Built into the hillside for some purpose a long time ago.

 

Christine and Annie enjoying the casual day, this was actually from our first day here. Before the Ridgies showed up. Pics got mixed because I am so behind. 

Split waterfall. Note, the water comes out of the mountain side where Jimmy is standing and pools into a natural mini-lake, then overflows down both ends. The outflow is basically a large cave.

Backed down off this incline for a cool picture of the Beast.

What an awesome place for lunch stop.

Incline was a little too steep.....had to pull the Beast out by hand.

If you believe that you probably believe Biden won the election.

Just another shot of my girls enjoying the day.

Spotted this Trail Queen on the way back to camp.......

Back at camp, a full day in the books.....The picture says it all, two tired girls..

HATFIELD-MCCOY RIDE 2021 #Ridgieinvasion day 1 and day 2

 Sunday, April 4, 2021

Arrived a day early...setting up camp before the group gets here.

Took a little tour of the area to get familiar with our location and to check our equipment. We are both using a new Lifetime Trail Maps GPS system. Both have Mobile Radios and I have a Garmin In-Reach Satellite SOS System to test.

First thing Christine notices is Cable lines run thru the valley and branching off to every house in the hollar. And we still don't have Cable at our house only 5 miles off I-65 Interstate in Bowling Green, Ky. Go figure.

Since it's Easter Sunday we wandered into Matewan just to see what was still there since my last visit here in 2012-13. Found the Mexican joint open so we stopped for lunch. Beautiful day for a casual ride.

Monday, April 5, 2021

The Ridgies showed up last night and are ready to Rock N Roll. These folks drove down from North Dakota, Minnesota and Wisconsin to ride the Hatfield-McCoy trails with us Hillbillies.

But hey, Jimmy and I drove to South Dakota to ride the Black Hills with them last year.

Great fun loving group of Yanks.

First stop on the list is Matewan. Everyone wants to check out the fine dining for the upcoming week. The Historic Railroad Station is in the background and now houses the Matewan Massacre History Museum. Google Matewan Massacre for details. It's not about the Hatfield McCoy fight.

Seems like the kids always find something interesting at every stop. Looks like Gracie found here a passenger. These Sandbeck girls are a hoot. In fact, the whole Sandbeck family is a hoot.

Next stop is this steep, rocky hill climb. The kids and some drivers walked up but everyone decided to wait until the end of the week to come back and give it a shot. Better to "Bust your Buggie" at the end of the week after you have rode the trails and seen the sights.

And then there is the mudhole.

A Great place to wash the mud off your buggie 

with muddy water.

Oh, but it's so much fun.

I had videos but can't figure how to load them since Google made changes to the Blogger.

Grabbed this shot of an old abandoned mine shaft as we flew by on the buggies.

Can't stop for everything.

Well, I guess this one was just too interesting to pass up. These Yanks don't have this kind of scenery up yonder. They are in love with these hills. Most would come back next week if it wasn't so damn far to drive. Their comment.

We didn't have to teach our fearless leader how to READ a mudhole........he is now self taught. He said he "wondered why there was a high trail and a low trail"...Way to go Carl, makes for a great story.

But Carl is still a good leader, he works hard to find places like Castle Rock.,.naturally Jimmy just had to climb to the top. I made it half way but my freshly broken ankle would not cooperate.

Think I will turn around right here and head back down.

Yeah, It's quite a trek....while favoring one ankle.

More good fast trails, lots of these well-groomed trails over here on the Devil Anse side.

Then it's back by the mud hole again to wash the mud off the buggies with more muddy water.

If'n ya ain't dun it you wouldn't understand.

Day One of the #Ridgieinvasion is in the books. No broken bones, no broken machines.