Fabulous Four Day Fourth of July 2023 at MINEMADE

June 30th 2023

Weather forecast for next four days is dismal ......with thunderstorms daily, rain continuing into next week. Plans are made, Mud Buds coming to join us from Ohio and Indiana. So we loaded up and headed to MineMade Off Road Park in the Eastern Kentucky Hills near Hazard, Ky. 

 

                        OK...LET'S GET THIS SHOW ON THE TRAIL

                                       MAMA SAYS SHE'S  READY

Well we arrived early enough on Friday to get the campsite set up, everything unloaded and somebody hollered NITE RIDE. 

And that's all it took to hit the trails....

Thanks to Karen for getting a couple of shots as we head off into the sunset.

Karen's video of this cool ride is on her Facebook page. I will share at a later date.

Can't figure out how to copy the video and get it on this Blog....

Pictures are easy.....videos ain't.

And even got back to camp with time for a fire and a few stories to tell.

Tomorrow is the Big Day here at MineMade....Fireworks show, live music, food vendors, guided rides, etc.

Saturday July 1, 2023

Looks like everybody is Fired UP and ready for some action. 

Going to hit Buckhorn Creek today, rode that section back in 2017 and it was an awesome trail. Only difference is it has been raining all week and no telling how deep that creek will be today.

We will soon find out............

Sorry for the video quality.....the rain on the windshield makes the GoPro very unhappy...make sure you are watching with 1080p HD device..........BUT This should give you an idea of how our weekend went. Every day....

So far all the Ladies are happy....

and we hope they stay that way but the day is young and the creek is deep.

Left to Right:

Karen, Christine, Sally, Jade, and Robin.

Some good views along the trails.

We are riding on roughly  50,000 acres of reclaimed Coal Mine property.

The Blue Diamond Coal company ceased operations here about 30 years ago. During operations they had housing, schools, commissary, etc.

We ran across this old Cemetery waaaay back in the hills, miles from any community.

Some headstones were hand carved and so old you could hardly read the dates.

We were told that a small community settled here long before coal was mined.

Just some old folks having a good time by this iron enriched water falls.

Note the red rocks.....

Jimmy and Robin....

Good times for both.

Taking a picture of Jimmy taking a picture of Kevin at the Waterfalls.

Kevin drove down from Fort Wayne, Indiana to join us on the July 4th weekend ride.

Both him and his Yamaha YXZ did very well in these hills and creeks although his headlights were underwater many times.

Ray and Karen clowning around.

AS ALWAYS....

Where is Ed and Sally.....anybody seen Ed and Sally????

Looks like a casualty. of Buckhorn Creek....

Actually it was probably left over from the terrible floods that hit this area last July.

This entire holler was raging with flood waters and many locals lost their homes and everything in them.

Damage can be seen everywhere along the roads .

Very sad times for the folks around Hazard, Kentucky..

Kevin in his Yamaha YZX....

He also joined us on our Colorado trip last year,

good friend who worked for us at Jerry's 

Chevron back in the 70"s.

Back at the campground for the live band and some R & R.......

Tomorrow is another day and rain is in the forecast.....

But tonight we enjoy some local talent and a few fireworks.

Ya'll  Gotta love this video.......Just us hillbillies doing a little Saturday Nite Shindig at the MineMade Music Hall ..............

And Fireworks as promised.......Thanks Karen for the picture.

Sunday, July 2, 2023

Well Ed an Sally destroyed a wheel bearing on their RZR yesterday and had to park it for the remainder of this ride.

So they skipped today and went over to the South Fork Elk View area ( we rode over there yesterday in the buggies )..

And you might know they would find the wild horses that we been looking for.  Here is Jade, the horse whisperer, doing what she does at home.

Don't know if I would call these horses wild but they are free-roaming and love to be fed by the buggy drivers.............. if you can find them.

Horses roam the reclaimed coal fields all over Kentucky.

Many areas also have a population of Elk.....if you can find them.

Also well established in these hills are Rattlesnakes, Copperheads, and Black Bear........if you can find them.

And thank you Ed and Sally for these beautiful pictures from the area. Seems I only find the mud holes to take pictures of.

And an occasional waterfall..

And back on the trails......it was Jimmy's day to lead and he did......right to a deep mud hole.

He eased off into this one and the front end went out of site. No problem, just time to get the winch hooked up.

And here is that occasional waterfall we find..

be it a small one.

I think this was from the day it didn't rain all night.

OK, back on the trails again....Couldn't wait any longer to find a nice slick mud hole to waller in. 

Then back at camp we discover there had been a fire last night. 

This Honda caught on fire and burned another buggy also. See video.

We learned later that the owner was asleep and heard the Honda trying to start. He assumed someone was trying to steal it but when he got outside it was in flames. Evidently a shorted starter or switch problem started the fire.

And some days you just have to clear your own trail.....Found this one blocked by a down tree from last nights storms.

And I will end with this compilation of pics and video of our four days of Off-Roading Adventures with some great folks.

Windrock Tennessee Day 2 of Memorial day weekend

May 27, 2023 

Jimmy and Robin are ready for day 2...

And yes....my lovely wife did get back on the horse even after yesterday's rollover.

If you haven't seen yesterday's episode keep scrolling down after this post for any previous posts. Or click on "Older Posts" at the bottom of this one.

Yesterday was very exciting....got some great videos in todays story.

Annie is harnessed up and waiting for a ride..

Come on guys.....lets get this show on the road.

Just another day at the Rock..

Pick one and go..

Trail 4 

Meeting the Alabama Rails on the dusty road up the mountain.

Stopped on the trail to pick some wild roses for my hearty sidekick.

Notice she wants just the right one..

She deserves the Big One for what she endured yesterday.

Not everybody gets a Rose out in the mountains.

She is even getting prepared for our next Mountain Ride at MineMade Adventure Park in Kentucky next month. What a Trooper.....

Nice picnic pavilion on Trail 27..

Stopped long enough to take a picture and talk with some riders but we already ate our gourmet bologna sandwich back at the waterfall...

Time to get moving. 

In this video Christine yells STOP when we cross the creek because Annie tries to jump out.

So many pictures...so little time....

Look who stopped at the Country Store for an Ice Cream on the way back to camp.

Great day on the mountain....time for a fire and some Pick'n and Grinnin'...

and maybe a Jack or two,,,

For more videos go to YouTube and search jerrychafton

 Memorial Day Weekend at Windrock, Tennessee

Thursday, May 25, 2023

Loaded and ready to head out to the mountains of Eastern Tennessee.

Windrock is always fun but can be very challenging. Rumor has it that the flooding storms from last year has made some trails very difficult.

Rain is in the forecast for Sunday but we will ride regardless.

A bit hazy but still an awesome view from the trail up the mountain.

Hoping to get three days of riding in with Mama and Annie.

Jimmy and Robin are also headed this way.

Looks like some left over mud holes. It hasn't rained here in over a week.

Windrock has it all but is famous for its rocks. As you will see later.

Some Rocks are absolutely Beautiful.......as seen here.

And some Rocks are absolutely Stunning.........like these.

Just some of the beautiful rock bluffs along the trail.

And some Rocks are just out there to be a Real Challenge.......

Well, wouldn't you know it.....not two hours into our first day I manage to turn this Kawasaki KRX over on its side,

This is my view as I try to figure out how to get out of this mess. That giant boulder is wanting to get in the buggy with me.

My lovely partner is hanging on for dear life by her 6 point harness. She is not a happy cruiser right now.

I don't do many selfies but I took this one while waiting for Jimmy to position his RZR for the recovery process.

We are turned over onto the giant boulder on a very steep downhill wash out.

As you see we got Annie out first, now to try to get out thru the half blocked side window to help get Christine out.

As noted....we are "Between a Rock and a Hard Spot"...

At this point Jimmy had rushed down the hill to see if he could just push us back over onto our wheels. Well, not hardly.

Although you can't tell it ....but this rut is down hill and off camber toward the boulder.

I thought I could make it but shit happens.

Like I said.....Windrock is noted for its Rocks.

With Annie out and safe the next task was to get myself out thru this tiny opening. But the window side is so close to the ground and the boulder blocking half of it.......

With some help from Jimmy I managed to get free from this situation so I could help with the recovery.

However,  Christine is hanging from her harness on the other side and about 2 seconds from a full blown panic.

You thought I was kidding....she is hanging (thank goodness not upside down) from her harnesses.

Now the real tough job....how do we get her out of those belts and through that tiny opening without hurting her. Climbing out the other side on top of the buggy is not an option.

It is a freefall from the other side into a deep, slick gully sloping downhill. That would be a broken bone or two for sure.

She is now One Second from Panic Mode.

Will we ever get her back in a Side X Side again? Well, let's get her out of this one first.....

She said she was never afraid of dying, just afraid of being injured getting out.

Note the Boulder blocking the window.Thanks to Robin with her phone we have pictures to remember this episode of our "Ride in the Mountains"...

Well, she made it out. But sat there for several minutes getting her composure back while Jimmy and I had winched the KRX back up the steep part of the hill to a flat spot.

We later found a by-pass around this wash-out.

Needless to say, she fired me from my Leader Position and told Jimmy to take the quickest way back to camp.

She is doing fine, just sore.

Robin snapped this shot of Jimmy hooking the winch to the KRX. But it wasn't that easy. It would not pull it up that steep incline because at this point the KRX would not start.       

We then hooked my front winch at 90 degrees to a tree and used a snatch block attached to another tree at an angle that would pull me off the boulder and uphill at the same time without damaging the buggy, by then the KRX started and we had a successful recovery.

Robin is consoling Christine while we get all the stuff put away.

Thank you Robin for your kindness and picture taking.

No one would have believed this without proof. 

Just another memorable journey in the life and times of Christine Chafton.

All is good.....I hope.

Back at camp with no issues yet.

Looking forward to tomorrow's ride....wonder what is in store?