Ridin" Royal Blue" with Greg, Becky, and Austin..Aug.2014

Beautiful weather and great trails await the "Red Baron", "Blue Deuce", and "White Lightning"....


Royal Blue is part of the Sunquist Area of North Cumberland mountains in Tennessee, an Off-Roaders Paradise, built and maintained by Tennessee Wildlife Resources.

Lots of Mountain Streams to cross, Rock Creek, Stinking Creek, etc..


The trio crosses this one early in the day before the deep mud holes and steep hills that soon follow.

Becky Jo says this little creek looks like a good place for a "Snack Break"...

She has been a trooper so far, but we haven't been in any deep mud yet.

Becky and Austin at this beautiful little waterfall and swimming hole in the hills of Tennessee.

"Night Ridin" the hills is a totally different experience than day riding. Every rock, gully, hill, tree, and mud hole becomes a challenge. Feels a little like a Jungle Safari convoy..really cool.

View from the "Royal Blue Cafe" up on the hill. Great breakfast to start the day and friendly folks.

Me and "White Lightning" are ready for some steep hills and deep mud holes.

Maybe we can find some on the way over to the "Elk Viewing Tower"..that's our next stop before lunch at the "Creekside Cafe"....

A fun trip down "Stinking Creek Car Wash" before heading back to camp. Please excuse the poor filming but holding onto an I-Phone in a creek is a little risky. Maybe Austin will remember his Go-Pro next time.

"Chef Austin" frying up his favorite dinner recipe......Taters and Onions.
MMM good..The boy can cook about as good as he handles that RZR.

The burgers are on the grill, beans in the microwave and a couple of Jack Daniels and coke with a splash of "Kentucky Clear" on the table....
It's hard to beat a family outing in the hills.

Boat Shopping USA..Summer of 2014

Our shopping spree starts in Mobile, Alabama. After a long cold Harley ride to Mobile this is what I found. A nice 87 Ocean Alexander. It looked like a keeper until I got into the engine room. What a mess. Seems the owner didn't know what maintenance was all about. So we will pass on this one.

We heard about this fresh water Michigan boat that just arrived in Palmetto. What else are you going to do on a rainy day. This one had been redecorated inside but far from our liking. We'll keep looking.

After looking at several local boats we drove to the East Coast and looked at this 90 Offshore that was described in the listing as Pristine. Well, it might have been pristine a few years ago when the ad was placed but she needed a lot of TLC to bring her back in shape. We'll pass on this one too.

Next on the list is a 96 Nova Tech. A high end Taiwan built boat with a good reputation. This one however, was not what we were looking for. Learning that in 2001 several major modifications were made to make this model more user friendly. The fact that it was an "Aft Cabin" style boat (not what we want)..........We kept looking....

Another Nova Tech, this one a later version with the improvements. Only problem is it was too new to fit the budget. Also, this one in North Carolina was a little too rough for the asking price. So we moved on.

This 90 Nordic Yacht 50 footer really caught our attention while in North Carolina. It was the style of boat we were looking for and priced within our budget, had reliable engines, and was well built by a company in Washington state. Only problem, it had been upgraded by the owner and some things just weren't done to standards. We won't go any further with this one.

We were hoping to get our hooks into this beautiful 86 Ocean Alexander Pilot House. Did a lot of research on this model, very desirable lay-out and just the style we are looking for. We made an offer sight unseen but the owner would not budge. The engines would need overhaul soon so we made a low ball price. It was beautiful but we passed based on the future expense of overhauls.

We found "Braveheart" in Athens, Alabama. A very unique boat built in NW Canada for the rough waters of the West Coast. This same company  "Canoe Cove" built several of these hulls for the Royal Canadian Navy and Patrol Boats. Very tough built boat but not cruiser friendly. 

On the road after leaving North Carolina. Found a nice 90 Offshore Yachtfisher on the Tennessee River that we just had to go see.  Stayed at this beautiful campground on the river while making arrangements to see the boat.

This gorgeous 90 Offshore Yacht Fish was my favorite so far. Even though it was an Aft Cabin style I still liked it enough to tolerate the multiple steps. She was all original, 3208 Cat engines, low hours, teak interior, nice. Boat was hauled out a few weeks later and determined that the hull was severely delaminated and blistered. Estimated cost to repair hull = $30K to $40K. This is what can happen to an otherwise great boat when it's bottom isn't painted regularly.......We passed again.

Sixteen boats later we find our dreamboat. She is a 2005 Navigator 5300. She came outfitted just the way we would have done it. Complete with 11 foot Boston Whaler tender with 25hp Mercury engine, a 900 gallon per day water maker, 10kw generator, Inverter, and more options than I can list here but set up primarily for offshore and island cruising. Can't wait to put this jewel on the high seas.

Both upper and lower helm stations outfitted with E120 Raymarine Chartplotters, Auto-Pilot, Bow Thrusters, VHF, Tri-Data, and Digital Engine Controls.

She passed her survey and sea trial in flying colors. No blisters or delimitation on this one. Twin Volvo diesels checked out good, everything up to par. We'll take this one.....damn we're picky....

Off-Roadin' RZR's on Mountains near Slickford, Ky....July 5, 2014...see MonticelloRide for GPS Tracks

Doin' a little off roading on a perfect July 4th weekend in the Mountains of Kentucky with my grandson Austin and his dad Greg.
Took the two RZR's over to Slickford, Ky. and met up with some great folks and rode over 50 miles of some of the best trails in the country. The North Cumberland Trails are located on the Ky/Tn border.
The weather was picture perfect for the entire weekend so we took full advantage of it.

Some great Overlooks on these trails. We took in three different ones today and the clear blue skies made it a sight to behold.
No tourists here, cause you need a healthy 4x4 just to get to these spots.

And after you drive your 4x4 as far as you  can go on the ridge top you walk a short distance to the overlook.
Carefully crossing over some rock crevices using these homemade bridges.
Our new found friend "Lonnie" made these a few years ago so his wife could accompany him on these spectacular rides.

This Overlook is called the "Tea Cup", a great place to stop for lunch.

It features some of the most unusual rock formations you can imagine.
This one looks like God just welded a wavy piece of granite on top of a round limestone rock.

It's about 500 feet straight down on the other side of this rock ledge.

Not a place for the faint of heart or those who are afraid of heights.

So now it's time to hit the trails again and see if we can fine the old "Hippy Cabin".

Austin is ready to get rollin', this boy loves to find the deepest mud holes on the trail.

Well, we found the "Hippy Cabin". As the story goes, back in the sixties a group of hippies moved into these hills and built three cabins and a bath house. All are still standing but have been ransacked over the years. Only 6 or 7 years ago they still had the doors and windows in them.
The second story is a lookout tower, they raised their own Pot in these hills and lived a Commune Lifestyle.
They stayed until the Vietnam War was over and moved back to California. Guess they didn't like the Army's Draft System so they moved to the hills.

We found this "Jewel" about five miles down the trail.
It is the largest of the two Natural Bridges we have found. It sits about 200 feet from the trail and would be hard to spot unless you knew where it was due to the thick foliage.

This is probably the most Awe Inspiring part of the trip.
This Natural Beauty is not a tourist spot. Only a narrow walking path leads back to where this picture was taken. A camera just can't capture the beauty and the huge gorge below the bridge.

Another interesting stop along the way is "Grannie's Crack". It's sort of a cross between a natural bridge and a cave.
After entering thru this opening you go down onto the floor of a huge room with a deep sand floor, looking up you see a crevice opening called (yeah, you guessed it). and then out the other side through another opening that is bigger than this one.
So, is it a cave or a bridge?

Met up with some other folks over at the "Car-Hauler Bridge". Lots of excitement here, watching these 4x4's try to climb the hill up to the bridge.
Seems several years ago someone wanted to link two trails together so they could move between mountains easier so they brought in an old car hauler trailer and set it between two huge rock ledges with a log-crawler and a winch setup.
Over the years it has become a hot spot for avid 4 wheelers to challenge their skills.

Just a few miles off the Trail is this big cave, although on private property and not part of the trails our good buddy Lonnie knows the land owner and allowed us to visit this site.
The opening is small but it opens up into a huge room and some say it goes for miles but has never been mapped.
The temperature down in the cave is a constant 57 degrees year around.
Can't you just see the Indians using some of these spots for shelter and hunting trips.

Seems it's time to get these buggies cleaned up and ready for the next adventure.

No telling where we will go next. Rumor has it Windrock, Tenessee is our next trip. Taking the girls with us on this one.

After that, it's Brimstone in September for the Polaris "Camp RZR" Rally. Should be a lot of fun, Dirks Bently in concert and lots of trail riding......

Pickett State Forest Trails...May 28,2014

Gassing everything up for a 3 day trip to Pickett State Forest in Tennessee to do some serious trail riding with my grandson Austin. Last time these machines will be clean for several days.

This was one of the "More Difficult" trails we found the first day. It rained as we arrived so we saved this little challenge for a drier day.

Austin....getting the job done as we come out of a mud road trail onto a tight woods section. I was really proud of the way Austin handled his RZR. Cautious but demanding, he's not afraid to put it anywhere I will.

The first night we had hot dogs and left over strawberry pie but by night two we were ready for a real meal. How about some rib eyes, fried potatoes and a can of beans. Primitive camping at it's finest.

The next day we got some company. A group of guys that meet about once a year showed up from Louisville and Evansville. It got a little rowdy that night but fun was had by all. I think Austin had a good time staying up till 2:00 a.m. around the campfire with this bunch. Pa went to bed for a big tomorrow.

Austin and one of the new neighbor boys fixing a broken 4-wheeler for todays ride. They brought extra machines for parts.
We had a group of 21 riders by the time they all showed up.
Two RZR's, 4 motorcycles, and the rest were 4-wheelers.
These boys took their riding pretty serious.....

We found "The Rock House"...a huge cavern overhang that's big enough to park several hundred Atv"s under. The Picture just can't capture how massive this is. There are several more units off to the left. Another trial from here goes on up to a natural bridge.

Austin just had to play in the mud while we were under the Rock House cavern. Maybe next time we will have his GO-PRO camera set up for some better videos. This was done with an I-Phone, then transferred to U-Tube.

Next stop is the "Natural Bridge" just past the "Indian Rock House". You can drive under it but not through it, straight down on the other side.

A true Kodak moment for sure.
There are several of these Natural Bridges in the Pickett State Forest, this is one of the smaller ones.

More of the same but I chose the wrong pic and too much trouble to change it.

Now we are off for some faster riding down sandy logging roads. Lots of shallow mud holes, at least that's what they tell us.

This one is from a  party of 4 ATV's that we met up with on the trail to the "Little Rock House".....Needless to say, this one didn't make it. We winched him out and on they went. He is hung up on a rock ledge with all four wheels off the ground.

Awesome view from up on "Preacher's Rock"

Just a huge flat rock right on top of one of the mountains. Great spot for camping on a clear sky night if you have the ability to get here......

Getting ready to leave Preachers Rock" after a short break. Just a little too hot to hang out here for very long..


Now, we find "Little Indian Rock House". It's much cooler under the rocks than on top of em'.

Some of the men from our group are propping up a fallen tree so the ATV's can get under to get down to "Little Indian Rock House". You do what you gotta do out on the trails.....

Well, we got most of our group down and lined up for the photo shoot. The motorcycles were all out climbing hills so they didn't get in. There were a total of 21 units in our group before the weekend was over.
 We did some night riding (in the rain, no less) but I forgot my camera. That was going to be a short trip down to the Lake that turned into a long ride due to the rain storm that popped up after we got there.

Another great trip with Austin and some new found friends. We should all thank God for what we have and these opportunities to see what He has created. We are truly blessed........
As I have always said.............."If you're not living on the edge" you're taking up too much space.....

Turkey Bay OHV Trails on Kentucky Lake…with GPS tracks

Well school's out for Christmas break so Austin and I figured we would load up the RZR and head down to Kentucky Lake for some trail riding. The Turkey Bay Off-Road Area is just the place. Lots of lakeshore trails in deep river gravel and some awesome Kentucky hills. This area offers a little of everything in the way of off-roading with some great primitive camping spots to make for a weekend of fun in the mud.

The trail system includes several of these "Challenge Areas" which should be left to the modified buggies and souped up jeeps. Often the modified "Rock Crawlers" show up to show'um how to climb a hill.
The hills have been washed out over the years and makes for some exciting climbing.

This picture will give you a better idea of the size of these "wash outs".  Many hill climbers are turned over in these ruts every summer. It's a redneck pastime in Kentucky.
The Turkey Bay Trail System is only a small part of the "Land Between the Lakes" Recreational Area in Western Kentucky.

Austin wanted to know if a RZR would float so I said give it a try. The boy can handle hard stuff. Just gas it and go.
A full day of mud holes, hill climbs, tight trails, and true "Southern Rednecking"….
What else are you going to do during Christmas Break.

Another tight little section with some very deep holes. We hope you enjoy the videos as much as we did making them.
This time the entire inside (seats and all) were covered with muddy water.
This Western Kentucky playground offers many obstacles for the true redneck.
There are lakeshore trails for the scenic lovers, bad ass hills with gullies the size of a small house, and mud holes of all sizes. There is even a rock crawl area with boulders as big as a jeep.
www.lbl.org/OHV.html

Riding the point and lakeside scenery. Great place to crank it up a bit. Loose gravel with lots of "Hoop de Do's"….Gotta come back here this summer and do some camping and watch the rednecks climb the hills.