Friday night Dave Weaver and his wife Julie sat down with me and my wife Angie to decide where we were going to ride on Saturday. We were talking about some trips we had made earlier this year and my wife was telling them about trying to find elk and antelope when we were in Vermont. Dave said he could take her somewhere where he could almost guarantee she would see elk - they had always been there the 6 or 7 times he and Julie had been there. It's called Cataloochee State Park. My wife said that's it, that's where we're going tomorrow because she wants to see elk. Dave said the only drawback was that we had to travel a gravel road to get there. They had never been there on a bike before, always in a car. But this would be the short gravel road, not the long one. Flatlander that I am, when he says gravel road, I'm thinking about gravel roads like back at home. Flat, basically straight gravel roads with some potholes, maybe some piled-up gravel here and there. No problem.
We met up Saturday morning and after making a stop at the Dragon store, head out on the Moonshiner to Bryson City, Cherokee and then to Maggie Valley for lunch on our way to Cataloochee. After lunch, Dave asks if either one of us are scared of heights. I said nope, thinking that we must be going to get pretty high on a mountain. No problem...a long, straight, gravel road up on a high mountain. Doesn't sound bad.
We start going up a mountain and the road starts getting narrow and really winding. But there's a Goldwing ahead of us, so if he's going, it can't be too bad. Getting up pretty high and there's just a sheer dropoff on the downhill side with nothing to stop you from going way down the mountain if you miss a turn. All of a sudden, we hit a 5 mph hairpin turn that transitions from pavement to gravel in the turn. In the middle the turn, on the gravel, my wife looses her footing on the footboard and her shift of balance makes me head straight towards the sheer rock face on the uphill side of the road. I had to stop to get it back under control on the gravel - less than 30 feet on the gravel and already in trouble.
I wish I could explain and show all of you this road. It was hairpins, switchbacks, potholes, washboard areas, always with a huge drop on one side, either going up or going down. Not enough room for 2 vehicles to pass, so one side would always have to stop and allow the other side to go. White gravel dust hung high in the air, coating the bikes and us. Did I tell you that apparently ALOT of people use this road to get to Cataloochee??? I cursed, I prayed...almost messed my pants a couple of times. Finally got on pavement again and got to Cataloochee. My wife got to see her elk...got to see some wild turkey...very enjoyable time.
And then it was time to head back. Back to that gravelly hell of a road. Did I mention that right before we headed back, Dave said he expected the ride back to be worse? He thought that we'd meet alot more traffic because people would be coming at dusk to see the wildlife. After thanking him for being full of good news, it was time for more cursing, more praying, more puckering. But it's the only way out, so we head out.
We hit the gravel again and while there's more traffic, the road is the same, and there's still a huge drop on side, this trip is better. Maybe it's getting a better feel for the gravel...maybe it's the Lord having mercy on us...or maybe it's just the fact that we are ready to get the gravel road done...but whatever the reason, the trip back is better. Dave measured it going back and said it was right at 3 miles long, although I could have sworn it was 30.
After we get back on the highway, Dave and Julie head on to Knoxville and Angie and I head back to Robbinsville. After supper and watching the football game (Roll Tide Roll! - sorry), I head up to the firepits and tell Joe about our ride and ask him if he's ever been to Cataloochee. He said he didn't think so - I then told him that to get there, he would have to ride a 3 mile-long gravel road from Hell to get there. Joe said there's no *&#(^(( way that he was riding a gravel road. So there - there's the road that Joe has never rode on the Fall Color ride.
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