Third (Second Annual) BritishV8 Fall Gathering - Townsend, TN - 10/4-6/2013

[kstevusa]

Arrived back in Fayetteville around 12:15 CDT.  Beautiful day and great ride.  NO RAIN and the parts windshield did  well also.

[danmas]

Anyone going to post some photos? Please...............??

Lots of photos were taken, so we should have some posted after everyone gets home and recovers.

Jim Blackwoods sister took a bunch, as did Jim Watson's wife. Jim & Jim - post them, please.

Anyone else?

It was a ton of fun, even if some of our favorite roads were closed.

[RMO 699F]

The Harveys/Maloneys relax after crossing a footbridge behind Miss Lillys restaurant Sunday afternoon (the brunch there was outstanding....

[RMO 699F]

Saw this "V8" this afternoon in front of the Subway....gives a whole new meaning to V8 meet in Townsend...hahaha

[RMO 699F]

This is primarily for Graham and Gordy.....I drank plenty of this at Miss Lillys and the Steak and Trout House!!!

[ex-tyke]

This is primarily for Graham and Gordy...

Yep, I remember it well - the sports bar in Jackson, TN on the return trip from Palestine, TX  last year. Good beer to go with good company.
Sounds like a good time was had by all in Townsend...kinda missed being there!

[TR6-6SPD]

Graham,

Yes, it would have been good to have an additional Canadian representative in Townsend this year.
Katie and I had a great day here on Saturday. I drove Kelly Stevenson's Hot Rod MGB while she drove the TR6 with Kelly riding shot gun between the two cars. Everyone was happy! We drove the Cherohala Parkway, the Dragon and some additional exciting local roads that I'm sorry it took so long for me to discover.

After a night of line dancing at Cotton Eye Joes here in Knoxville, we're headed across the Dragon, (third time) to enjoy Chimney Rock State Park then meander north.

We had a little light rain last night but it looks like clear sailing the rest of the week for camping.

Cheers,
Ken

[danmas]

For those of you who went back to Townsend via Happy Valley, how did that work out? How were the roads? Scenery?

[MGBV8]

Happy Valley Road was narrow, slow, & a bit rough. We were going 20-25mph and a cop on the side of the road was yelling at us to slow down before we ran into each other.  Once at the top, we entered the Top of the Mountain community that has no school bus service due to the Foothills Parkway being stupidly closed. Heading down the other side, I thought I heard banjos. We don't get many visitors 'round here.

[danmas]

The Top Of The World community is a dual community. The old, original section consists of very, very small homes and mostly poor people. The new section consists of big, expensive homes and mostly rich people.

You couldn't pay me to live in either one.

[BlownMGB-V8]

I found out why that cop was so pissed. Seems that the Dragon crew (Max, Ken, Katie...) had come through there a few seconds earlier at slightly sub-light speed, so naturally they took it out on us. Who could blame 'em?

I thoroughly enjoyed that road personally. Very tight curves in spots and NO traffic other than us. The area close to the parkway underpass reminded me very much of some favorite W.Va roads.

Jim

[MGBV8]

 No doubt!  

Well, the cop that helped us when Tim's Jag was having fuel starvation issues was  part of that crew & definitely had a much better attitude.  I enjoyed Happy Valley Rd., as well, even if Mike Moore was driving my car instead of...well, you know.  That road reminded me of a lot of rural back roads in my area.

[TimD]

Hey all,
I want to say a BIG THANK YOU for your help getting us up and then down Happy Valley Road.  It was just a little stressful seeing the road just keep going up at each switch back while listening to the engine knock like a diesel.  I didn't see the exhaust pipes actually glowing, but they were certainly hot!  It's one thing to get stuck on the side of the road; this little episode amped that up by at least a factor of 10.  

Aside from the fuel issue, I liked the road.

With the nonworking pusher pump out of the way, the ride home was uneventful.

It is now my goal to come to a gathering and NOT have some kind of repair to do. :-)

TD

[Charles]

Perk and I left Sunday morning to find which wrong turn we had taken and took another turn and ended up in Bean Station, TN. Thank all of you guys for letting us come play. Glad we had no more issuses than we did, speaks well of you guys. Drive it like you stoled it. I am with Dan you could not pay me to live at the top of the world. Had lots of good times, we leave Thursday for Calaway Gardens for GOF South.

[kstevusa]

Disclaimer----Ken had the car under control 100%.  No reckless driving or speeding, no straight away long enough :-).  The Happy Valley road was very enjoyable and allowed us to arrive prior to others who failed to drive The Dragon.  Had a great week end and hope to attend  next year.  The BCBC has their show in early May and you can get a head start.

[harv8]

Really enjoyed the time in Townsend......great friends, twisty roads, beautiful weather, awesome cars, great food........what better way to spend a weekend! Thanks Dan and Jim!!!

Here's a few pics.

[harv8]

A few more pics

[harv8]

OK....a few more

[harv8]

The last few more

[kstevusa]

Pic of my MGB Scooter.  Jim Watson gave me the script to add since it was not a BRIT.  Believe it or not, it fits in the trunk of my car and only the seat has to sit in passenger side seat.   Hauled it  to Townsend and back plus we brought a windshield assembly back in the passenger side also.   Great weekend.     Dan B idea of  the 2016 meet in Oct could work?  what do the rest of you think?

[MGBV8]

Kelly,

Welcome to the RED MGB Club!  

[kstevusa]

Thanks Carl.  Some of the pics from Killboy and Hwy 129 are up now.  Killboy pics begin around from  #1793 and follow on next page also.  Dragon and Cherolaha Pkwy have 2 separate sets since there were 2 photo stations each  on Dragon and  Pkwy also.

[MGBV8]

Somebody flip a photo?  I don't remember all of us driving on the wrong side of the road.  

[TR6-6SPD]

Here I am again, posting late to a thread. It takes me time to get it all together.
We made it home from Townsend safe and sound on the Wednesday.
On our drive along the Cherohala Sunday, we stopped at Bald River Falls. I'd highly recommend the side trip, especially for a cool dip on a hot southern day.

Bald River Falls:






Cool Dip:


<iframe width="420" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/y7ffKILJr18?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[TR6-6SPD]

Thanks to Kelly Stevenson, Dan Masters and Jim Watson for  doing the legwork to make this annual event come off. Here's a photo of Kelly and Jim at a rest stop along the Cherohala Highway.



On our drive north to Toronto, we used highway #311 through the Jefferson National Forest. Even ended up on a gravel road crossing a mountain pass by mistake. The note on the map, "closed in winter " should have been my tip off.

From there we headed up the Monongahela National Forest, pass Seneca Rocks and up highway #72, West Virginia. The lower section of #72 particularly impressed me. Between Dry Fork and Hendrick, it's a narrow, two lane, no painted center line local road serving the farms in the area. That stretch is only 30 kms but it dives down into several valleys, rising back each time then follows the river. I'm going back for more!

Here's a link:
<iframe width="425" height="350" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" src="https://maps.google.ca/maps/ms?msid=205477914554040419128.0004e8dc7b42b519631a5&amp;msa=0&amp;hl=en&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;t=m&amp;ll=39.015918,-79.601691&amp;spn=0.118288,0.058024&amp;output=embed"></iframe>
<small>View <a href="https://maps.google.ca/maps/ms?msid=205477914554040419128.0004e8dc7b42b519631a5&amp;msa=0&amp;hl=en&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;t=m&amp;ll=39.015918,-79.601691&amp;spn=0.118288,0.058024&amp;source=embed" style="color:#0000FF;text-align:left">Driving directions to Dry Fork, WV, United States</a> in a larger map</small>

From there, it was a straight shot north but not without some mechanical issues. But that's another story.