Thursday October 14th -Day 1
We left out of Arlington, TN around 8 am heading East on I-40. Our first stop was in Lebanon, Tn to top off our tanks with petro and a quick bite to eat. I quickly made a turkey on wheat on my crappy Front Runner tailgate table (hurry up American Adventure Labs) and we were soon back on the interstate. About 3.5 hours later we made our second fuel stop of the day in White Pine, TN. We were eager to finish our first day of travel and by 5:30 we were checked in at Warrior Path State Park near Kingston, TN.
Friday October 15th – Day 2
I had a great night’s sleep Thursday night and was up at daybreak to pack up the RTT and grab a quick shower. We were on the road by 8:30 and had the goal of checking into the BROG RTT Rally by noon. We crossed into Virginia soon after leaving camp at Warrior Path State Park. The area between Roanoke,Va and James River State Park is so full of history and what beautiful scenery! We drove near Thomas Jefferson’s Poplar Forest. Jefferson inherited the property in 1773 and in 1806 he began designing and working on constructing the plantation. I definitely want to take time to visit this area in the future. We also passed through Lynchburg, the home of Jerry Falwell’s Liberty University. We turned North off of Hwy 460 in Appomattox, VA just blocks from the Appomattox Courthouse, the site where General Robert E. Lee surrendered to General Ulysses S. Grant in April 1865. Once we turned North onto Hwy 25 we were less than 20 mins away from James River State Park.
We arrived at the check in for the RTT Rally a little after noon and after 700+ miles of travel were soon setting up camp for the weekend. Shane and Lindsay from @AussieOverlander had saved us a great spot away from the crowds in the Southwest corner of the camping area. Once we had picked out the spot to park our rigs we soon set up camp. It was a relaxing afternoon, although a little warm. I pretty much hung out at camp and got to know my new friends. What a great afternoon and evening!
Saturday October 16th – Day 3
After a late night around the campfire I slept really well and got moving a little before 8 am. I fired up the skottle and cooked up some link sausage and hash-browns for breakfast. It was a pretty lazy day around camp. I didn’t do much before lunch. I mostly sat around and chatted with all my new amigos and did a little reading. For lunch I fired up the skottle and made a pepperoni and cheese pizza. It was pretty damn good if I say so myself! I walked around after lunch and visited the vendor area and took some photos of some really cool rigs. We had a brief rain shower that lasted a couple of hours and that brought cooler temps. Perfect for an hour long nap in the RTT. Late afternoon we walked back up to the vendor area and bought a couple of beers from Loose Shoe Brewing Company out of Amherst, VA. After some beer and conversation we made it back to camp for dinner. Matt Cominsky and Matt Hasson cooked chili for everyone. Cominsky’s chili had venison, bacon & duck while Matt Hasson’s chili had ground beef and pork jowls. Both were EXCELLENT!!
After the sun went down the band fired up some sweet Blue Grass tunes (I have forgotten the name of the band, sorry) After enjoying the music, some of us sat around the campfire until the late hours just shooting the breeze and participating in all around foolishness. I think I made it to bed around 1 am.
Sunday October 17th – Day 4
Sunday morning was a solemn affair as everyone hated to see such a great weekend come to an end. We all packed up and slowly made our way home. Our group came from several different states (Ohio, TN, VA) and even a Bloke & Sheila from the Great White North. I hope to meet up with Tony, Dick, Matt, Matt (yes there were 3 Matts) Shane, Lindsey sometime very soon. I was new to this group of friends and everyone made me feel like I had known them forever. Everyone was so kind. Thank you to everyone who made this such and amazing weekend for me and I look forward to next year. In closing I’d like to say just one thing………#thebeaverhaslanded.
-The Overland Curmudgeon