With the Vermont Overland Rally behind us, it was off to
South East Rally in Murphy, North Carolina for yet another Rally! The drive through the smokey mountains of NC was quite the treat, we traveled through areas of white water rafting outfitter locations then we arrived at the
Nolichucky Gorge campgrounds and cabins, nestled by the river in the national forest. Arriving to our campsite near dusk we were in no rush to set up beings we were just looking for a one night stay to begin our travel the next morning, pulling out our campstove, coffee pot and the quick set up
30 Second OzTent we were set up in no time, as we prepared our meal and enjoyed the star filled night resting comfortably in our OzTent
camp chairs with a cup of coffee freshly perked on the stove. We woke up to an awesome morning sunrise and a quick breakfast to get us on the road again. Before leaving we checked out the "wood turning" products displayed in a cabin, the pieces were turned on a lathe, bowls,plates, vases and lamp stands were turned on a wood turners lathe from trees & stumps that had growth developed irregular formations from disease. With 4 hours of travel remaining to the Rally, we ventured on taking in the beautiful scenery around us.
As we tried to program
Crawfords Campground in our Ford navigation it was apparent that we were in for an adventure, since it did not take the # 80 address we decided to enter 100 and wah laa we were synced for travel. The road lead us through ups and downhill roads with twists and turns that left us wondering if we were heading in the right direction, finally a sign pointing to the campground brought a sigh of relief. Entering the campground we were greeted by the event organizer, Michael Boehm which greeted us with a smile and his whitty humor brought a very welcome and relaxed presence! Since he was not notified of our arrival he made sure we were taken care of spite the miscommunication...
After looking over the vendor site layout we were able to get our OzTent products displayed with all the comforts of home, the kitchen area was set up in the OzTent deluxe 3/4 screen room, the
RV-4 housed 2 king
goanna stretchers, the deluxe front and peaked side panels were attached to the 6'6" awning giving us an area for privacy and shelter during the rainy periods. The
Foxwing awning worked out great as instant cover,providing 270 degree coverage that is attached to our vehicle with the rhino roof rack system, simply fan out, pitch the telescopic poles and guy ropes and your set! The Jet tent, 3 second Malamoo, and Jet Tent Bunker tent cot were also set up for viewing...
There were classes set up for training from basic 4x4 operation to first aid skills that brought training and participation. We also conducted a drawing for the standard Goanna chair, the outcome was good and was able to present it to the winner along with other prizes donated from other Overland sponsors that were given out at the Bar B Q dinner,the meal and conversation was great! Shortly following the dinner, there was a short video journey of 4 guy's and a girl. A slide presentation by Al displaying the Camel Trophy event footage that he and his partner finished 4th of over 300 participants.
It was time to breakdown on Sunday but there was one more activity to do, the 4x4 rodeo which tested the offroad skills and knowledge of the participants, from a barrel wrap to an obstacle course that took you from the mud hole to the rock garden. Overall the event was enjoyable and quite entertaining!
After leaving the event we decided to continue traveling the back roads,setting our course we headed for "John Browns" Hwy which was very scenic through the mountain roads that consisted of climbs, twists & turns, the GPS showed rte 75 30 miles away, if we were traveling after dark could have been interesting beings we had never been on this road before. Finally we traveled through the Tennessee nat'l forest, coming out into a small town called Tellico Plains, not more than 20 miles we arrived at the "
Lodge of Tellico" for the night. I would recommend this place to anyone that travels by motorcycle or travelers passing through, the place was amazing, it had the views,the food and rooms were exceptional including an underground motorcycle garage and a "Mans" cave!
This concludes our travel beings we stayed 2 nights at the Tellico Lodge before heading home! Make sure to stay tuned for the next OzTent journey!
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