19-Days & 4500 Miles

[Jim Oaks]

Many of you know that I was in Kentucky to explorer the Kentucky Adventure Tour with the Vagabonds and our 25th Anniversary Fall Adventure at the Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area, but I thought I would share the rest of my trip with you.

For me, this was multiple trips that all ran together. After our event at Land Between the Lakes, I headed north to Eastlake, Ohio where I spent 4-days visiting with my mom. From there I drove down to East Liverpool, Ohio and stayed with my daughter and son-in-law Ethan at The Coleman Farm.

Ethan inherited The Coleman Farm in 2021 when his father Jeff passed. Jeff inherited it in 2015 after it was willed to him by John Coleman. At one point the farm was 300 acres, but it had been split up and John owned 100 acres in the middle of it. Jeff had created a facebook page for the farm and would post videos about the farm and the things he wanted to do there, so after he passed, Ethan made a list of all the things his father said he wanted to do and set out to complete his dads wish list. He also wanted to preserve the history of the farm. It's really beautiful property and Ethan has a website and Instagram account dedicated to it. He also took over the facebook page and keeps it going.

Anyway....

I brought my Glock 22 (.40) and Glock 42 (.380) with me on the trip to shoot them out at the farm. I grabbed an EZ Target & Stand from Dunham Sports, and then found a spot to shoot at the farm. I liked this spot because there's a hill to the right, a hill and trees behind the target (and farm fields beyond that), and a wooded hill to the left. If you look at the photos, it looks like this would make a nice 2-stall range with a tree dividing them.

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I managed to wash some more mud off of the Ranger while I was there, although it's still shows signs underneath that I've been mudding in it.

In the bottom level of that barn is a 1980 Pontiac Turbo Trans Am. Ethan's dad Jeff bought the car new in 1980. In 1985 the turbo went out and Jeff parked it in a garage with 44,000 miles on the odometer. When Jeff passed, Ethan inherited the car.

Ethan brought the car to the farm and parked it in the lower level of the barn so he could try and get the car running. Him and his friend Clutter replaced the plug wires, spark plugs, and just about every part in the distributor trying to get it to start, but the car still had no spark.

When I got there Ethan showed me the pickup he had purchased for the distributor, but when I looked at it, I realized that it had the wrong plug on it. I took an ohm meter and tested the stock pickup still in the distributor and it appeared to still be good, and I remembered that these turbo motors had a separate module that controlled the spark. I tracked the wires from the distributor and found the Electronic Spark Control module (ESC) attached under the front of the center console and disconnected it. Ethan had called the guy from TTA Performance that was extremely helpful and told us to cut the green wire for the G connector and the black wire for the J connector and connected them together with a butt connector which I did. After doing that I shot some starting fluid in the carb and it started right up when Ethan turned the key.

The problem now was that the car wouldn't stay running. Ethan had removed the fuel line going to the tank and stuck it in a gas can so the engine didn't suck old gas from the tank, but it wasn't pumping. I read online that the diaphragm in a mechanical fuel pump can go bad if they sit for a long time, so we replaced it. We checked to tank to see how much gas was in it thinking we had to drain it, but it was bone dry. Apparently, Jeff must have drained it when he parked the car. We poured 5-gallons of gas in it and after helping it start and run with some starter fluid, it was finally drinking from the tank again. But because nothing is ever easy, it wouldn't idle. At first, I figured it's because the turbo was bad, but then remembered that a turbo isn't making boost at idle, so the car should idle without it. I saw that the air cleaner had a 3-port plug on it, found the plug with the vacuum hoses that fit it, and it was now idling but not running smoothly. I suspect that it still has some vacuum leaks.

My goal was to help Ethan get the car running, and it now starts and idles, so I'm calling that a win.

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I went and hung out with my friend Jon Dear a couple of times, had breakfast with my son and daughter-in-law while I was there, and we went back up to my moms on the 22nd and took her out to eat for her birthday. As soon as we got back from there (hour and 45 minute drive) I headed to Primanti Bros in Monoca, Pennsylvania to meet with @JohnnyO. JohnnyO wasn't able to make it to the anniversary event, so I wanted to make sure I saw him before I left in the morning. @sgtsandman didn't live far from there and joined us.

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I took these pictures of the farm truck before I left on Monday the 23rd. I swear this is the longest bed I've ever seen on a Stock Ford F-150.

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I knew when I left that it was 1,200 miles from here to my home in Texas, and that was going the most direct route. But I wasn't going the most direct route. No, I had other plans.

Rain was rolling in as I left Monday morning. Unfortunately, I needed to drive an hour and 45 minutes northwest to Akron to visit Ohio Drone Repair. Ya, I'm telling on myself, but we learn from sharing. Two days prior I had been flying my drone and clipped a tree branch. This didn't appear nearly as bad of a crash as the crash it had on the Vagabond trip, but it actually cracked the left front arm near the prop motor. I searched online and found that this business had the replacement part in stock, so my plan was to stop buy, purchase the new arm, and see if maybe they could repair it for me that day.

When I arrived I was impressed to find that this was a legit business with a nice showroom full of every size drone that you could think of as well as accessories. There were multiple employees as well, so this wasn't some small one guy business.

Brian looked at my drone and found that the arm socket inside the drone was broke as well. The new arm and socket were going to cost me $45. They could do an emergency 24-hour repair, but I wouldn't have it until tomorrow, and I was leaving Ohio today. They could stop the other repairs they were doing and fix mine, but it would be over $300 which was crazy expensive. Brian told me that if I had a soldering stick and small screwdrivers, I could fix it myself. He told me that there was a lot of glue to peel back and work around, and that it takes him about 4-hours to do the work because you pretty much have to take the whole drone apart. 4 hours for him would probably mean it would take me 8 hours. LOL. He told me that if I tried to fix it and had problems, I could ship it to them for repair.

Brian also showed me the DJI Care Refresh coverage I could have got within 48-hours of activating the drone. The 1-year plan is $59 and the 2-year plan is $89 and apparently if I had either of those plans, they would have replaced my drone.

At this point, my option was $45 and fix it myself with the possibility of buying a few tools or paying over $300 for them to fix it the same day. Then Brian offered me a 3rd option. Option #3 was to give him my drone, and he would ship me a brand-new replacement for $216 which included tax and shipping. Then when I activated it, I would have another chance to purchase the DJI Care. If you buy a DJI drone, get the DJI Care. So basically, it would be like I was paying them $171 to fix my drone and ship it to me ($216 - $45 parts). While I don't like paying people to fix things and felt like I could have probably fixed it myself, option 3 had advantages and just made the most sense to me. So, I left Ohio without a drone.

I had stayed in Ohio long enough and was ready to leave. I charted a course south down IS-77 to Charleston, West Virginia where I would pick up US-119, stop for dinner at Chick-Fil-A in South Charleston, and finally stop at the Best Western in Logan West Virginia for the night.

 

[JohnnyO]

Good to see you again. Glad you had a nice trip.

 

[sgtsandman]

It was nice to meet up again. It also gave me an excuse to initiate another newbie to the enjoyment of Primanti's (Meaning Kevin).

 

[JohnnyO]

It was nice to meet up again. It also gave me an excuse to initiate another newbie to the enjoyment of Primanti's (Meaning Kevin).

 

[Jim Oaks]

I spent much of the summer staying up to late and sleeping until noon. Just prior to the Kentucky trip I had begun waking myself up around 9-9:30 am. The Kentucky trip had me waking up around 6:30-7:00 am, and I managed to stay on that schedule while I was in Ohio. I was up for the day before my daughter and Ethan. Tuesday morning was no different. I woke up early, went down and had waffles and sausage for breakfast, and then hit the road. It was a cool morning and there was quite a bit of fog in the area. I wanted to drive through the Logan area because I knew that the Ultimate Adventure had come through here last year, and we in the same areas and on some of the same routes the Vagabonds and I took this year.

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In August of 1882, Tolbert McCoy, one of Randolph McCoys sons, taunted an unarmed Ellison Hatfield which led to a fight. Seventeen knife thrusts and one revolver shot later; Ellison was dead. The eye-for-an-eye-for-an-eye retaliation began: three McCoys were captured by Hatfields under the command of Ellison’s brother Devil Anse, tied to a pawpaw bush, and shot to death. The skirmishing ended with the century, after at least 20 (and perhaps 100) men and women had died. It's crazy that an 1800's family feud in West Virginia would become such a notable part in American history.

You'll find a lot of ATV's and side by sides on this area because of the Hatfield - McCoy Trails. The Hatfield - McCoy trail system now makes up 500 miles of trails. An impact report estimates that the total economic impact of the Hatfield-McCoy Trails in 2021 was more than $68 million. Over 80% of HMT riding permits were sold to out of state visitors with an estimate of non-local visitor spending in excess of $80 million annually, with approximately $48 million retained in the state.

Other regions have sought to recreate the economic boom experienced by the Hatfield–McCoy Trails project, citing the millions of dollars a year in positive economic impact for West Virginia.

My main goal was to hit the Kentucky Adventure Tour (KAT) which was just south of here. The KAT is a 1,000-mile loop which actually goes through Kentucky, and parts of West Virginia, Virginia, and Tennessee. I was hoping that I could do a little trail riding and offroading on my way back to Texas. I entered the KAT just west of Panther, West Virginia which is just before the KAT enters Virginia.

What I found was a lot of winding paved roads. While this was disappointing from an off-road and overlanding aspect, it was still a nice scenic drive. In fact, at one point in WV I passed a small motel that had a few Shelby Cobras in the parking lot. No doubt that they were there to carve some curves.

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The Virginia part should be called the Virginia Coal Mine Tour, because I passed at least 3 or 4 of those. You'll find a lot of coal dust on the roads in these areas as well as heavy coal truck traffic. The trucks that are loaded look to be severely overloaded and are driving really slowly. The ones that are empty will run you over on their way to get another load.

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There's an area where the KAT goes into Kentucky and then back into Virginia. The gas station in Elkhorn City, Kentucky was listed on the KAT GPS route, but is now closed. Kudzu is starting to creep over the parking lot and with its foot a day growth rate and will eventually consume this gas station.

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Right after leaving Elkhorn City, you'll pass the Russell Fork Overlook. It's definitely worth stopping and taking a look at. I loved the way the road winded through the rock and trees here so much that I took a photo of it. I bet it's really beautiful when the leaves change colors.

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Just a few miles down the road in Virginia is the Mill Rock Point Overlook. Another great sight to stop and check out.

These amazing views were followed later by his river bridge crossing.

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The rain was finally catching up to me. The KAT comes really close to US23 in Norton, Virginia. From here, it's only 25 miles to where my mother grew up and 58 miles to where my father grew up. My plan was to find two of my family cemeteries before it got dark out. As I headed west on US23, the rain had increased and was now a heavy downpour. I know that the weather can change rapidly in 20 miles. Especially in the mountains. I was really hoping that I didn't drive all the way down to Virginia just to get stopped by rain.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

And it was actually a descendant of the McCoys that found the Kentucky shooter.

 

[Blmpkn]

View attachment 118146

Ive definitely stuck my French fry In some roast beef before..

This looks to be the more family friendly method though.. and tasty.. mmmmm.

Great pics Jim. Looks like an awesome trip!

 

[Jim Oaks]

Somehow, I fell down an ancestry rabbit hole and started looking to see if I could figure out where my ancestors were buried. I discovered that my paternal great-great-grandmother Nancy was buried in a cemetery about 7-miles from where my father grew up, but I couldn't find any record of my paternal great-great-grandfather Allen and where he was buried. My thought was that if I went to the cemetery, I might find her grave and find that he was buried there as well.

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My great-great-grandmother died in 1916. Unfortunately, none of the headstones from that time have any names on them. In fact, it looks like whoever buried them just used large rocks they got out of a field.

And then there was this grave that looked like a crypt that had broken apart.

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I know that Nancy is here somewhere, I just don't know where. When Allen died and where he is buried is still a mystery.

I learned that my paternal great-grandfather William was buried in a cemetery not far from here. In fact, my paternal great-grandparents and two great-uncles and their wives are buried here as well. My cousin had found this cemetery and posted it on findagrave.com along with a photo of the headstone and a link to a pin on Google maps.

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The problem is that Google wanted me to go down a road that was gated and no longer open, and the cemetery was in a fenced pasture with hills that blocked its view. I was trying to pin down where the cemetery was without wandering all over the pasture. I used the picture above to figure out where the cemetery was based on the headstone's relationship to the barns behind it.

I determined that the easiest way to get to the cemetery was through this red gate, and that the cemetery would be just beyond the hill in front of it. There wasn't a house around to ask for permission to enter the field and it was my family's cemetery, so I opened the gate, entered, and secured the gate behind me. The cows were very curious of my presence.

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What you have to understand is that back in the day in rural areas if a family member died, the family would bury them on the farm somewhere. It wasn't uncommon for families to have a family cemetery. My great-grandmother died in 1947, 10-years before my great-grandfather. This property and the view are beautiful, and it was most likely my great-grandfathers. My great-grandfather likely buried my great-grandmother here, and then he was buried here when he passed in 1957. That means my grandfather grew up here, and my father probably visited here as well. My great uncles lived in Ohio close to where I grew up, but when they died, they were brought here.

My grandparents had moved to Ohio after my dad did, and when they died, they were buried in Ohio. I never understood why they weren't buried here.

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One more cemetery to go. This one I had been to with my father when I was 16 years old and is on the farm my father grew up on. My maternal great-grandfather, two of my father's brothers, and my father's sister are buried here as well. The other graves are for relatives on my grandmother's side of the family. The cemetery sits up on a hill at the end of a lane in the woods. It appears that someone takes care of it from time to time. When I was here 40 years ago, my father built a bench and cemented it into the ground. I took photos of the cemetery and the bench that day and have them somewhere. It was nice to see that the bench still exists.

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The rain had again caught up with me. It's a little weird when you're standing by yourself in a remote cemetery in the woods and you start hearing thunder. I headed back to the Ranger as the rain started to pour down.

It was time to leave Virginia. I had hoped to camp somewhere, but I had no desire to camp in the rain. Heading west on US58 I decided to head north on US25E through the Cumberland Gap tunnel and get dinner in Middlesboro, Kentucky. My parents and I took a trip to Virginia every year and passed through this area, but the tunnel wasn't there. The tunnel didn't open until 1996.

The Cumberland Gap Tunnel is a dual-bore, four lane vehicular tunnel that carries US25E under Cumberland Gap National Historical Park near the intersection of Kentucky, Tennessee, and Virginia. The tunnel consists of two separate bores which carry four lanes of traffic between Cumberland Gap, Tennessee and Middlesboro, Kentucky. It is one of only two mountain vehicular tunnels in the United States that cross a state line, the other being the East River Mountain Tunnel on IS77 and US52 between Virginia and West Virginia. The tunnel opened to traffic in 1996 and replaced a section of highway through the Cumberland Gap that had earned the nickname "Massacre Mountain" due to its hazardous design and high rate of traffic accidents.

I ended the day getting some sleep at Motel 6 in Kingston, Tennessee.

 

[Jim Oaks]

Wednesday morning was another foggy morning. I left the hotel and headed west on US70. I prefer to take the old US routes when I travel instead of the interstates. Especially if I have time to spare and can stop and see the sights. Right after passing through Rockwood, Tennessee I saw a sign for an overlook and headed down the road to find the Mt Roosevelt Scenic Overlook. There's an old fire tower here and a few towers with cell phone and radio equipment.

Believe it or not, I was here at 7:30 am. That's amazing for me because prior to this trip I struggled to get out of bed before 9:00 am.

US70 should have been an amazing with amazing views. I passed some scenic lookouts, but the fog was so heavy that you couldn't see anything.

As I headed back to Texas, I stopped at the shop north of Nashville to see how the work on the TRS bus was coming along.

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That's where I found this guy working on it.

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And then this other guy showed up!

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How would you like to have to wire this up every day?

​

Seriously though, @Robertmangrum.rm gave me a tour of the shop and I got to look inside of the (3) different busses that they had in there and the different stages of the build they were in. It's impressive that these buses come as an empty shell, and this shop wires, plumbs, and builds a complete interior in-house from scratch.

It was also good to see Randy. Hopefully Robby will get him to come to another one of our gatherings in the future.

I had really wanted to stay another day in Tennessee and camp somewhere, but the weather was questionable, and I was becoming concerned about my house since I had been gone so many days. I really need to install a camera system so I can keep an eye on it while I'm gone.

I finally got home at 1:00 am on Thursday morning. In a way it's good to be home, but after being home for a couple of days, I still wish I was on an adventure somewhere.

 

[bobbywalter]

i drove past you 6 times.

 

[Robertmangrum.rm]

Wednesday morning was another foggy morning. I left the hotel and headed west on US70. I prefer to take the old US routes when I travel instead of the interstates. Especially if I have time to spare and can stop and see the sights. Right after passing through Rockwood, Tennessee I saw a sign for an overlook and headed down the road to find the Mt Roosevelt Scenic Overlook. There's an old fire tower here and a few towers with cell phone and radio equipment.

Believe it or not, I was here at 7:30 am. That's amazing for me because prior to this trip I struggled to get out of bed before 9:00 am.

View attachment 118193

View attachment 118194

View attachment 118195

US70 should have been an amazing with amazing views. I passed some scenic lookouts, but the fog was so heavy that you couldn't see anything.

As I headed back to Texas, I stopped at the shop north of Nashville to see how the work on the TRS bus was coming along.

View attachment 118196
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That's where I found this guy working on it.

View attachment 118197
​

And then this other guy showed up!

View attachment 118198
​

How would you like to have to wire this up every day?

View attachment 118199

View attachment 118202

View attachment 118201
​

Seriously though, @Robertmangrum.rm gave me a tour of the shop and I got to look inside of the (3) different busses that they had in there and the different stages of the build they were in. It's impressive that these buses come as an empty shell, and this shop wires, plumbs, and builds a complete interior in-house from scratch.

It was also good to see Randy. Hopefully Robby will get him to come to another one of our gatherings in the future.

I had really wanted to stay another day in Tennessee and camp somewhere, but the weather was questionable, and I was becoming concerned about my house since I had been gone so many days. I really need to install a camera system so I can keep an eye on it while I'm gone.

I finally got home at 1:00 am on Thursday morning. In a way it's good to be home, but after being home for a couple of days, I still wish I was on an adventure somewhere.

It was great to see you man. Glad your home safe.

 

[97RangerXLT]

some awesome pics. I too have hit the genealogy pit in the last few weeks. www.familysearch.org (done by the Mormons and LDS) is a great point. free, you can log in with google or facebook, and has a wealth of info. so far my rabbithole has taken me back to the mid 1100s (not a typo) in Wales. got names and most dates 20 generations back on part of my Dad's side. several generations in a castle in Wales. one great (12 gens) grandfather was beheaded, must have really made someone mad...) and several Sir or Lady designations.

Findagrave has also given me some really good results as well. I also have written histories done by relatives back in the 50s and 60s that I can corroborate any findings with. Interesting stuff..

AJ