June 22, 2007 - Day 6

We started the day today early and arrived at the starting point for the Pediatric Brain Foundation Poker Run by 9 am. The ride started out as expected, but it wasn't long before things went wrong.  We got the directions for the ride at the starting point, so we could not know in advance that there were 39 direction changes on the route. Although one of the things I like about this part of the country is the way you can be riding a closed in wooded lane one second, and then turn the corner or top a hill and be looking at one of the most breath taking views you have ever seen, it is also very hard to see this kind of place and still keep your mind on all the right turns and mileages.  About the third of fourth turn, although the mileage was accurate, the name of the street was wrong. I was sure that we were going the right way, but many in front were stopping. I continued indicating it was the correct direction. About 30 or 40 seconds later when no one else followed us, I figured that perhaps I had missed something so I turned around. As soon as we were going back, here comes everyone else. By the time we could get turned around everyone else as well as three other groups had passed us. Still we got back on track and within a couple miles had caught up with the last group. At next check point, we got in and out so were ahead of the last group. There were many places to miss a turn of not know it was the right turn because there were no street signs on a lot of the roads we took. Without the exact mileages, I don't think this ride would have been possible. If your odometer was off, then you were likely one of the last in. We made it the rest of the trip without catching up with anyone else, but it seemed to me we had made good time and not missed any turns. Still at the end it appeared that most everyone else had already come and gone. We went ahead and ate and were about ready to leave when the groups that had passed us started to show up. I can only guess that others had more trouble with all the turns than we did. There were a lot of door prizes, but we did not get lucky enough to win any, so we decided to go back to the vendor booths and see if we could find a better mount for Karen's trip computer. We go there and found the correct booth, but again no luck. It seems that the specific model of Lowrance we had, they did not have mount for. Karen was not feeling well by this time, so we headed back to the hotel to take a break. She got a chance to cool down and take a nap, and I got a chance to start on the pictures for this page. About 4:30 PM, we rode out to the Museum of Appalachia for the "Down Home Party". We got to get a close up look at the way our ancestors lived before the advent of the manufacturing and electronic age. We also got to watch a John Deere work a saw to cut trees into boards, a board being turned into an ax-handle, and brooms being made. We learned what an upping block was and listened to a live band playing authentic music of the time. We met a couple that had ridden down from Ohio and who had been on the poker run with us this morning. It seems that their experience was not all that good either. After dinner we visited the Hall of Fame and got a chance to view the ukaweewee and no that is not miss-spelled. Then we checked out the gift shop and I found it amazing that toys used to be made from wood and metal, with no electronics, yet the kids still played with them. Wouldn't it be great if we could get ours to do that? Before we left we even got to watch a Civil War Re-Enactment. Then it was back to the hotel to prepare for another ride tomorrow. This time it is supposed to be "The Best Dam Ride and Fish Fry". I guess we will find out. Either way, I'll see you out there on the byways....