Twelve Mile Road

One of the most exciting times of the Summer 2007 Vanagon trip was when I went down Twelve Mile Road. This proved to be an unwise choice. I love to drive on backroads as much as possible. I use a GPS navigation system to aid me in this preference. I tell it to find the shortest route and it does that, which almost always uses the smaller roads. Then it guides me so that I don't have to constantly look for the next turn, and read a map. I can enjoy the scenery and driving and know it will tell me when it's time to turn. It has a setting to avoid unpaved roads, and I usually leave that turned off because I don't mind unpaved roads. As long as they're actually roads.

I was toodling along enjoying the scenery, like you see above. It was a beautiful crisp summer day in northern West Virginia, with sun but not too hot. I continued from Snake Rd onto Twelve Mile Rd. at a place called Sell, and I think this photo is near that place. If you are that interested, you can click the little map below and see what it looks like. The road was quite good and smooth and level, with nice fresh looking gravel on it. One could actually go pretty fast on the open sections where there were no blind curves. Fast meaning about 30-35mph in the Vanagon on gravel. A few miles down the road, a few driveways turned off, with "Private" signs on them, and the nice fresh gravel disappeared as the road went into pretty deep woods.


There's kind of what it looked like in there. (This is about at point #1 on the map below.) The road was pretty straight, following a small stream, and descending with it through the woods. Also you see in this picture the first obstacle I came to: The Sippy Hole. At this point I figured, I was just going to turn around and get out of there. I got out to take this photo and got a stick and probed the big puddle, and found it to be very firm on the bottom and not very deep. So I figured what the heck and went on. No problem with the sippy hole, and the road continued descending. I made note of places where I could turn around as I passed them. The GPS showed it was not far to where this road started having other roads branch off of it. I knew that it would probably be in the worst condition where it was used the least, I would pass that point, then it would get better, and I'd be out the other side.

Then I made a few decisions about continuing that were not so smart. Stupid really. I went past some things I was pretty sure I would not be able to go back up. A steep rocky down hill section was one. At one point the little stream was basically running down the "road" I was driving on. Here's the story on the Vanagon's off road abilities from my experiences. They can be really bad to lose traction and get stuck. I've gotten stuck on wet grass several times on hills that weren't really very steep at all. The good things about taking the Vanagon off road are that they have quite a sturdy suspension capable of withstanding abuse. And they have good ground clearance and short ramp angles front and rear. This means they can go over tall things without those things hitting the bottom of the van and making it stop.

So that wet section with the stream running down the road seemed like I'd never be able to do that uphill. Here's another section where a small tree was down and I think just out of view in the foreground was the broken culvert pipe I drove over. I also got out here and moved a big branch off the "road" so that I could manoeuvre over that small tree in the easiest way possible. The thing that made me decide to keep going was that I had passed these obstacles I wouldn't be able to go back up or over, and the fact that I knew I was close to where the conditions would improve.

It got worse. There were stumps in the "road" soon. There were big holes and mounds where other vehicles had been stuck and dug out or spun their tires. The terrain got flatter, and soon it was just impossible to manoeuvre the van around the trees that were increasingly *in* the "road." There had been a fork in the road a ways back that I think was actually Twelve Mile Road, but involved a stream crossing that was really hairy looking.

I had been thinking about how I would get my stupid ass out of there. I had cell phone, I had my bike and could easily ride out a couple miles. I came to a stop and got out when it was clear I could go no further. I was quite anxious. Excess adrenaline pumping made me feel like I had drank a java chiller or 2. I walked ahead about 100 yards and found the place where the road was nice and level and gravel. I couldn't get to it though. I was at about point #2 on the map below.

So I took my anxiety and excess adrenaline and decided to at least try to get out of there. I scouted a place to turn around 20 yards back the way I came. It was difficult. I couldn't see where the rear wheels were and they would hit a rock or stump and stop moving. Trees were close on both sides which prevented easy jockeying to the sides to clear those rocks and stumps. The ground here was softer and more soil and vegetation. I got the spinning tires thing going a few times and had to use momentum to overcome the slick spots. A big branch threatened to rip off my newish side view mirror. But I got the thing turned around. Going forward is much better for traction in the van because the weight transfers rearward when you accelerate giving more traction and less spinning tires. I started back up the "road" thinking to stay calm and keep the momentum up. It turns out the "road" was pretty rocky, and it was a sandstone that had a lot of friction. Even the wet parts were not very slippery. That tree across the road presented a challenge though. The uphill approach to it made it a much larger "step" from the level of the road. First try, the right tire hopped over it, but the left one hit it and the whole van slid to the left as the tire slid along it. No trouble backing up off of it. I got out and built a little stairway of rocks for the left wheel to get over it. 2nd try and it was just up and over. The right wheel took quite a bounce there though {foreshadowing}. After that it was surprisingly easy. The steep part came and went with little trouble as the sandstone rocks provided a lot of grip for the tires. When I got to the Sippy Hole I couldn't believe it. I was out of there. I was really surprised that I made it.


I learned a lesson on Twelve Mile Road and got that lesson cheap compared to what it could have been. There I am kissing the beleaguered rear wheel, who so gallantly propelled me out of harm's way.









Here's the Map of Twelve Mile Road if you want to mark it off of your route.

The Puffs are Here!

I planted this tree in front of my house a couple years ago. It's a Mimosa. They grow fast and are kind of weedy, and are actually an invasive species here in NC. I like them though, for several reasons. I like the form the branches have in the winter when there are no leaves. I like the tiny little leaves they have in the summer, and the way they open during the day and close at night. I like those tiny leaves again in the Fall when they need no collecting. They just dissolve into the soil and are gone. And the Mimosa tree has Puffs! Delicate Pink Puffs. This is the first year mine has had any. I though maybe I got a boy tree and only the girl trees have puffs, but no, the puffs are here this year!



The only problem I have with the Mimosa is that the branches tend to droop low in the summer when they are heavily laden with leaves and interfere with passersby. So I have tied some of the branches to each other across the middle of the tree with strong fishing line to hold them in toward the center of the tree. After a year, I will take the line off and the branches should hold the position they are now tied in.

(click the photos to see bigger versions)

Most Scenic Dairy Queen

Yes, it's the most scenic Dairy Queen in the world, located in Hinton, West Virginia. Above is a panoramic view of the dining room which overlooks the famous New River near it's confluence with the Bluestone River. If you click the picture you can see it in larger splendor. If you think there is a more scenic DQ, I want to hear about it.

Also notable at this DQ is table service. You order at the window, but they bring your food out to your table and call your number. The menu is somewhat expanded also. On a previous trip, I had the fried oysters. Why I thought that was a good idea in the middle of remote WV, I can't tell you now. The oysters were amazingly uniform in shape, parallelograms as a matter of fact. Oyster-llelograms is what they became known as. My advice is to stick with the staples that would normally be good at a DQ.

I visited on this trip on Friday night and it was nice scene of Summer. The sun was getting low and pretty after a beautiful warm day. One of those crisp West Virginia days with low humidity and long clear views driving on the beautiful back roads. Sliding right through little towns and people's front yards, catching fleeting glimpses of what's important to them, and what isn't. And there at the DQ were a variety of people ending their day and week with a little outing. There was a group of 10 or 20 people in one dining room ending a dinner of some significance with hugs and some people still lingering and talking. Well dressed white haired couples ask what kind of fish they serve, and cause confusion behind the counter while research on the fish is done. The young woman comes back and answers, "Cod?" in a question, as she apparently has never heard of a fish with that name. Older teens in rugged 4wd pickup trucks that look like they actually go off-road congregate and chat non-threateningly. A few bikers come and go with loud revving engines.

So I did a little audio recording while I was there, with my ISDV2+ and I'm going to try to edit it into something so you can get a flavor of the scene there at the most scenic DQ in the world on such a pleasant Summer Friday evening. One of the most interesting things I heard there was one of the young women behind the counter. In an effort to keep people flowing through the ordering process, she frequently said, "can I help someone?" Nothing too strange about that, but it was the way she said it. She had one of those naturally strong voices that carries way down the road. And her intonation had a pleading quality to it, like she REALLY, REALLY wanted to help someone. The other thing to listen for is the retro musak playing in the dining room, and the excited patron who lets out a YeeHaw when his order number is called. OK here it is, an mp3 file about a minute long.

I Didn't want to see that.

There are my friends Terry and Ellie. I've known them a long time, but had kind of forgotten about Ellie since I hadn't known her that well before the 22 or so years elapsed since the last time I saw her. I did remember her significant resemblance to Jessica Lange back in the 80's, and it's still there.

I was mentioning my use of craigslist.org to find eligible bachelorettes, and so we set to finding Ellie a possible date. She was lukewarm to the idea. I warned them about what they might see in the men seeking women ads, and to be especially careful of ads that say they have a picture. Well, one stray click, and we ended up seeing a 60-something guy in his underwear. Or was that a speedo? Does it matter? No.

Trip Blogging Preview

Just a teaser of what's to come, so get ready. I'm back from an exciting 8 day trip and hope to blog it to bits! Here's the kind of excitement you can expect:

• Lost keys! First I lose the key to the gas cap of the van and can't put more gas into its empty tank. Yikes! How did I overcome that major obstacle? And now that I'm home, I can't find the key to remove my bike from the back of the van. Yes, my bike is stuck on the van!
• Reunion Hijinks: the last time I saw her was 31 years ago, when we were 12, and now she's upset.
• The most scenic Dairy Queen in the world.
• Hot driving: it's in the high 90's in the van, and that's when I'm underway with the windows down.
• Wind Farms.
• Vanagon Tech-talk
• Excitement boils over: climbing a steep grade is interrupted when a cloud of smoke and oil appear in the rear view mirror!
• Off-road excursion: The GPS says it's a road, I think not! I was stupid, then lucky, and part of the lucky was that I was smart.
• Limping home: with a compromised front suspension and transmission, I make it home.
• Old friends: It was good to see them.
• Lots of photos and maybe some video too!
• BBQ.
• Frozen drinks near and far.
• Scenic Splendor.
• Modern Art.
• Urban Sprawl.
  

Watch this space.

Summer Trip Planning

Sometimes planning the trip can be as much fun as the trip itself. Currently have 13 stops planned over about 8 days. If you click the map you can see it in more detail. Any guesses as to what any of those those numbered stops are?

What is that?

Behind the Patton Building?


Watch this space for future developments...