Sightings Of The Willy Mammoth

[Lady Di]

Were you the last one to leave this evening?? If not, better watch out!

..... .............

[79coyotefrg]

no vacation for you 


 

[Lady Di]

Well we're getting ready to head to Gilbert, WV for a 6 day weekend this coming weekend.

They have plenty of ATV trails but there doesn't seem to be any ORV areas for full size vehicles but that's OK. We're going to visit and sight see anyway.

Going up to our old stomping grounds when we had our ATV's, the Twin Hollow Campground to visit with our friends Wayne and Donna, the owners of the campground.

www.twinhollowcampground.com Its a beautiful area, and if you have ATV's you can ride onto the Hatfield McCoy trails right from the campground.

I've been researching places to see. We have got to see the New River Gorge and it appears if you ride up to where the bridge is, you can cross over to Lansing and there is a road that travels from Lansing to Fayetteville into the gorge and back out.

Check out the map, the red text to the left of Canyon Rim Visitor Center.

http://www.nps.gov/neri/planyourvisit/upload/NERI_ParkMap.pdf

That sounds like a cool ride with the Mammoth.

We'll be coming from the Beckley area, (Gilbert is to the SW of Beckley). If you follow 41 on the map to the river it appears 41 crosses the river and there are unpaved roads that run along the river from about Prince to Stone Cliff.

We'll find out. Hopefully there will still be color in the leaves. That all should be a good days drive.
It's about 2 hours from Gilbert to Lansing driving straight there.

Well time to get the LBC ready.

[Rocksurfer]

You are supposed to go to Gilbert, AZ. you're going to the wrong state.

[Lady Di]

You are supposed to go to Gilbert, AZ. you're going to the wrong state.

I think that would be much harder to do in the 6 days we have

[Rocksurfer]

I think that would be much harder to do in the 6 days we have

It's only a day 1/2 drive to here, take turns. Gives you 3 days of wheeling.

[Lady Di]

It's only a day 1/2 drive to here, take turns. Gives you 3 days of wheeling.

Yeah, of straight driving

[Lady Di]

Getting everything ready to go. We're not going to stress and try to hit the road early tomorrow.
The LBC is mostly packed but we only just got the fridge on. The batteries were dead this morning.
Marks finishing up the Mammoth and has to clean up his work van to drop off at the shop.
We probably won't be on the road before 11:00ish tomorrow.
That's a relief to me, I am over the stressing.

[79coyotefrg]

[unclejpl4x4]

well are we there yet...

glen on the ride 2 walmart mr and wmw where ploting 2 kidnap me and force 2 drive them 2 florda at twinky piont 

[BUBBA]

you know if ya'll feel like a detour you can always come this way and stop and visit me

it wouldn't be that far outta the way

[79coyotefrg]

well are we there yet...

glen on the ride 2 walmart mr and wmw where ploting 2 kidnap me and force 2 drive them 2 florda at twinky piont 

[Willy Mammoth]

Well we are camped out on hwy 77 in NC just short of the state line. Two trucks are turned over in a one lane construction zone. Been sitting here now for about 2hrs and it don't look like we are going anywere anytime soon.

[Willy Mammoth]

Shortly after posting this we started moving, but not till they could wake up all the sleeping truckers.

[79coyotefrg]

are ya there yet ??

[unclejpl4x4]

Well we are camped out on hwy 77 in NC just short of the state line. Two trucks are turned over in a one lane construction zone. Been sitting here now for about 2hrs and it don't look like we are going anywere anytime soon.

dam   that sucks

[Lady Di]

Yeah, that was crazy. I went to sleep. Mark drove till about 12:30 he said, we slept at a FlyJ till 7am.
We're at the campground finally, we got stopped for about 15 minutes just before we got into town, looked like they were cleaning up a small landslide.
But we're here now and we even have wifi

Three days to relax We'll have some pics later or tomorrow. I didn't take much on the road. It rained almost the whole way here.

[Lady Di]

Coming up the road to the campground was a hoot.
It's about a mile of unpaved winding road up the mountain, ALMOST wide enough for two vehicles.
Mark was in first gear doing all he could to keep forward momentum while I was up holding the cabinets closed to keep the dogs from being bombed with canned goods! INCOMING

[Lady Di]

OK so pics

1. Ginger helping to navigate

2. Big Mike... if you live right, this too could be you..

3. Going through Pineville on our way to Gilbert, every other vehicle that came around the corner was as big if not bigger then this truck. At least this one didn't have logs!

4. Thought you golfers would get a kick out of the name of that one

5. Ginger waiting to navigate us through traffic

6. Welcome to downtown Gilbert

7. Twin Hollow Campground.. that 'road' on the other side of the sign is the entrance to the Browning Fork Trail system of the Hatfield McCoy trails.

8. As I said, the ride up the drive to the campground was a trip unto it self.

[unclejpl4x4]

mark    no wheeling the  LBC

[Lady Di]

For those of you on the east coast (and west coast if you are so inclined) that don't know, the Hatfield McCoy trails are an ATVers paradise. www.trailsheaven.com There are now at least 6 different trail systems. In most of the towns on the trailheads you can ride your ATV's into town to go to fuel up, go to ATM's, fast food, restaurants.. whatever you would do in a vehicle. It's a GAS.

When we were into ATVing we vacationed here yearly staying at the Twin Hollow Campground in Gilbert. It's a reclaimed surface mine, and is gorgeous.

MOre pics...

1. The check-in house is also the campground owners future house. The first year we came up here they had only just opened. He said we were the first fall visitors they had. There was nothing up here but his trailer. We parked next to him to be able to plug the trailer we had at the time into theirs so we could have power. We became good friends over that vacation and went back every year for three years.
We are not plugged into 50 amp service SWEET!

2. Where you see the ATV is direct access to the Browning Fork Trail system and you can also get to town on the trail

3. Going back down the campground road in the Mammoth was easier then coming up in the LBC

4. ATVs coming up the trail from town

5. ATV's at a local restaurant

6. ATV on the road

7. Shots from the road

8. Ditto

[DTB]

wow, its really beautiful out there

[93tonkatoy]

Looks like Mark needs to make some room on the trailer for a couple of 4 wheelers, with the Mammoth.

The biggest surprise is just knowing that there is still a community that actually WELCOMES atv riders! Maybe the ECO-NAZIS just haven't found it yet.

It looks like a beautiful place to go and "unwind" on a 4 wheeler. Do you have any old pics of the trails?

[Willy Mammoth]

We actualy have a video of one of our trips and if you ask nicley Diane may send you a copy on DVD.

I hope they will someday setup trails for full sized trucks too.

Time to tend the fire. BBL.

[79coyotefrg]

[79coyotefrg]

did you visit the tree Diane  tried  to eat 

[Rocksurfer]

That hood looks kinda long.

[Willy Mammoth]

Yea, but I like it. So far it hasn't gone over 180* and that is good cause the tstat is a 180*. After a long hard drive the bottom of the radiator was cold, but the top was hot. That meens it is working.


It has claered up and is about 70* outside now so it should be a good day for a sight seeing trip.

WPPL.

[CTENG in KS]

wow, its really beautiful out there

That is that part about the NE that I miss.

[fordh8r]

Looks like fun Mark and Diane!    Thanks for keeping us up to speed.  Sure looks like you guys are having a good time and keep safe out there.