Sign up, sign up ...   time is a wasting.    70 degrees outside today, 75-80 degrees by weeks end.

MM, as they become real SIGN THEM UP BY NAME so we can keep track of the beds.

Suzuki Savage people, if you continue to screw around long enough then the four remaining beds will be all taken .....  by CMA people who are not afraid of an early spring mountain trip.

And that is a wee little bit sad to me.

Now , OldFeller ...

The two people that I'm thinking are most likely to "BREAK-FREE" and "Take their Bikes for a Three-Day-Cruise " ---- they are Flat-Landers".  

And you know what that means !!!   (you got be be on your ...   ...

MILD-Behavior .        
OR
Just wait on us at the intersections ...  


will be all taken .....  by CMA people who are not afraid of an early spring mountain trip.

OldFeller

My Old Gold Wing buddy is in with us.  (Charles)  


I'll get to checking on the rest of them  .  

Of course Charles is the only one who don't punch a time clock ,
so ....

Lets review whats on our agenda :

We'll be right next to the Skyway , so thats a given .
We'll be right next to the Dragon also so likewise .
That river road that runs at the bottom of the skyway was a good ride.
I don't exactly remember how to get on it but "Waya" road is a really good ride.
Hwy 28 and lunch at Dragon central is a must "Do" ,  

I'm sure I'm leaving out some of the best stuff ,  

That little road that Lancer found that wound up the mountain and turned to gravel on the back side is one of the coolest roads I think I've ever seen !  ...  Kinda like the switch-back street in San-Francisco on STEROIDS .   I'm OK with not going down the back-side unless they have "Tar-and-Chipped" it  .    

That Weather report is "amazing"   ,  

No , with weather like that I'm ridding the bike .  

Wife is not going to want to go ... unless  I leave the bike at home , but I can take her back anytime for a middle of the week thing .... its just right over the hill from the house (kinda )  

Charles has had one of the 1100cc wings for ---    --- ever ----  
He has kept it up good and he rides good but still the floorboards drag and its a lot happier on the super slab running 75 than on a mountain road .   Charles is about 6'2" and 250 lbs , so the wing fits him good and he's comfey with it.   He's got a YoSemmiey Sam mustash and  is always grinning about something , really easy to get along with kinda guy.
I think my Sportster is the only "Bike" in our CMA group , the rest are two or three wheeled cars ...  

I'll see if Kent want to join us too !  

Here is a picture of Charles on my Savage from one of the Scavenger hunts :

Howdy folks...long time away....but I am back.....Whaat are the date for the Dragon area ride....Oldfeller, will ya let me ride with you all??? )
If it the week of April 17th...I can do it.

T

Santeetlah Lake Exploratory Trip   April 23, 24, 26  
Oldfeller,  MM,  Charles,  Toymaker,  Kent

This is a free trip.    Cabin has been reserved and paid for.   What is missing are the rest of the Savage.com people that are interested in the ride.   We still have 2 bed slots open (Toymaker hasn't posted yet).  Trip is now opened to MM's CMA rider friends and any other friends that you can vouch for.   Speaky speaky, don't be squeaky.   Fill them beds on up ..... if we overflow we will set up a tent




I'm kinda interested in the whole lake complex -- for a federal facility they seem to have their heads on straight as far as having 3 managed campgrounds, five (5) Ranger Stations and still having all those dozens of free "open to the first taker" camping places that we have been spotting on already.

I am curious as to if it is "by the person" or "by the tent space" at the three full service campgrounds?   We could make us some cost advantage using a big tent if it is by the tent space.   I also want to know if there is a shower at one of the payme campgrounds in the complex.   Yes, see below.

So, we are proposing April 23, 24, 26 ???  

I found another free site with a toilet facility.   It is actually on the Cherohola Skyway side of Santeetlah Lake.  https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/nfsnc/recreation/horseriding-camping/recarea/...




I also see mention of 2 cabins that you can put up to six people into each at a cost of $35 per cabin a night.  That is dirt cheap compared to where we have been staying.

https://www.recreation.gov/camping/cheoah-point-cabin-2/r/campgroundDetails.d...     YES, there is an open to all campers shower facility 150 feet from Cabin #1 (and Cabin #2, but slightly further away).   You can book this place on line, makes it easy to do.

https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/nfsnc/recreation/horseriding-camping/recarea/...     Here is another map that shows the town with a satellite shot.

Costs     FREE PRIMITIVE campsites, Campground based tent sites $15 per night first come first serve; $20 per night for RV sites; $35 per night for cabins that hold six (plus a tent on the gravel fire pad if you need overflow).

Next, there is a tiny little town actually out in the lake that is named Santeetlah, apparently it was a town in the area before the lake was filled in and wound up with water on three sides out on a peninsula.   It is still a tiny incorporated town made up mostly of rich people's lake homes that is showing up on the map above.

Yes, we can spend some time poking around and find a range from free to cheap and we may actually maybe find someplace worth calling "home base" for a group run.

(Dave is going to want to go now, as he is deeply suspicious of "free to nearly free", but he won't turn down a decent place with a shower and a roof over his head -- just no barking dogs, please)


I bet these two cabin places gets booked up a year in advance on the summer weekends.   Weekdays, not so likely.    





Cabin #2 - there is room for an additional small tent if you want but it can not be set up on the grass (only within the gravel pad). So it does make the eating area a bit cramped. Nice view of the lake but a longer walk to your car and the bathroom.    I also see a fire pit and firewood .....