Member III
Great “weekend” at MOORE & SMORR! Left Eastern North Carolina on Thursday and picked up the FWC Granby in Whittier NC. Took the pass thru the Great Smoky Mountain National Park to Pigeon Forge TN then onto I-40 West. One night on the road and arrived at SMORR early Friday afternoon. I was a little disappointed that SMORR does not allow full-size (except for Ford Raptor), 2WD vehicles, or moto onto their trails but I can see that their concern for the safety of their patrons is paramount... and maybe a bit of liability. I did mention to the owner about creating a bunny slope of sorts for noobs to get their feet wet. He mentioned that he had something in the works so I guess we'll have to wait and see what happens there. Camping at SMORR was a treat! Clean restrooms with hot showers, hot breakfast, bonfires each night and professional staff. Over 100 miles of trails from level 1 to 6 for the die hard crawlers.
Kind of neat that SMORR is about 35 miles to the Ozark Empire Fairgrounds where MOORE was held, nice drive in. Saturday morning was slammed with people coming out to see what is new and what Overlanding is all about. Chris Holloway and his team did an outstanding job setting this first time expo up. Indoor venue was a good choice for a February event. Sat in on a bunch of different seminars geared toward the novice and advanced overlanders. Met Aaron Paris OB #6 from Switchback Outdoor Safety. Sounds like Chris is already planning for next year so mark your calendars.
Dropped the camper in Tulsa OK then back on the road to NC. Camper was super easy to set up and take down and was pretty good on gas (got 12 mpg). Will definitely be looking for a FWC Hawk or Northstar 650 in my future.
Travel wise I think the best part of the trip was through the mountains from Cherokee NC to Pigeon Forge TN; was not planning to go that route, just the way GPS took me. Getting off the interstate onto some of the country highways was nice too. Next time I will have my own rig and kit so I will be able to take part in the offroad portion of travel they had set up between SMORR and MOORE; they ran a route through back country roads that took 3-4 hours (or more). Looked like some of those guys and gals had a pretty good time running together.
Kind of neat that SMORR is about 35 miles to the Ozark Empire Fairgrounds where MOORE was held, nice drive in. Saturday morning was slammed with people coming out to see what is new and what Overlanding is all about. Chris Holloway and his team did an outstanding job setting this first time expo up. Indoor venue was a good choice for a February event. Sat in on a bunch of different seminars geared toward the novice and advanced overlanders. Met Aaron Paris OB #6 from Switchback Outdoor Safety. Sounds like Chris is already planning for next year so mark your calendars.
Dropped the camper in Tulsa OK then back on the road to NC. Camper was super easy to set up and take down and was pretty good on gas (got 12 mpg). Will definitely be looking for a FWC Hawk or Northstar 650 in my future.
Travel wise I think the best part of the trip was through the mountains from Cherokee NC to Pigeon Forge TN; was not planning to go that route, just the way GPS took me. Getting off the interstate onto some of the country highways was nice too. Next time I will have my own rig and kit so I will be able to take part in the offroad portion of travel they had set up between SMORR and MOORE; they ran a route through back country roads that took 3-4 hours (or more). Looked like some of those guys and gals had a pretty good time running together.
