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@ Murphy, NC: |
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| Today's date: |
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East Coast Bronco Registry 3rd Annual Spring Roundup June 1-2, 2001 |
| The East Coast Bronco Registry's 3rd Annual Spring Roundup, June 1-2, 2001, was based at Peace Valley Campground, Murphy, NC. Peace Valley, located on Hwy. 64E, just a couple of miles from town, has many excellent campsites and plenty of space for trailers and tow rigs. Early Broncos were seen in great numbers, of every description and every combination of colors and modifications. For those contemplating upgrades or restorations of their beloved Early Broncos, the ECBR Roundup provided many photo ops and many willing discussions with proud owners. |
| Every story is told from the viewpoint of the observer which is why four different people standing on the four different corners of an intersection tell slightly different accounts of the accident they just witnessed. Therefore, this is the story of the 2001 ECBR Roundup as told from the perspective of a first-time participant, Bruce Lewis. Every effort was made to confirm names and events. |
| Preparations for this year's ECBR Roundup began by rescuing my partially restored EB from the body shop where it had been in the process of restoration since December 2000. (Not that much to do on my EB, but the owner is very busy with insurance work!) As my wife and I are both teachers, we were able to leave Hornsby, TN (90 miles E of Memphis), Wednesday morning at about 8:30 AM. Having already heard from the ECBR mailing list that the forecast for Murphy was scattered thunderstorms and cool temperatures we packed our clothing and rainsuits accordingly. |
The 74 Bronco towed easily on my neighbor, Jim Waldrip's, trailer and
our 94 Allegro Bay motorhome traveled smoothy across Tennessee. Catching
I-40 at Jackson, TN, we traveled E to Nashville and then on to Chattanooga
on I-24. Except for a few sections of construction, the interstate trip
was uneventful. Wait, I take that back, the trip down Monteagle with a
trailer full of 74 Early Bronco and a 92 Suzuki ATV was "exciting"! Proceeding
N out of Chattanooga on I-75, we exited at Cleveland on Hwy. 64E. The trip
through Cherokee National Forest, along the Ocoee River, was scenically
beautiful, but hardly enjoyed by either of us due to the narrow, winding
road and our wide motorhome and trailer combination. We rolled into the
campground about 5:30 PM Eastern; an eight hour drive from the opposite
end of Tennessee; over 400 miles.
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| After registering at the campground office, we quickly found our #20 campsite and off loaded the EB and 4-wheeler, disconnected the trailer in a field nearby and set up camp at our assigned campsite. Due to the downtime at the body shop over the past several months, the Bronco's battery was dead, but we easily rolled the truck off the trailer and Shannon Deese (Thanks, Marine!) jumped off the truck so we could drive it to our parking spot at our campsite. Thinking that possibly the battery was just weak, I charged it overnight, but to no avail. |
A few people were already at the campground. The Ringos from Louisville,
KY, brought their particularly beautiful Early Bronco by for inspection.
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Others present at the campground included Brian
Keeler, his long-time friend, Ron Sanders, Mark Shainman, Shannon Deese,
and Jim Howell. Since my EB was obviously not going anywhere on the trails,
one of my first tasks was to secure a ride for Thursday. Brian and Ron
offered me the back seat of Brian's orange trail machine and were outstanding
hosts to this newcomer!
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