Ocoee Run [RAGS Event]
April 11, 2009
Participants: There were 9 RAGS member cars, 4 of which hold dual memberships. We had 3 NAs, 3NBs and 3 NCs. |
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Ocoee River Run The Ocoee River Run is a drive which I have done many times over the years and I am looking forward to sharing the drive today with my friends. This drive goes through the area lying between Maryville, Copperhill and Madisonville. We will meet in Maryville then drive south on US411then turn left onto SR360 at the town of Vonore. We will then continue thru the towns of Tellico Plains, Ducktown, and Copperhill Debbie and I complete everything in preparation for our trip then we are out the door and down the road. We arrive at the meeting location around nine to find several people have already arrived, so I guess we are not the only ones excited about our drive. I look up and to my surprise and delight here comes two Easter Bunnies driving a Copper Red Miata. They climb out of the car and offer chocolate covered rabbit droppings to everyone. We all get a great laugh out of their arrival and this indeed sets a good tone for the day to come. Following some general greetings and a drivers meeting we proceed south on US411 towards the town of Vonore. The drive down 411 is four lanes and rather straight but Debbie and I enjoy chatting as we drive along. Arriving in Vonore we turn left onto SR360 which will take us to the town of Tellico Plains. This is a nice road which travels past Tellico Lake, country homes, farms and small stores. This road was paved last year and has some very nice curves along the way. Arriving in Tellico Plains we stop at the Cherohala Welcome Center. There are two buildings here with the Cherohala Welcome Center in one and the Charles Hall Museum in the other. There is a gift shop and restrooms available as well as a nice walking path with picnic tables. We enjoy our break here and then prior to leaving several people have discovered there is a nice bakery in town and would like to go. Well why not we are after all here to enjoy our day. Tellico Grains Bakery is a family-owned and operated artisan bakery. Stuart and Anissa Shull bring their educations, culinary expertise, and passions to life in the all natural handcrafted baked goods. One bite and you'll taste the love and dedication baked into every morsel. Their hours are Tuesday-Saturday, 8:00am - 4:00pm. Closed Sunday and Monday. They serve breakfast and lunch along with a wide variety of decadent baked delights. The bakery is located in an old brick building which was once a bank. This is indeed a jewel for everyone was ecstatic over the wonderful fruit pastries available. I think this is well worth a stop for future drives and maybe plan on meeting here for breakfast. Back in our cars we drive south on SR68 which will take us to the town of Copperhill. The road starts a long uphill climb leaving the valley and arriving into a more mountainous environment. The road travels along with a nice variety of curves and scenery. Along the way we pass the Coker Creek Community which has numerous artists, small homes and the Coker Creek Retreat. There is a festival here which takes place in the fall which is well worth visiting. Traveling along we come to a section of road which travels through national Forest land. There are no homes, beautiful forest, nice pavement and some wonderful uphill/downhill sweeping turns. I have always liked this section of road and today is no exception. We soon arrive in Copperhill where we stop in town for our lunch break. Downtown Copperhill is not unlike many small towns with old brick buildings lining a stretch of about three blocks long. Once these buildings were occupied by stores,banks,cafes and maybe a theatre. Today it is mostly restaurants and stores of various types which cater to tourists. This small town now prospers with tourist traffic brought in part by the scenic railway which stops here. Everywhere there are people with their yellow stickers which indicate they are riding the train. Several restaurants are available here with varying types of food. We decide to eat at El Rio Mexican restaurant a place where we dined back in October during the Helen Octoberfest Trip. El Rio is not particularly fancy but it has good food for an inexpensive price with fast service and a large area upstairs where we can all sit together. After a nice meal everyone walks around town to take in the sights and walk off lunch. Back to the cars we prepare to leave after spending about one and a half hours. We hate to take the Easter Bunny away from the kids who are being treated to his chocolate candy which he explains are rabbit droppings and always gets a smile along with a puzzled look. We leave the town of Copperhill behind where we take US64 west towards the Ocoee River. Although we have not been on the road long I decide to stop at the Ocoee Whitewater Center just so people can see this historic location where the Summer Olympic Kayak and Canoe competitions were held in 1996. This was the first time these events were held on a natural river and it was appropriate the Ocoee should be chosen as the site as it was already one of the most popular white-water rivers in the world. Constructed using 60,000 tons of native rock, individually placed and cemented into position along the banks of the river, the riverbed itself was narrowed to create the spectacular rapids necessary for the competition. Those same rapids are the draw for the thousands of people who come each year to raft or to test their kayaking skills on the Olympic course. Little did I know this would prove to be a mistake! Debbie was looking at the river when a man came running up the stairs knocking her down and injuring her knee. Luckily for us our Easter Bunny is also a professional physical therapist and he jumped in to help. There is certainly a great benefit which comes from the knowledge of someone familiar with such injuries. We manage to get her into the car and with a large bag of ice on her knee I start the drive homeward. I once read a story about Jackie Stewart, the F1 World Champion, concerning his great ability to drive smoothly. He claimed to have developed this ability by driving his passenger car fast while his wife slept in the seat next to him, for the smoother he drove the faster he could go without waking her. Well I did my best to emulate this great champion’s method during the drive home from Copperhill. She remained surprisingly upbeat the whole trip home and commented on how much she had enjoyed the trip despite the injury. Well this is the point where I can add little to the write up of this drive, but the others continued west on US64 then turned North onto SR30 which will take you to the Hiawassee River and the town of Reliance. There are some good curves but the road is rather narrow and rough in places. Leaving Reliance you take SR315 north towards Tellico Plains. The road continues through a very rural mountainous area passing numerous small houses and farms. Some of the homes are quite nice little homes and some are littered with junk cars and trash. There are sections of road with good pavement and sections with rough broken pavement. Returning to Tellico Plains the route then returned to Vonore by way of SR360 and then back to Maryville. The entire trip is approximately 150 miles and took about seven hours including stops. I would like to thank everyone for an enjoyable trip. ~Fred~ |