YouTube - ‪Patty Loveless "You'll Never Leave Harlan Alive"‬‏

Well....according to that song, we've seen the last of John. LOL No seriously, Patty Loveless was born to sing that song. It puts chills on my spine. So much about that song is true.

Like he said, just over the hill from me (well....a pretty decent sized hill called Pine Mountain). I used to work in Harlan. My dad and my brother are both coal miners in Harlan county.

"Bloody Harlan" got its name legitimately.

YouTube - ‪Harlan County USA‬‏

 

It's Friday

 

A good friend of mine. his father was from Harlan. He passed away a few years ago. The reason he left Harlan, well, I won't say on here. Hurley, VA is the place I've heard was real bad.

Patty Lovelace is a cousin to Loretta Lynn and Crystal Gayle. Loretta Lynn/Crystal Gayle (they're sisters) are from the Paintsville area, and Patty Lovelace is from the Elkhorn City area.

Yes, I survived. I came down I-75 to Corbin, then 25E to Pineville, then 119 to Harlan. I really like the drive up Pine Mountain on 119. That is, in my opinion, one of the most scenic spots in Ky. Another one is the road out of Cumberland, over Black Mountain. I don't remember that road though. I was only across that road one time, and it was several years ago. Are they ever going to smooth out some of the train track crossings on 15? Some of those are quite rough.

 

Glad you made it back John. This rain does suck, real bad. Makes mowing almost impossible, and working on things like my trailer or going over and stripping out my parts truck out of the question. Doesn't seem likely we will get the garden in this year either. I just hope next weekend is nice since we plan on running down to Sandgap for the weekend. I would like to do some more exploring and a little cleaning up down there.

 

You're right. The railroad tracks on 15 are awful. They're constantly fixing that one near Breeding's electric there.

As far as the road out of Cumberland and over Black Mountain, there are actually 2. One road goes up through Benham, and Lynch and over the mountain toward Appalachia, VA. Surely you're not talking about the other--the dreaded SLOPE HOLLOW. That's a little bitty road that starts up black mountain there in front of the community college and crosses black mountain over toward KY highway 38 between Evarts and Keokee, VA. Man, that is hands down the absolute roughest mountain road in all of KY. The state refuses to even maintain it despite it being designated a state highway. It's HELL to cross in the wintertime (and not much better in summer). My dad crossed it for 15 years. He has a 94 F150 XL with 318,000 miles on it. Inline straight 300 six cylinder (hands down the toughest engine Ford ever made in my opinion). It crossed Pine mountain in 2 different spots AND slope hollow every single day during that period. He refused to go down and around through Harlan. Every winter, he threw a set of recaps with metal studs on his truck and went right across that ice. Despite all those miles and being put through the torture of "Slope" for so long, that engine has never failed. Two alternators and one water pump. That's it!! Slope Hollow makes 119 across Pine Mountain look like a walk in the park. The next time you're down around Middlesboro, be sure and drive through the tunnel. It's amazing.

 

Looks like the thread is doing well....Your welcome

 

I went to Appalachia the time I went over from Cumberland. Hwy 160 maybe? And I agree that the crossing at Breedings is the worst. I have been through the tunnel at Middlesboro several times. Do you know Gary Elly from down that way? Or perhaps his brother Shelby? I've worked on their trucks several times. Actually, Gary parks his truck in Middlesboro, he lives in Va.

 

Great thread!

 

Buck, this rain does suck. I just hope come July and August we aren't praying for it! Hope you have a good weekend for your trip to Sand Gap. That's pretty country down there too. My Dad wants to go down there and check out the old blast furnaces. If I'm not mistaken, your place is pretty close to them.

 

I have heard that John. That is one of the things I would like to find in one of our "exploration" trips lol. As far as the weather goes into late summer, I almost hope for a real dry one. Almost, that way I could run my beast topless.

 

Wow!! When I first read read this, I read beast as breast! Makes better sense the second time! On the other hand,,,,,,,,

 

Morning all

 

LOL! I don't think that Dawn would do that for me.....least not in public. But I sure would like to get the top off and enjoy some summer fun.

 

UGH.....There's supposed to be more rain fellars....

 

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