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For new readers, or for those unfamiliar with what these north Georgia GTG's are about, the first 1,000 or so posts of this thread represents the archived history of past GTG's.
Last edited by Y2KW57; 04-17-2023 at 10:45 AM.
Reason: Title changed per the request of Sous on 17APR23
The north GA GTG wrapped up this past weekend and what an event it turned out to be! Many FTE'rs have posted pictures already, so I apologize if any of the pictures below are duplicates. These are pictures and video gathered from several FTE'rs and family members.
The event was probably the best one yet! Friends, fellowship, good times, great food, great "beverages", a lot of laughs and some fossil (and veggie) fuel powered fun!
I encourage anyone and everyone that has anything to comment about the pictures below (or above in previous posts) to do so! I tried to note everything and everyone, but I may have missed something... The pictures may not be in the order of occurrence due to several sources providing the pictures, but they are pretty close.
We (Kate and I) left Hartwell fairly early Thursday morning as we were not sure where we would be staying. Despite the uncertainty of the location where we would be camping, EVERYTHING turned out AMAZING!
^^^ We selected a path through the Great Smoky Mountains and they did NOT disappoint.
^^^ @SkySkiJason offered us a spot on his property after we checked out a few other spots in the area.
^^^ Kate (my wife) started chopping some firewood for the GTG as SkySkiJason supervised and collected the wood.
^^^ Nicole (sister of Tristan) was having a good time feeding and playing with the alpaca.
^^^ Tristan ( @Hyakkimaru ) decided to show everyone how to really split logs.
^^^ Jim and Doug (old time FTE'rs) are reconnecting a boot on the 2011 6.7L.
^^^ Some of us decided to go on a hike to some of the local waterfalls. Starting at top left is Eric ( @ArmyLifer ), Sous, Tristan, Nicole, Sandra (Eric's wife) and Kate (my wife).
^^^ Another waterfall hike with the same bunch as mentioned above.
^^^ Same waterfall hike.
^^^ Eric leaving one of the waterfalls on the Forest Service road.
^^^ See the tower waaaay up there? That is the observation tower at the top of Brasstown Bald. It is the highest point in the southeast.
^^^ Luckily this path is paved. Eric, Sandra, Tristan, Nicole, Kate and I all had a great time ascending the pathway to the tower.
^^^ Just one of the views from the observation tower.
^^^ Another stunning view from the observation tower.
^^^ Back at the SSJ ranch we were starting to see Friday arrivals. Brad ( @petrokiller ) and his wife Amanda were staying in the caboose to the left. Jim and Angel in the green Sportsmobile 7.3L van were there for the GTG and a veggiestroke install. Tristan and Nicole were staying in the cargo trailer and we were in the 5th wheel to the right of them. You can see Brad and Jason walking with Eva (his faithful 4 legged family member). Jim and Angel are near their van with Mr. Big, their Rottweiler.
^^^ Jim (old time FTE'r)and his wife Racheal came down from NJ in their Ford Escape.
^^^ Sun starting to set over the mountains and this is just a picture of the view from the pasture at the SSJ ranch.
^^^ One of the several nights at the gazebo enjoying the company of friends and great fellowship.
^^^ Laughter and joy were abundant during these gatherings around the fire. Be it morning, day or night, there is always something going on and anyone is welcome to join.
^^^ After many beverages were consumed by some, somehow we got talking about tattoos which turned into showing some of them. Jim (NJ Jim) was hardcore when it came to love for the 7.3L. Yes, that is an injector and turbo on his arm.
^^^ A shot of the sun rising over the mountains and the pasture Saturday morning. Going to be a GREAT day!
^^^ Daniel ( @Dmco ), his wife Tara and their three little guys showed up around noon on Saturday. They were camped at Jackrabbit Mountain NP just up the road. This OBS is MINTY, MINTY, MINTY!
^^^ Jim was nice enough to bring the Sportsmobile up to the GTG area from down below so that we could ask him 1,000,000 questions about it.
^^^ Eric and Sandra arrived a few moments after Daniel and crew. They were also staying at Jackrabbit Mountain NP for the weekend.
^^^ Under hood picture of the OBS that Daniel and crew arrived in. It was great to see this truck after watching it be built in the Polar Express build over on the OBS forum.
^^^ Boneyard down near Jason's shop. If you look close, you can see Tristan and his truck down there replacing the fender and bumper. Apparently there was a "ski boat" in the conversation when "what do I owe you" was asked by Tristan.
^^^ People gathering in one of the grassy areas enjoying the conversation and sunshine that showed up. From left to right is Tara, Amanda, Eric and Sandra is on the swing.
^^^ A few of the 7.3L's parked.
^^^ People hanging out in the gazebo. From left to right is Nicole, Tristan, Larry ( @AubieTN ). Larry was an inspiration to many as he travelled quite a distance to join us. His truck has 605,000 miles on it and he still loves it just as he did when he bought it many, many years ago. Sir, it was a pleasure to meet you (FINALLY) and we look forward to seeing you again.
^^^ Brad and Jason at the griddle and grill. They were a dynamic duo and kept the crowd fed.
^^^ Having a good day at the SSJ ranch.
^^^ Dawn (Jason's girlfriend) always has a smile on her face.
^^^ A picture of the 605,000 mile truck that Larry drove to join us.
^^^ Brad and Amanda represented the Subaru community since we brought the Escape this time. He was hesitant to bring the Subaru and not his 2000 "brown" truck, but when he realized the GTG is about the people, he had no issues with it. Where they were staying down by the creek had some loose rock on the hill, so they were probably glad they brought the Subaru.
^^^ More parking...
^^^ Another view of the same area. The white truck on the end belongs to Joel ( @runningman777 ). He came up from the Macon area and we are very glad he did. It was great to meet him in person and he had some good stories to share about his "hot shot" lifestyle.
^^^ Hanging out BS'ing. From left to right is Joel, Jason, Brad and Angel.
^^^ Food being served soon!
^^^ People starting to meander toward the feast.
^^^ Daniel preparing food for his 3 kiddos. Too much food to list what was there.
^^^ Eric made two delicious pumpkin pies. He went above and beyond with the ornamental crust! Don't forget the hand whipped cream in the red bowl!
^^^ Getting some food. From left to right is Angel, Jim, Larry at the table, Tara, Chris ( @KubotaOrange76 ) in the blue shirt, Sandra, Eric, Nicole and Joel to the right.
^^^ Dinner time! From left to right, Amanda (light blue T-shirt), Jim, Dawn, Angel, Nicole, Chris ( sporting a KC Turbos shirt thanks to @Peixinho ) and Larry in the golf cart with a comfortable seat.
^^^ Larry leaning on a tree enjoying his food. Jason is to the left getting some grub.
^^^ Gathering around enjoying the company of others, some beverages (Brad and Amanda have a special tequila blend) and the warm October sun.
^^^ Relaxing after the feast! This may be the only other picture we have of Daniel, who is sitting to the right of the small blue chair and next to his wife Tara. Joel is to the left in the white and blue check shirt next to Amanda, he was rather elusive during picture taking as well. Brad has his arm up on the end of the chair, I am sitting next to him with the hat on, Eric is behind us in the camo shirt and Sandra is on the end.
^^^ Enjoying dinner and conversation. From left to right is Eric, Larry in the background, Sous, Jason, Dawn, Angel, Jim, Chris and his wife April. Tristan is to the far right in the gazebo.
^^^ It was time for Larry to head home! Great to see you and you are ALWAYS welcome back!
^^^ Jason decided it was a good idea to pull the 1929 (?) Ford replica out of the garage after people were asking about it.
^^^ Hanging out a bit. From left to right is Chris, Brad, Amanda, Sous and April.
^^^ Taking a closer look at the old Ford. From left to right is Jason, Chris, Eric, Sandra and Sous.
^^^ Jason was kind enough to offer a ride in the 1929 for anyone interested.
^^^ The next morning Kate and I decided it would be best to leave the SSJ ranch a day early and go to Jackrabbit Mountain NP and join Eric and Sandra. I was a bit concerned about the exit up to the pavement due to some slick ground from a recent rain and a 30' or so long section of loose and deep large rock. The truck and 5th wheel were ~18,500 lbs GCVW when we left and the video was taken. Tristan had gotten stuck on this same section unloaded earlier that morning and made 3 attempts at the hill before getting up. He has a 2WD truck though, so that was not helping.
Jason offered to get his tractor and smooth the loose, deep rocks and we thought that would be a good idea. Chris brought his tow chains and strap, just in case we needed it. Some of you may remember the "mud bog" Eric and Jason dealt with in the spring. Brad provided some guidance on a path to take going up the hill and before Jason could get down there with the tractor, we said screw it, let's go! Just as I was getting into the truck, Chris yelled "SHAKE N BAKE" at me and I was cracking up. For those of you that don't know, SHAKE N BAKE is from Talladega Nights the movie.
I returned the "SHAKE N BAKE" back to Chris from the top of the hill. I was in 4WD high and granny gear (low) on the ZF6. No problem and it went just as Jason, Chris and Brad said it would.
^^^ We arrived at Jackrabbit Mountain NP and stayed in the spot next to Eric and Sandra and where Daniel, Tara and their kiddos had left from that morning.
^^^ The view from our camp spot just down the hill a bit.
^^^ Jason and company decided to bring the boat to the lake we were camping at. You can just see Tristan waving to us as we walked along the shoreline to meet them.
^^^ Enjoying the ride! From left to right is Tristan (just barely got him in the frame), Nicole, Jason and Sous.
^^^ Eric and Sandra enjoying the sunshine.
^^^ Jim decided to join us!
^^^ Peaceful and calm on the lake Sunday afternoon.
^^^ Jason hauling the boat out of the water before heading back to the ranch.
^^^ A beautiful sunset marking the end of an amazing weekend with friends and family!
^^^ Kate and I headed back home through the Great Smoky mountains yet again. We just cannot get enough of the vibrant leaf colors.
If its raining or snowing or even cold... my wife will bail out !
She's going to give me that LQQK all women have, since I'm camping at Gee Creek this week with friends !
Jason, your Mom needs some inside photos of the cabins.... that's the first thing my 5-Star wife is going to ask...
I'll see what I can work out !
Look under ‘more details’ where you see each cabin listed for interior pics. I think she will approve! It won’t be cold or Rainey in front of her fireplace in the cabin! Plus, Mom has 1000’s of movies in her library she can watch if there’s nothing on the Dish.
I’m in Gainesville and may ride up and meet a few folks. Y’all need a hand with the driveshafts let me know.
Heck yeah! Come on! We are going to try to bang the ‘work’ out early. The ADD makes it hard to focus with too much help, so we’ll get together and hang out later.
I will be there early (as Jason indicated) and we allotted a bit of a time buffer in case there are any issues with the U-joints. They should not take too long to replace, but I think the front are the original OEM U-joints and the rear set does not look any better. They may be stubborn, but I have faith that between Jason and I we can knock the job out somewhat quickly.
12-30-2019, 11:19 AM
