Last content update 1-21-22, edit poor wording, general edits and adding more detail.
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10-14-2021:Day 395 Daily Steps: 21,376 Shenandoah National Park. Big Meadow campsite. #2
This was an amazing day and the weather was beautiful. The season was showing its full colors making each step even that much more gorgeous. I trekked down to Dark Hollow Falls and found a good place to sit and enjoy the moment. Sitting for about an hour before deciding to climb up the left side of the falls to see what the top had to offer. Once there I enjoyed the view back down for a bit then started walking deeper into the woods.
I went about 2 miles in and stopped for a snack break and grab a couple selfie photos. I also found a cool hawk tail feather and decided to keep it. Heading back to the falls with the eventual climbed back down before hopping back on the tourist trail and to my car. Along the way a family was enjoying the view, so I gave their daughter the hawk feather so she could take something physical home with her. Her mom said she loves waterfalls and did not want to leave.
10-13-2021:394 Daily Steps: 30,576 Shenandoah National Park. Big Meadow camp site. #1 I kept close to Big Meadows and just hung out to enjoy the view. Got my campsite set up and cooked up some chili mac that was accompanied by a cold beer. I settled in and did some drawing before working on a couple of the walking sticks. I pick up from Alabama and North Carolina early in the month. Life is not as complex as you think it is, simple things like drawing on piece of paper under the light of my campsite is pretty damn cool. You just need to find your peace and you will have to disconnect to do it. I am not saving you have to go camping but spending some time along really thinking about yourself and who you are is good for you, if you drop the ego and truly be honest with yourself.
Big Meadow love this place
10-12-2021:393 Daily Steps:4859 Newport News Virginia, Hanging with Larry McBride who is the world record Top Fuel Motorcycle record holder for speed and ET. I was doing another podcast session with him before heading to my next camping stop. hanging out at Larry’s shop was awesome because I got there early and sat with his brother Steve and talked about all kind of stuff until Larry got there. Larry showed up awhile later and we all hung out shooting the shit. Had lunch at Larry’s favorite spot, and we went there last time I was visiting and it was really good food for a simple little lounge type thing.
These guys needed to get some work done so I headed out and made my way to Shenandoah National Park in Virginia. My sights set on my personal favorite area of the park and that’s Big Meadows where I was looking to get a camping spot for a couple days. I got there early in the AM but I was so dark and foggy so finding a 1st come 1st serve was impossible. I parked in a pull-off and got some rest. I would end up spending an extra day overall here that was unplanned, but not much I could do about that.
Larry’s shop Top Fuel Nitromethane powered motorcycle sitting beside me.
10-11-2021:393 Daily Steps: There won’t be much walking today because it is a half rest day. I’m loading the car and getting ready to get moving again. I had no .000 1st to perfect winner on Sunday; it has only happened one other time this year. If partnerships of my program continue in 2022 we will roll it over to the first XDA race of 2022, we will have specialty orange hats that each racer will get. You can only get them on by getting the first perfect light on Saturday and Sunday. The hat will feature “The Shootress” that appears in the T in my JT logo. When requesting JT decals, the racers always want the one with her in it.
10-10-2021:392 Daily Steps: 28,087 Maryland International Raceway Event Day 5 XDA What an awesome day. 700+ motorcycles and done with winner circle pictures and back to my hideout and showered by 10 pm. TEAM Try and Keep Up! got a win. Pablo Gonzalez Got Pro ET, and Dustin Lee of Hard Times Parts and Service got the VOoDoo Bracket Bash Saturday. This was a crazy busy day chasing people down for various things I needed them for. I did not push a lot of content, focusing more on video and getting some podcast sessions done. Got Trevor Schnitz, Chase Van Sant, and Rodney Williford.
XDA – DME Racing Fall Nationals at MDIR
Jack T Norton Schnitz Racing Dragbike.com
10-9-2021 :391 Daily Steps: 20,793 – Maryland International Raceway Event Day 4 XDA
10-8-2021 :390 Daily Steps: 17,702 – Maryland International Raceway Event Day 3 XDA
10-7-2021:389 Daily Steps:12,653 – Maryland International Raceway Event Day 2 XDA, Final XDA race of the year but this is a testing day so I can focus on some off-season content. I horde images for between events but also the off-season. There is a gamblers race on Friday sponsored by Hard Times Parts and Service that the racers have fun with.
10-6-2021:388 Daily Steps: 20,461 – Camp Cherokee National Forest day 3: Headed out at 2:30am and made it to Maryland and even got some content from the testing day. The car is unpacked, got a shower and my laundry is also done which is always awesome, the simple things mean a lot. My blower motor went out so that is something I will need to fix when I get home. Went to bed early to catch up on some rest, a regular bed feels pretty damn good right about now. Got some good shots while testing today hopefully our audience will enjoy them. Maryland International Raceway Event Day 1 XDA ( a private testing day at the track)
10-5-2021:387 Daily Steps: 10,774 – Camp Cherokee National Forest day 2 Headed out early got some supplies and a hot cup of coffee. Since the cups are stupid small at this store, it required I get two. Back at camp and settled in for the day, I got some kayaking in before setting up camp just in case it rained later in the day. This is a great place for boaters or any type and fisherman. It sucks for cycling and hiking because the roads are just not built to support it. The traffic runs crazy fast around here so it is more about the lake at this location. You will have fun, and the camping spots are outstanding. I got some rain during my stay, and the spots worked perfectly. No standing water because it quickly drains off. Kayaking in on the western side of the lake and as I finished up the clouds started to roll in for the afternoon showers. I got back to camp and packed everything for a quick early am morning exit on Thursday. Two days is all I really needed on this one, BUT if I was a boater or fisherman, more time would be an easy choice to make here. The lake is super clean, so whatever their water cleaning program is , its working great. The is trash BUT NOWHERE near what I have seen at other lakes and national parks. The campground has an awesome bathroom with hot showers, so you can save on your water if need be. The showers are the best in the world but they get the job done,wish the water was a tad hotter and the would increase the value and make it stay on longer..
10-4-2021:386 Daily Steps: 5556 – More driving than anything else today. North Nashville, Tennessee, I went and hung out at a local lake to enjoy my morning coffee and breakfast, but there is not much walking in the morning because I’m meeting with George Bryce for my podcast.
Once we get done, my trip to Maryland begins. I will make a stop, just not sure where it will be yet. A couple of national forests along the way, I have already done, so looking for a new one. The only exception is Daniel Boone National forest; I did the north side in 2019. There is a south part I’ll drive through but its only 9 am, I’ll figure it out later. I ended up going with Cherokee National Forest Tennessee, Little Oak Campground South Lake Houlston Eastern Tenessee. First night I camped in an off-road primitive spot then moved to a regular campground spot for day 2 and 3.
10-3-2021 :Day 385 Sunday Nashville Tennessee coming out of the SDBA was a fun event, even though the weather came in cutting things short on Saturday. The event decided to call it early instead of pushing into Sunday because of the pending weather for today. I got an early start even though I’m technically 1 hour behind my regular time zone. I have stopped at Cracker Barrel for breakfast, even though I was looking for something else.
I’m having to kill some more time before my meeting with George Bryce on Monday, so I will stop in Nashville and see some sights. I have driven through this area few times over the years but never stopped anywhere. It’s a Sunday so hopefully it wont be as busy but not holding my breath. I love the show American Pickers and stopped to see their Nashville location. It is smaller than expected but still cool and got to see some stuff i have seen on the TV show. I made sure to grab a T-Shirt and Headband while I was there. It is tucked away on a cool old museum that has some pretty cool stuff in it. One visit is enough though you really won’t need more than that.
It was not bad at all so I had a good time found a hiking area and decided to pick up some water resistant high top hiking boots and they seem to be durable enough. Should be able to push my luck a bit more when out hiking.
10-2-2021 Day 384 Huntsville’s Dragway Alabama. Daily Steps 16,045 Weather would roll in and they would end up calling the race early. But we all still had a fun day of racing everyone was in good spirits and having a good time. Even at payout, everyone was in a good mood. Saturday was a really nice day overall with a steady cover of clouds all day. Except it gave the track no heat so when the rains came in later on it was sitting there and after a bit, it was clear there was no way the track was getting dried out.
The track does not have any drying equipment to deal with this amount of rain. It would let off but the standing water was just too much and they would pull the plug. The Dogwood Racing Street ET number one qualifier custom plaque and T-shirt offered by Dogwood racing would go the Jonaa Jenkins on Saturday. For me it was a good day I kept the pages updated and the Organizers were happy with my performance. The live feeds sucked donkey balls but that is T-Mobile for you. It worked so much better when I had an iPhone.
10-1-2021 :Day 383 Huntsville Drag-way Alabama Daily Steps 20,227 Gamblers race no box and box was a lot of fun with a class match up after each class was complete John Markham and Dustin Lee would face off … Dustin Lee would come away with the victory. Friday went well and testing kicked off at 4pm with the 2 gamblers races going on for Friday Night a NO BOx and Box classes. They winner of each would face off in a class s class battle which the racers had a lot of gun with Dustin Lee has been missing out out these egging knocked early several tie this year finally got him a win. He was really running good this weekend and was making rounds on Saturday before the weather decided to be a pain in the ass.
9-30-21 Day 382 Steps: 10,593 Alabama last day at camp have to head out and find a laundry mat again, looks like Thursdays will be my laundry days. I’m only about 2 hours from the track so I’ll get closer to a bigger town before hunting on down. Hopefully the laundry mats will be a bit cheaper than North Carolina. Still needed to get me a real meal, and might hook myself up with a solid breakfast from one of the bigger breakfast places. A hot cup of joe would be really nice, because this ice coffee crap suck dogs’ turds. I would get to the track a bit quicker than expected, so I have should’ve stayed another day and gone into the track on Friday. We learn as we go so remember and I’ll have better time management next time.
9-29-2021 Day 381 Daily Steps: 29,517 Alabama Camp Day 3 Sipsey Wilderness Area. I got up early and went to pine lock trail head, but after about mile and half I was not really getting a feel for this trail. It is a great hiking trail if you like woods hiking but I love the water. I decided to try and second nearby trail head closing to the river.
Broad head and it was a good choice the first side trail took me about 1.5 miles into the woods where there is an awesome waterfall. When I took a picture of it, you really can’t appreciated the height of this one. So I set up the GoPro and self timer. You have to go out and get dirty to get this one. I came back and took the second side trail that lead up stream and it was a also really cool but no cool waterfalls. I decided to head back to camp after lunch and get some rest and get the car organized in case we get rain tomorrow so I’m ready to go quick. A great day once again, I will head out tomorrow get some laundry done and then get to the track. The trek out can get tricky because of the wet mud I was dealing with. Be extra careful and there are a lot of mountain lion cats prints here and they were fresh ones.
The Brushy Creek location it not very big and when you look at it on the map it does not seem like much. When you get here your opinion probably won’t change looking at it. I’m just hanging out and looked over to my kayak and figured why the hell not. I have my kayak and have nothing better to do at the moment. So I threw it in the water and paddled around the lake. NOW this is no multi hour paddle like I normally put myself through but SO glad I did this run. The lake is peaceful enough and when you get back on the stream side things get really gorgeous. I was surprised by this unexpected little gem of a location . NOW don’t load up your shit and drive hours and hours to kayak this location! It’s not that kind of location but if you live around here or are passing through, take a quick paddle it a easy beautiful paddle. Since I’m camped here it work out well and I think some sunrise shots on the lake might look pretty cool too. A few more campers rolled in today but they seem quiet enough so all is good.
9-28-2021 Day 380 Daily Steps:23,703 Alabama Camp day 2 killing time between events. I found an area called Brusy Creek lake and it turns out there is a camping area here that is cheap. (Primitive sites) which is fine by me. It has a cool little lake, the camping spaces are large and have a solid fountain. (I used lot #4) At 5 bucks a night I’ll take it. I was going to kayak on the lake for a bit but decided to chill out and relax instead. Had to go into town because there is ZERO cell service out here and someone needed an answer to an email. This is the biggest pain in the ass, but if you take what you need its not bad at all. There is one spot on the road but it is not stable. (I have T-Mobile) A great day chilling out and relaxing trying to figure what the hell I’m going to do after the close of this racing season. Bought a six pack beer and some grilling stuff and had a peaceful night.
The bathroom here are for going number 2! They are bad and the bug glue strips hanging inside where loaded with captive pest. No showers no facilities but the sites themselves are very nice.
Day 379: 9-27-21, Daily Steps: 23,950 Georgia and Alabama: Georgia after my rest stop nap I was off again and would get into Alabama around 6ish. I would get through Brimingham pretty easy and was surprised. A small accident slowed us down but caught it right after it happen so it had not screwed up the interstate yet. A tractor trailer and truck went at it. The truck lost and got the entire bed ripped off his truck. The interstate will be messed up for awhile, glad I got passed this before all the road clearing hardware showed up.
I got into Double Springs Alabama which is close to my target stopping point around 730 but this is because of a time bump back an hour because of a time zone crossing. Which works for me because it gave me time to track down good hiking section at Sepney Wilderness Area. It us absolute gorgeous out here and I am glad I made this a stop choice even through it shot me pass Huntsville Dragway a bit. Shot into town for a Walmart run to garb a few things for my trip.
I got some hiking in at two locations and found a couple beautiful waterfalls going to hunt down another one tomorrow.
* My daily event steps are down because the event has a lower turnout and there is less for me to take pictures of.
Day 378: 9-26-21 Daily Steps: 15,551, North Carolina final day of racing and everyone had a good time. LSR’s unfortunately ended at round one and they have a hurt motor. Not broke – just hurt, and will not go into it any further than that.
Had some great racing today and Rochard Managaed to drop a 3.99 on the bike he was riding. They were not officially competing and was running more for testing reason because that seemed to be all they were after. They left after that pass. No official word from any of them it is jaur me running my mouth “typing”.
When got done early and I decided not to sleep at the track overnight. I was going to stop at a sit down restaurant and have dinner but could find anything worth a crap. So just hit a KFC. (Crap but it’s something) I would push out as far as I could my goal was to get through a couple areas that could be busy in the morning. I prefer bight driving and the car seems to prefer it so I pushed until about 10:30 then stopped and got some sleep. (About 4 hrs – rest stop hit)
Day 377: 9-25-21 Daily Steps North Carolina “The Rock” first day of the races qualifying and running for their numbers. A fun day got some decent shots. I’m not getting what I want so tried to change it up a bit. Got some coll sunset racer shots so it was a good day.
Day 376: 9-24-21 Daily Steps: 12,129, Day 1 North Carolina / Rockingham Dragway ” The Rock” it a beautiful day light breeze and 54. (At 9am. ManCup testing day, A light turnout for the event but enough to make for some great racing. People were in good sports and having fun racing. Got some more work done with LSR and made some new connections. I hammered the ManCup page to help boost its presence online for the upcoming finals. We have some international racers planning to attend. Not 100% sure I will be there but see what life has in store.
Day 375: 9-23-2021 not much for steps kayaking packing driving and lay dry started out at Uwharrie National Forest Day 5: My final day here so I spent the morning on the lake kayaking began paddling at 6am. It was a beautiful almost full moon and a cloudless sky with stars everywhere. The Temp had dropped to 50, so it made for a beautiful trip. Got back to the camp site and got my stuff packed up after breakfast. Will stop to get some clothes washed then head on over the Rockingham, as long as they let me in early. Troy NC sucks on the their laundry prices or I have just not used one of these things in that long. Heading to rocking a ham after this gates open at 2pm
Had a crazy dream last night but will hold off posting the details for now. It was clearly my inner self talking to me and I heard every word.
Day 374 : 9-22-2021 Daily Steps: 19,864: Uwharrie National Forest Day 4 : another raining day and it’s not supposed to stop until tonight sometime. It’s ok I’m in no rush just chilling and passing the time. Having coffee at the moment (8:55 am) – … (4:58) well today turned fricking awsome!!! The day cleared up so I got some hiking and kayaking in goofing off with the underwater cameras today since I had some sun to work with. The weather waited until about 3 to go to hell. Seeing some clearing my get a good sunset afterall. Kayaking and hiking a great day that I was expecting to be a wash out.
DAY 373: 9-21-21: daily steps. 15,097 : Uwharrie National Forest 3 : Got a lot of rain today but still managed to get in a bit over 7 miles in today. Uwharrie National Forest is a peaceful place and the campground is pretty nice. CoveBoat ramp (arrowhead campground) is a nice little spot but if your kayaking or camping and want to be a tad closer to the water the Baldwin lake camping area is a but better. I found this out when kayaking over and found that area. Cell service is total crap here but when hiking over to Baldwin Camp ground on the 9-20-21 I noticed it was bit better over there. (I have T-Mobile) I will use that location next time when I need to stay here.
I use National parks because they are cheaper than a hotel and since I carry a portable shower with me it works out great. I don’t really care where I sleep but need to have a shower. With a bath house on this site, my shower tent is more of a storage area to get some stuff out of my car. There is only one local store up the street but it has pretty much anything you need. Eldorado Outpost as long as you’re not a picky bastard. The store has WiFi so if you need to connect with the outside world for as bit it works it’s fine. They have tables and rocking chairs outside, so if you want to chill out for a bit they have you covered. The staff is super nice and the store is well stocked and clean. Supplies are bit thin on Monday because the off road people love this place. If you have a Jeep you probably already know about this place.
DAY 372: 9-20-21: Daily Steps 24,370 / Uwharrie National Forest 2 : Got in some kayaking, hiking and some art stuff on the lakeshore just to pass the time. I heard in the radio some rain was coming so I figure I better take advantage of the day even it is was cloud and misty. Kayaked over to a small island on the lake and then came back. I found some wood items I think I can do something artistic with but if not its a memento of my time on the island. Once back I decided to hike over to a couple areas I saw in the kayak and get me some walking stick material and it was a peaceful walking trail that cuts through a. Couple campsites. I found a great location on a hug boulder over there that gave me perfect cell phone service so I got a few things posted for the hell of it. I got back and went down by the lake with my folding chair and got some drawing in. Nothing fancy just some concept stuff and a couple cartoons.
I have never used my tent in heavy wet weather so something told me to clear the back of my car for a quick transfer. I set everything up but slept in my tent. Early in the morning the drops started to fall so something told me to transfer over. I did so and quickly went back to sleep, then later on got up and went to get something out of the tent. IT WAS DRENCHED DAMn near a swimming poll inside … when in doubt trust your guy! Nothing left inside could get hurt by the water, only have to deal with a drenched towel. I need to look into an better tent setup. No big deal because I have crashed in my car many times and sleep just fine. I would really like to van upgrade, even though I’m not looking forward to the gas mileage drop. Nothing fancy just an e250 or e350 (or Chevy version of this model) and not a new one, I would rather have a slightly older one for style reasons and what I have planned for it.
DAY 370: 9-19-21: Daily Steps: 18,242 / Uwharrie National Forest 1: Today in my sons birthday, so I now have a 30 year old. It is funny reading their online post how they think this is old, when they don’t realize they are just getting started in life. I don’t worry about him and know he will do better than me in life and that what any decent father hopes for. I’m proud of him and love him very much. I Drove up from the AHDRA even after getting some rest Saturday and and hanging out drinking beer with the racers. Something I don’t normally do, but I need to socialize more with them if I plan too keep doing this in 2022. This has been a tough year I hope all this works out so I can keep traveling and doing this for a living. I don’t need much these days so hopefully things will work out in my favor, but Sam White of White Lighting racing would bring home a win for team Try and Keep Up! Pro Fuel AHDRA South Carolina Motorplex winner.
Got my campsite set up and enjoying a beautiful sunset in my kayak to close out the day.
DAY 369: 9-18-21: http://www.190hookup.com was my sponsor for AHDRA ; Daily Steps 16,171 / AHDRA SC : Day 1 of 2 AHDRA South Carolina Motorplex, I have no idea how these series make money with low attendance rates. It was a fun time but they rally need to get a handle on marketing and scheduling. With an event so small I also don’t understand the disorganization and why it takes so long to get things done. I am hoping there next event is a lot better. It tough to watch these smaller series struggle and what bad if you get a good Harley event with spectators it will outspend an import event. I do see better attendance rates at Harley events when they done properly. Now it may seem like I am being an asshole but I did have fun and enjoyed my time at this event. I wish it had been a stronger showing for them.
Day 368 9-17-21: Driving all day not much for steps,
DAY 367: 9-16-21: Got me a workout run in before I left 27,940 this one was rough, Android got screwed up again. Had to run it out a bit to make sure I got my 20k
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