| Next stop was Boone, North Carolina and a visit to our friends, Dick and
Claire. The drive from Johnson City, Tennessee to Boone, North Carolina
over a two-lane mountain road was beautiful but challenging. Hauling 65 feet of RV,
Harley and Honda CRV around hair-pin curves, up and down mountains, over a narrow two-lane
mountain road was an experience I won't soon forget. We checked in to the Boone KOA Campground and made arrangements to meet Dick and Claire for breakfast. The Boone KOA has a resident family of deer. The view from our campsite was so peaceful that after a few days we didn't want to leave. |
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| Dick and I made plans to meet for a ride in early afternoon. When
Dick didn't arrive at the appointed meeting place I started down the steep, winding,
narrow mountain road to his cabin. Rounding a corner, I saw Dick lying on the side
of the road. His beautiful new red Harley Road King was lying on its side in a
nearby ditch. Dick was cool as could be. He said the first three things I said were "Are you hurt?", "Do you have any pain?", and "Nice bike!" Dick told me he was OK, but said he had a broken leg. As I tried to call for help, Claire came along on her way into town to meet Judy for shopping. I helped Dick into Claire's car and she peeled out for the emergency room. I called Judy and inspected Dick's bike. The only damage seemed to be a mangled front fender and slightly twisted handlebars. A fellow Harley owner traveling along in a pickup stopped and help me right the bike. It started immediately and with the stranger's help I rode the bike out of the ditch and back to Dick's cabin with Judy following. On the way back, I marveled at the curves and elevation changes on the narrow road. Dick did a fantastic job riding his new Road King up a very difficult road. Only a 150 degree blind, unbanked, uphill curve with soft shoulders did him in. Judy and I headed for the hospital to check on Dick. When we got there, the emergency room nurse said he had been released. She also said he had broken his leg in two places and had a cast from his "big toe to his butt"!! When we finally caught up with Dick at the cabin, I found the nurse was right!! So, I settled in with Dick to peruse some magazines......Harley motorcycle magazines of course! Dick says he can't wait to get back in the saddle!! And I can't wait to ride those North Carolina mountains with him! |
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