Expedition - Part 6

This was the final day of our expedition, this was day 5. On this day it was raining and the weather forecast was calling for rain most of the day. After 4 days of rough, strenuous exploring, we thought we would make this day a little easier, but there was an unexpected event waiting on us.

Seeing that Guy was from out of the area, I thought it would be a good adventure to take him up to Pine Mountain State Park. The idea was to hike out to Chain Rock and explore some of the other trails.

Day 5

The first really cool thing happened on our drive. We were about half way to Pineville, it was raining pretty good, as I'm driving something in the sky catches my attention. I look up and there in the rain and wind was a Bald Eagle! I immediately point up in the sky so Guy would see it. He recognized it quickly. It is always great to see an eagle. The eagle population in this area has been increasing the last several years but sadly we still find dead ones where people have shot them. 

We make it to Pine Mountain but we just can't take the hike to the Chain Rock because it is raining pretty hard. So we did some bird watching and stopped by the lodge restaurant area to look at some of the artwork hanging on the walls.

For anyone who has not been to Pine Mountain State Park, it is a very remote and scenic drive to the top of the mountain. It is also home to a handful of bigfoot sighting reports and a place where I have found some evidence over the years. It also has some terrific views and hike trails.

After spending a couple hours or more on Pine Mountain, we headed towards Cumberland Gap State Park. The rain was still coming down but we wanted to see as much as we could for our last day.

Once on top of the mountain there was a lot of fog and clouds. So getting a shot of the awe inspiring view didn't seem a possibility. But then a slight breeze kicked up and blew the fog and clouds away.

By this time the rain had just about stopped. We were enjoying the view, watching birds, and talking about the area when our cell phones both got an emergency alert. I read the alert and it was a tornado warning and for everyone to seek shelter at once. Guy and I both kind of looked around and there didn't seem to be anything going on. After talking a little we decided that it must me a precautionary type of warning and we continued to enjoy the woods.

Then all at once the tornado siren when off in the town below. When this goes off, it is my understanding that a tornado has been seen or is hitting. The siren blasted out the warning call for several minutes. We looked around and could not see a tornado but come to find out one had hit just several miles from us. 

So, here we are on top of a mountain exploring, bigfooting and bird watching during the rain and a tornado. Remember this was going to be our easy day. A day to cap off our expedition. A day that was to be less strenuous and dangerous, but it turned out to probably be the most dangerous day of all. During our expedition we encountered venomous snakes, rain, mud, steep climbs, dangerous rocks, cliffs and a tornado....all in a days work for real deal bigfoot research. LOL. 

Guy and I kind of joked about it a little. While other researchers were attending bigfoot conferences, he and I were actually out in a tornado looking for bigfoot. We laughed and I told him at least we will have a epic story to tell. I'm sure not many people have been out looking for bigfoot during a tornado. 

We finished up our day and started to drive back home. Our trip home was slightly delayed due to some very heavy rain but we eventually made it home. The weather forecast was calling for rain most of the next day, so Guy thought it would be best to end his trip and head back home. He left the next morning. We had a great time and shared an adventure of a lifetime. Yes, at times it was hard on our bodies, and our mind. We got wore out, beat down, had bumps and bruises but it was an adventure we will never forget.

As this will be the last post in the Expedition Series, I also wanted to share a list..well probably a partial lists of some of the animals we saw and heard. Here goes.

We Seen: Numerous bird species such as: Eagle, Scarlet Tanager, Red winged Black bird, Tree swallows, Barn swallows, Turkey, crows, cedar waxwings, pileated woodpecker, red belled woodpecker, hairy woodpecker, hooded warbler, night hawk, cooper's hawk, turkey vulture and many others. We also heard many other bird species. We saw chipmunks, a copperhead, squirrels, various butterfly species, salamanders, black snake, deer and a few others.

Some tracks we found: elk, black bear, coyote, deer, bigfoot, bobcat, raccoon, wolf, and turkey.

We never saw a bigfoot or a black bear but I know our mountains a teeming with both.

Guy Luneau is a true outdoorsman, smart, logical and is nothing short of a bird magnet and bird expert.I enjoyed this adventure with him.

I hope you enjoyed reading about our adventure, you folks have a great day.

Thanks
~Thomas~

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