The Pigeon Forge Spring Rod Run 2023 Was A Traffic Nightmare - Classic Cars & Huge Truck Overload
Spring Rod Run Pigeon Forge 2023
Transcript
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today's adventure hello brings me to
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Pigeon Forge Tennessee right along the
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little Pigeon River I have made the
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commute from Charlotte North Carolina
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where I was I
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impulsively drove over here it is 3:07
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p.m. as the recording of the Saturday
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April 15th
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2023 the final day the final of three
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days of the spring Rod run
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here in the Great Smoky Mountains Pigeon
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Forge the event takes place at an event
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center but even though it is ending it
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spills out onto the streets of Pigeon
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Forge I'm inviting you to join me shall
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you if I would have taken the 4-Hour
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commute in this little ice cream truck
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as opposed to my rent car the 4 hours
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probably would have been like s you 7
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hours and the traffic right along the
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parkway is bumper to bumper I will be
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hoofing it I will be walking up one end
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and down the other also Adam the woo
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here forgot to do that of the intro now
1:08
crossing over the state line I did not
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come in from the Gatlinburg side ooh
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that one's going by really fast be a lot
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of cars going fast on that side a lot of
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car is going slow on that side this guy
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wants to be in the
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video he got shy all of a sudden
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so yeah I took some I took some of the
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backrounds and not take the parkway into
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my
1:34
hotel Smoky Mountain Hospitality look at
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this like uh this guy right here he's
1:45
like could be a
1:45
blacksmith of sort I think it'd be
1:47
faster to walk down the parkway than it
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would be to drive or possibly take a
1:54
golf golf cart like this up traffic is
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not moving at all oh yeah here we go
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here's a modern day Dukes of Hazard
1:59
General Le right here as well there's
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going to be a lot of classic car alerts
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through here today oh look at this old
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truck look at this old truck over here
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so a lot of people put them on display
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to be seen but also people put them on
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display to sell them it's old
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GMC this guy's got the right idea too
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riding along in that little spider this
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guy walking away just was very friendly
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gave these gentlemen in the back of the
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truck a a beer yeah what's up
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guys they were looking at me very
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confused as if maybe they weren't
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supposed to have have that I and
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surprisingly kind of impulsively this
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morning I was going to stay in Charlotte
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another day in fact I bailed out of my
2:47
hotel before the second night so I'm
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going to have to see if I can get that
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money refunded I didn't realize this was
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happening and all of a sudden this
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morning I got up at you know what it's
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only like a 4-Hour commute over to
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Pigeon Forge so I looked to see if there
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were any hotels in the area and
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surprisingly there was one along the
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river booked it and headed over and yes
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I feel as if I am wearing an appropriate
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t-shirt great album got this to the
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truck stop on the way in so to fuel up
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and get a little gas and a and a
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beverage and I saw they had these for
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like 15 bucks so after I put the shirt
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on I forgot how good this album was I
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threw the album on on uh on in my car
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while I was driving the on the music and
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listen to it on the way over and you
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know classic truck alert and easy top
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can't go wrong okay these guys here are
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wearing a yellow Rod run
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t-shirt motels all along here I mean
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pigeon for Pigeon Forge and gallur are
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two of my favorite places Twin Twin
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Cities two of my favorite places but it
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is busy out here traffic
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wise okay this this truck has been
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designated the little brown jug it's
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under construction because evidently it
3:55
is not finished you can see Fender down
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here look there's like chains
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across the
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front just everywhere you look classic
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goodness you notice up top that always
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kind of reminds me of spaceship earth
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there used to be a zipline roller
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coaster up there it's been closed
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forever take a look at this cooler down
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here the cooler is painted to
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look like some sort of an engine right
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there I need one of those
4:30
I don't know what that grinding sound
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was oh they got little motorcycles right
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over there check those out they got
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little uh little
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mopeds as well all sorts of
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Transportation devices oh he's got like
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a muppet head on a lot of people sitting
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in the back and even even classic old
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trucks need fuel too this is just
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complete
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overload of nostalgia when it comes to
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car collectors traffic is sitting so
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still almost look like this fish mail
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boxes yelling at this truck saying move
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along well they can't move along because
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it's just bumpered bumper grid lock
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through here oh here's another truck oh
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look at this old Metro right
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here think that's pretty sweet $119,000
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for that thing oh this was kind of
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lifted up a little bit this low rider L
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it says on this even some motorcycles
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for sale out here these old Customs
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Chevy Customs that's a Chevy this is a
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Ford oh they're both Chevys actually
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they're both Chevies yeah that's pretty
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that's a good that's a that's a old
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school one right there look at that 3100
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Chevy 19 33
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Ford according to the little placard not
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Placer but the little information down
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there yeah who knew the Great Smoky
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Mountains in Gatlinburg Pigeon Forge
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area would resemble the five traffic in
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La that's
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what La I'm getting La five Vibes except
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you don't see you don't see like a doom
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buggy like that on five well sometimes
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you do
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nice old truck over here behind this one
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oh look at that car I don't know which
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way to look it's just like a treasure
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Trove of good stuff this guy's got a rod
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run t-shirt on and I believe he might
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have purchased it at one of the stands
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that are around here there's a stand
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right here at this hotel to sell some of
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the rod run t-shirts there you go Pigeon
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Forge Tennessee Rod run right
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here very cool sticker price on this
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thing it's 5
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grand what
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is not that one this this little thing
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right here very tiny I would have a hard
6:37
time getting in and out I mean I've sat
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in a DeLorean before and even in
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DeLorean very uncomfortable with my
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weight and height this would be even
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even harder to get in and out of one car
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I've always been drawn to is an El
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Camino I think some 41 had a song about
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an El Camino wonder if they still laugh
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when old people fall and that line the
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in the song that's that's a weird line I
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don't why would you laugh at old old
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people falling got a series of bugs
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through here if someone just like let me
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jump on the back of their golf golf cart
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took me down the parkway that'd be nice
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sticker price on this whoever owns is
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owning asking
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74k for it 58,000 for this one this
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thing is beautiful look at these how the
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doors open open forward like that this
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Plymouth got a ba baracus type van right
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here
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all these Motel parking lots just
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completely
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full of cars this one over here this is
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interesting okay so take a look at
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what's tucked around the backside here I
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see Chucky back in there look there's
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Chucky Chucky's in the coffin over
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there creepy see a lot of tow trucks
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around too no Rod Run parking will be
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that's a
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rat a rat rod
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traffic slow going and I am walking
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about a three or four faster Pace than
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the
8:22
vehicle except for that one that was
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going fast look at this big Congregation
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of people down here waiting for the
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light to change to cross over people
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walk in and on bikes and
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whatnot scooters
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Etc usually don't see the parkway this
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busy unless there's like a parade or an
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event like
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this this is a very unique one you don't
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see too many of these around
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this one's got a little Tasmanian Devil
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right on the front dash that's a great
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pool behind camper right there like the
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design of it add the little wings on the
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side and everything that's a good little
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pull
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beard got old Betty's produce truck
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right
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here I like this
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one this is very shimmery and nice but
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this is draw in and make offer for sale
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Super
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Beetle
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73 Super Beetle oh something happened on
9:40
the side here there's a little oops
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written on the side like someone bumped
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into it or something shopping cart or
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another car
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door 23 and 1/2 hour service racing fuel
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at Redneck customs look at there's
9:56
a there's a keg of beer in the back all
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right the second gener Le of the day
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this one is more like the one from the
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show instead of like the the new
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design somewh driving down the road
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somewh parked by the road and this this
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is a pace car slick them and grease them
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slick them and greas with the side that
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tow truck
10:18
side oh I used to have a buddy back in
10:20
the day when I worked at Publix this old
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Mustang I think right yeah B he's had
10:24
one of these cars this bear over here I
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think wants to eat this
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one that Bear's got its eyes some of
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these vehicles gift shop
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bear that's pretty awesome if you feel
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inclined to grab one of these spots
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don't unless you're shopping at one of
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these stores if you park and walk you
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will be towed luckily the hotel I'm
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staying at they gave me a little thing
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to go over my windshield customer
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parking only if you park and walk you
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will be
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towed I got secured parking from staying
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at the hotel oh there's a lot of good
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ones over here right underneath the
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Riverside
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Tower looking down yeah they're just
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everywhere you I mean not even thousands
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of classic cars going to Veer off the
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parkway for a little bit past the try my
11:22
nuts stand walk over to the Old Mill
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district and for whatever reason the
11:28
water wheel is not quite
11:36
operational but the overload of eye
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candy in the form of vehicles definitely
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is you can just see how far the traffic
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backs up at this intersection do not
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park and walk only for customers only
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here at the Old Mill I just kind of want
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to get out of get out of the Sun for a
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bit yeah even the tribe my nuts place
11:55
has a rod run shirt
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there's a piece of watercraft out here
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as well
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yeah that
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thing right low to the ground that's WR
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all right I would definitely drive
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this sport van 90
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Deluxe that is beautiful right there
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look at that thing
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a little bit of rust on this one but
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looks pretty awesome oh they're trying
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to get in the window of that one they're
13:08
trying to unlock the door but this one
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was made in the same year I was born
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74 they locked their keys in that one or
13:15
they're trying to break into it this one
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right here has a sticker price while on
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the front of the windshield for
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34,500 35 Grand they are peeling though
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with all the rust on
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them one day I'm just going to buy
13:29
classic car one day I'm just going to
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come to an event like this and be like
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I'm just going to see something that
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jumps out at me and I'm just going to do
13:35
it that when that I'm pretty impulsive
13:38
but not today it's not going to happen
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today
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that is nice this truck has steam coming
14:04
out the front of it I'm going to turn
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around here at the island I went from
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the spur uh welcome to Pigeon for SP
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spur sign
14:13
also this old van Ram van over here too
14:17
so I pretty much W walked a pretty good
14:19
distance up to the island and I'm going
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to go the other side of the road and
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head
14:29
back all right got hydrated relax for a
14:29
minute now crossing over the road
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heading back the other way this guy has
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a little doggy on his
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chest so cute her name is n Facebook oh
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yeah put her on this up
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here nice to meet you this truck doesn't
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know whether it's going forward or
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backwards I know whether it's coming or
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going what's going on this is a look at
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this parked directly in front of giraff
14:59
jassic jungle boat
15:06
ride got a converted sweet little old
15:06
bug right here there's the mystery
15:18
machine you can just see how far the
15:18
traffic
15:25
stretches I'm walking all the way back
15:25
down there
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look at this this is really low to the
15:47
ground over here look like it's got the
15:50
battery down there on the little side
15:52
step as well got a low rider mail truck
15:56
there low priority
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and a lot more of these parking signs
16:09
parking for mountain breeze Motel guests
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only all others will be towed at owners
16:14
xith except for probably the classic
16:16
cars that were probably here on display
16:18
I'm not sure if all these cars are
16:20
staying at the motel the mountain Bree
16:22
maybe they are and as far as
16:31
trucks peeling
16:31
out I've see a lot of them are they
16:34
going to
16:42
R probably not some sort of flying
16:42
Contraption Right
16:58
There Will and Dawn Yankee in the South
16:58
who you guys just informed me this is
17:00
not the big oh this the backwards car
17:01
going this is not the bigger of the two
17:04
rod runs right the fall one's bigger yes
17:06
the fall one has more people than this
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which do you which do you prefer Don um
17:12
probably this one cuz the other ones do
17:13
more is a little too hetic yeah crazy
17:16
there a lot of One the Fall on is even
17:18
hotter even hotter than this there is a
17:21
Coca-Cola stand right there so not just
17:23
cars out here but also Coca-Cola
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merchandise stands that you can get
17:29
people have the bicycles have the right
17:41
idea yeah this old bus right
17:41
here at the hood up it's called the
17:44
short bus Speed Shop I think in this day
17:46
and age that terminology probably
17:48
probably not PC but then again this is
17:51
this is pigon for
17:57
right can we can I yeah will do you
17:57
think you would fit on that in that you
17:59
want to ride I can't fit in that thing
18:01
you want to ride my head would hit the
18:02
top of
18:04
it I'll film you riding if you want to
18:06
ride good that's all you man they
18:08
invited you not me I can't I'll film it
18:11
I'll do it do it that's crazy
18:23
yeah Will you're going to be riding in
18:23
the short bus you know I think they
18:25
outlaw these because they like they
18:27
swing back and smack kids in the head or
18:29
something having fun back there you got
18:32
oh okay here there you go here comes
18:36
here comes as a two for one package if
18:38
you ride that you got to play on the
18:40
pole you got to play on the
18:42
pole we'll get on the
18:50
pole okay here we go here we go
18:50
get he's on the
18:53
pole the oh you know what I think I'm
18:56
all out of ones sorry will I'm all I'm
18:58
all out of once sorry buddy I didn't get
19:02
own that's awesome thanks guys yeah when
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I got up this morning I did not expect
19:07
to be in town and also when I got up
19:09
this morning I didn't expect to see Will
19:12
on a stripper pole you never know what's
19:14
going to happen never know here in the
19:16
Smokies what happens in the Forge
19:18
doesn't always stay in the Forge but
19:20
what it's going all over no one's going
19:21
to see this yeah
19:39
this is Casper Casper the Friendly Ghost
19:39
and Casper the Friendly
19:42
automobile name Casper all right this is
19:45
the third General Le I've seen today
19:47
seen three of them so
19:50
far I'm sure there's probably about a
19:51
dozen more but I've seen through and
19:53
Will was just telling me this is one of
19:54
the last kind of old timey roadside
19:57
spots here
19:59
hillbilly Village was you know they pour
20:02
that down yeah I just showed hillbilly
20:04
Village yeah this is like the
20:08
last the last of the great roadside
20:10
Pigeon Forge stands in fact you can't
20:13
even ride this horse it's got a little
20:15
bag over it you can ride this though for
20:18
50 cents if you want it's got this
20:19
little firemen here you used to ride
20:22
these when you were young I think I've
20:24
actually ridden this one you I got photo
20:27
somewhere
20:28
been business for 50 years here I can't
20:31
go on it because I exceed the weight
20:32
limit by about 20
20:35
lbs this was marked down from 125 to
20:40
115 and they'll keep marking it down as
20:44
the day goes on oh really yep so you get
20:46
your better deals if you're looking to
20:48
buy you know what I mean at the end of
20:50
the rod run like later around the night
20:51
these guys are pretty much give them
20:53
giving
20:54
them Don what could you see me behind
20:57
the wheel of what kind of classic car
20:58
can you see me behind the wheel up cuzz
21:00
you're Old Farm rat cuz I'm old old a
21:03
far I'm a farm rat all
21:06
right I think a TA like like like smoky
21:09
in the Bandit I could see you driving a
21:12
TA or because I'm old yeah possibly for
21:16
a giv for doing a burnout or going too
21:25
fast he even left his lights on just to
21:25
make an example
21:32
it's a cool man look at this look at the
21:32
tires the side of the tires on that
21:35
truck oh he's saying that the bumper is
21:38
Too Tall up I guess the tires are too
21:40
big it's like a it's a I don't know what
21:43
the the regulation is but yeah I guess
21:44
the tires are too big how tall can the
21:46
tires be up every State's got different
21:49
rules you know um I don't know what what
21:51
Tennessee is so everyone's just peeling
21:53
out just going crazy over there and
21:55
someone gets a ticket for having their
21:56
bumper a little too high yeah I just saw
21:58
a guy driving a truck back there he went
22:00
through the McDonald's drive-thru it
22:03
looked like he was like
22:06
13 they got the beads and they throw
22:08
beads out it's kind of like Marty gr you
22:09
know oh did you get any Beads no no too
22:12
old for
22:13
that too old for beads I've been to
22:16
Marty Gro there's people older than us
22:18
there you know taking care of lifting
22:20
their top getting the beads older than
22:23
older than me you don't want to see that
22:25
yeah but the these are young kids I
22:26
don't want to see Dawn or eye around
22:29
they want to see me I lifted my shirt
22:32
for some beads I don't know how many
22:34
beads you think I could get D it'd be
22:37
interesting to find out 10 did you get
22:38
10 I haven't got any I'm not doing not
22:41
today but at Marty Gro oh Marty Gro I
22:44
got a whole Treasure Trove I got a whole
22:46
closet full oh wow that was very popular
22:49
very very very popular you Vlog that I I
22:51
didn't put half that yeah that that no
22:53
that's that's for my own private all
22:55
right we're getting another one oh look
22:56
at this dog they're getting somebody who
22:58
they getting
22:59
who they getting up getting that truck
23:01
right there there's number
23:09
two I just realized there is a Long John
23:09
Silvers here in Pigeon forch there's a
23:11
Long
23:12
John's I didn't even know we still open
23:15
looks like bask and Robin just got their
23:16
milk delivery they're uh pulling pulling
23:19
away now yeah you can't make ice cream
23:22
without milk I got milk yep that's how
23:27
home turned ice cream is
23:31
made that is awesome that old truck that
23:34
old milk truck there cows in the back
23:38
look at that oh they got the cow
23:42
going that's great that is good that's
23:46
one way to take your dog
23:48
around it's a service dog in the back
23:52
there he's got a
23:55
chauffeur Beau for Te Justice
24:12
vehicles I think I'm about to wrap it up
24:12
seeing a lot this traffic is is just at
24:15
a
24:16
standstill so being a local how how long
24:19
of a wait you think it would be to
24:20
getting out of Gatlinburg into Pigeon
24:22
Forge through the spur if you had to
24:24
guess if you were taking the spur what
24:26
would be the time frame you know between
24:29
two and three hours two and three hours
24:33
I mean it's not even moving and once you
24:35
get on that spur you can't really get
24:37
off of it because there's really no
24:39
you're stuck you're you're stuck
24:42
on Sun is
24:44
setting classic car alert pulling off
24:46
over in the distance I'm going to do my
24:48
outro here at this empty closed
24:52
convention center right here that's
24:54
going to do it for today from the spring
24:57
2020 Three Rod run in Pigeon Forge
25:01
Tennessee we did not even have any plan
25:03
on being here woke up this morning drove
25:05
four or 5 hours made the commute walked
25:08
up and down each side of the parkway got
25:10
to see my friends will and Don from
25:11
Yankee in the South pretty good to see
25:12
them and I saw some classic cars an
25:15
impulsive
25:16
day unexpected impulsive day it was fun
25:19
and I was wearing an appropriate t-shirt
25:22
I'll see you in the next video thanks
25:24
for watching the Vlog is over
25:27
considering I spent most the day in the
25:29
car commuting here fact that I walked
25:32
17540 steps in those uh 4 hours that I
25:35
was walking up and down I walked a
25:37
pretty healthy amount walking up and
25:38
down the
25:39
strip my bad it's now 10:00 at night and
25:43
the traffic is worse than it was earlier
25:46
it's like all bottlenecking over here
25:50
and it's just a complete stand still
25:53
here on the
25:54
parkwalk it's like of
25:56
moving like people
25:59
person is like getting out of their
26:34
for example if you just pulled in here
26:34
to get gas or to get a snack at the good
26:38
stop trying to get out of here just to
26:40
probably pull out on the parkway is
26:43
going to probably be 20 minutes if
26:45
anyone even lets you out and it looks
26:47
like can't even get through this way the
26:50
sheriff here someone's getting
26:51
handcuffed over there yeah I feel bad
26:54
anyone that's leaving Gatlinburg now
26:56
this probably
26:58
solid hour or more just to get down to
27:00
the other end of the parkway like
27:03
probably the Hollywood Wax Museum I
27:05
can't
27:08
imagine how much farther it would be
27:11
going to Gatlinburg it's got to be three
27:13
or more hours to get from Gatlinburg to
27:15
the end of the pigeon for
27:17
Parkway this isn't even moving so I
27:19
stopped inside this good stop
27:21
convenience store and there were some
27:23
people in there that said they were
27:24
stuck in traffic they got out of their
27:26
car went in got better GES and snacks
27:30
and had time to go back over into the
27:34
traffic after getting you know
27:37
merchandise and food and drinks from the
27:39
store they said they have not moved more
27:42
than a few car links in like an
27:46
hour I really lucked out with look okay
27:49
so is this is this officer going to like
27:52
is he going to throw the lights on try
27:54
to get through there cuz if not he's
27:55
going to be sitting in that traffic for
27:56
hours
28:02
if you're not walking or on a bike or on
28:02
a cart or a motorcycle cutting through
28:05
Lanes you're yeah
28:16
M all right I'm going to go back to my
28:16
hotel I got a couple snacks from the
28:19
store I got a couple microwavable
28:20
burritos CU I couldn't find anything
28:22
else and that'll be my evening meal for
28:25
the evening pretty awesome event oh look
28:26
at this little truck over here
28:28
it says Rudy K teeny tiny truck right
28:33
there oh look at the steam coming up the
28:35
back of that
28:37
truck just let off like blast and some
28:40
steam coming off of
28:51
there so if even if you just get off the
28:51
parkway just a simple Side Road to turn
28:55
into the traffic that's not moving
28:57
stretches
28:58
all the way back here so for future
29:00
reference if you're ever coming out to
29:02
any other Rod there's two a year and
29:03
they're both this busy prepare for a lot
29:06
of traffic and try to get a hotel get to
29:09
your hotel early check in get a parking
29:13
spot and don't leave and don't go
29:17
anywhere for
29:26
real last look at a couple cars here
29:26
also this isle bonus footage turn what
29:30
bonus footage