Great Smokies

An early morning turns into an early afternoon as Bussers clean, pack, and organize the bus and the chase car. We score some great gear – a hammock, a pop up shade tent, a table, and a few camping chairs – left by early departers at nearby campsites. Money in the bank. We also score tons of great veggie-oil from the Bonnaroo venders! Nate and Merritt make a morning of it, gathering 120 gallons of primo grease before noon, five gallons at a time. Greasy, sweaty, and dusty, we head off to Cosby Campground in the Great Smokies.

The Big Green Bus rolls into the Great Smokies in the early evening, people go for runs and enjoy the newly found beautiful wilderness. The Little Blue Car arrives later on, after a directions mix-up, and everyone sits down for a relaxing and fun conversation around a crackling fire. The highlight of the night is a bear sighting up the hill from the campsite. Brent “The Queen of France” Butler entertains all with bear-enthusiasm, Merritt “Go-Round” Jenkins expresses desire to fight a bear, and all but Colleen “Hard Guy” Wearn choose to sleep inside the bus or car. A mid-night attempt by Brent, Merritt and Colleen to convince bus-sleepers of a bear attack is quickly called out, and Lucas claims the bears, both real and fake, for his team.

- chris

Lucas points the bus towards the Great Smokies and greener pastures.

Team-update-of-the-day: Hayley’s team as of mid-day on Monday: One dancing hippie, One half-dressed ninja, One broken down El Camino, and One Family Dollar store.