Hoss and "The Beastess"

Last Tuesday, I picked up Hoss from his Grandma's house (She almost didn't let him come to the truck...she didn't recognize me with my hair so long and in a pony tail...) took him for a ride on "The Beastess." We haven't had the chance to ride since last November...so we made the best of it. We rode through Red Top Mountain State Park, down through Acworth, to "Five Guys Burgers & Fries" then back up old U.S. Hwy 41 (two lane and twisting), then onto the Dairy Queen for a malt. He loved the ride...he's gotten so big! Last November we took it easy as he just sat on the pillion and held onto the seat rail, but now he's grown much taller and his feet rest on the passenger footboards! He really loves to ride...

The Beastess...

Added a few things to "The Beastess" to get her ready for the road...new backrest for BD, shifter and brake pads, "visors" for the headlight and passing lamps, and a good cleaning. We've been on a couple three rides recently, and BD has enjoyed them as much as me. I have a thing or two I want to add this year, but nothing heavy duty or costly until next year probably...found out that H-D doesn't actually stand for Harley-Davidson...it stands for hundred dollars as that is about the minimum you spend each time you walk into the dealership...but I can fill her up with gas for about $8, and to date she's averaging nearly 40 miles per gallon...

Bryan and Emerson came to visit...

They hung around for a little while, then we went to Target to get him a few things...he has really, really grown! And he is becoming very expressive, not only with facial changes, but he laughs at a lot of things...

When Nature calls...

Er, has already called...;-)! Time for a quick cleanuo!

He LOVES BD!

He just laughed and laughed while she played with him...he's a very happy baby around Grandma!

A rainy Sunday morning...

BD left for Niagara Falls this afternoon. But before she left, we got to spend a lazy Sunday together...watched a couple news shows, read the local and Atlanta Sunday paper, cooked breakfast, then BD and Petey found time for a little shut-eye before getting ready for the trip...

More North than West...

A little turn towards the North and the orange fades back to more pink behind the pines with the gray of the darkening clouds seeming to push it all over the edge of the world...

A few minutes earlier...

A little more orange, contrasting to the pinks and blues and grays...

Monday's Sunset...

I was talking to BD on the phone when I happened to look outside..it was a beautiful sunset, enhanced, I think, by the clouds remaining after a front pushed it's way through last night and this morning...the colors shaping a square in the clouds are of a blue that almost wasn't...kind of like that blue of the ocean in the more Southern locales...as much green as blue, with still a translucent overcoat of dove gray.

And these are words of wisdom, indeed...

My "P" in Sherman Oaks, California, sent me this very wonderful gift this week. It's a stitched ship with a few words as well...I hung it over the valet BD bought me for my birthday a few years ago...

I was just handing his helmet to him when Bry said it might not be a good idea for him to ride on "The Beastess" today...it was still a little chilly and his leather jacket had not come back from the cleaners...

Is that a happy Grandma grin on BDs face or what...

What the heck! I told her they were clean! No need to go diggin' in there for something she wouldn't find...

He has become, though, a little self-centered what with all the attention, and is very particular as to how he looks when company arrives...checking his hair, making sure there's no puree'd prunes around his mouth...things like that to make sure he's as handsome and sharp for visitors, even family!

Look at the boy's calf! He is putting all he's eating to good growin'...and growin' he is! You should see his thighs and arms. He's really coming along well.

We took "The Beastess" for a long ride around Noon. Paulding County had decided over the past few months to move U.S. Highway 120, so we spent some time looking for it, wound up on a familiar road that eventually took us to Bryan and Kim's house to visit Bry and "Little E."

More blooms getting ready to open...

Azaleas are bloomin'...

Of course, it's supposed to get down into the 20's two nights this week now that buds and blooms are making themselves seen...so we'll be out covering them with sheets to try to prevent a freeze-out we suffered two Springs ago...

BD and petey went out this fine Saturday morning to see what was blooming...

Mom and Petey resting after our trip back to Emerson from Chicago. She was a trooper on the road, and was none the worse for wear when we got home, though she slept pretty good while down here...

Some more really weird looking trees. The first two started separate, about 6" apart, then entwined twice before separating again to continue on singly...then the ever present funnel web with a caught mass of leaves...and finally, the weirdest looking bark on a tree I have ever seen. About 6' up the tree, it looked like someone had wrapped barbed wire around it, pulled it taught, then removed it. The result was this "look" of hundreds if not thousands of tiny holes, symetrically spaced up and down, up to nearly the top of the tree...finally, the sign of the AT and the BMT and my walking stick. Bought it our first day here at the Blue Ridge Arts Festival...never used one before, but won't hike again without it...

I have always wanted to hike the Appalachian Trail. This is the beginning of a part of the AT, near Three Forks and Springer Mountain, that allowed us to hike the AT, and, as a bonus, returning on the Benton MacKaye Trail. Both in one 4+ mile hike. It was terrific!! It starts with a bridge over Chester's Creek, which the AT follows pretty much up to Springer Mountain. Clear, cool water for tired, aching feet at the end of a day hike!

Also, some weird looking trees on the AT too!!

This part of the Tennessee Rock Trail was beautiful, if somewhat taxing. Just beyond this sight of wonder was the beginning of a series of switchbacks that led uphill rather steeply. This trail was only 2.2 miles, but it took us three hours to complete...too many spots to stop and take a picture.

Finally the summit! The marker reflects an altitude of 3,640'. Even this butterfly had to stop for fuel and rest before continuing on...Before you actually head down, you hit the overlook where the distant views are breathtaking...

The views are awe inspiring...and some of the sights were interesting...the mushrooms, the funnell webs with the leaves in it, and a very unusual looking tree growing over a stump of another tree...

My second favorite State Park is Black Rock Mountain State Park, which is in the NE corner of Georgia between Clayton, GA and Mountain City, GA. It is also the highest state park, with an elevation of 3,600' at the summit. It has several trails to hike, and is one of the most beautiful spots in Georgia. Here again you can look out over mountains in North Georgia as well as in South Carolina. Also, on the Tennessee Rock Trail, there is an overlook on point of the ridgeline where you can, on a clear day, see Brasstown Bald (highest peak in Geogria at 4,800') to the South and Clingman's Dome (6,642') in Tennessee (in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park).

Tuesday we headed to the Northeast of where we were staying and toward the higher elevations of the state. Rabun County is in the NE corner of the state, and it's here where we found these wildflowers growing at "Popcorn Overlook." They were beautiful!

The Flat Creek Loop trail is the first one we did on Monday. It was a long, 3-hour loop, but worth the effort. You can see some of the canopy below along the trail, and you can see some of the colorful leaves that have already fallen. The loop is in the Aska Wilderness Area near Blue Ridge...several mountains, and many, many winding roads that make this part of the State a magnet for hikers and motorcyclists both.

It's not what you would call "roughing it," but we really, really enjoy coming up here. Blue Ridge itself is a quaint little "Main Street" small town, that Main Street mainly made up of antique and specialty shops, fudge makers (I know both of them quite well...), and pottery shops. We usually try too find something each year for the house (it's our Anniversary the last week of September) and enjoy looking for something unique.

Below you can see some of the amenities of the cabin we're in. It is also equipped with a wireless wi-fi setup, hot tub, 3 bedrooms, and a pool table downstairs that has led to three failed attempts to beat BD and her Son, Bryan.

We haven't had a fire as it isn't really that cold up here yet. But this AM it was 48 degrees, and only 52 when we got to the trailhead, so maybe tonight...

Morning at the cabin in Blue Ridge. BD and I spend a week in a cabin in the North Georgia mountains each September, and this is the morning view off of the back porch. The fog in the valleys was breathtaking. Looking way off you see some of the mountains of South Carolina.

This is just one of the parking lots at "Thunder Creek Harley Davidson" in Chattanooga, TN. They said there were about 800 motorcycles parked in this lot...

The Blessing of the Bkes

On Friday, September 19, 2008, I joined about 300 motorcycles (the line of bikes was nearly 3 miles long) in the "Charlie Maxwell Memorial Ride" to Chattanooga, TN. It is the Georgia leg of the "Trail of Tears Remembrance Ride" that takes place the 3rd weekend in September to commemorate the Cherokee Trail of Tears, walked in the late 1830's when President Jackson (I think it was Jackson...) ordered the removal of the Cherokee, Cree, Creek, Seminole and other lesser known tribes from Georgia and the Carolinas to their reservation in Oklahoma. Many, many died, and the others suffered extreme cold, hunger, and misery.

The ride in Georgia became the Charlie Maxwell Memorial Ride in honor of an Earl Small's Harley Davidson employee who was an enthusiast of the ride, but who unfortunately died before he could ride. We left the Cartersville HD dealership on Friday morning, and rode to a meeting place just 40 miles East of Chattanooga where we met with a contingent of about 100 motorcycles from the Carolinas. We all then rode to "Thunder Creek Harley Davidson" in Chattanooga where there were about 800 motorcycles already there. It was something to see, something to experience. My first organized ride, and one I will endeavor to ride each year.

There was a couple days of celebration at the Cartersville HD dealership...bands, food, Native American arts and crafts, and Native American Dancing by a Cherokee dance troupe. The highlight of Friday just before we left on the ride was "The Blessing of the Bikes" by a Cherokee Shaman (don't know if he is or not...but purported to be). He is just blessing my motorcycle in the picture.

Stage 1 mods on "The Beastess"

This gives you a look at the left side exhaust pipe. You can also see the new footboards I bought and had installed. They are a smaller version of my footboards, and provide BD a much more comfortable riding platform. We rode for nearly 5 hours on Friday and they were very comfortable. The ride took us to Amicalola Falls State Park, about 2 hours North, then we came home and cut across Hwy 53, a 2-lane State highway. Got caught in a wreck on that road, though, and it was closed for nearly 2 hours due to having to have LifeFlight come in for the injured. We had to backtrack and take a 4-lane home, which is faster but not as pleasant riding. Anyway, the last hour was pretty tiring...

You can also see here the FoxCreek Leather bag I bought to put on the back of the sissy bar. It's got bunches of room, and BD even put in a Vitamin Water to take along to drink.

Stage 1 modifications to "The Beastess"

BD took a picture of "The Beatess" with her new pipes. You can see the right side exhaust pipe ends in a "fishtail" tip. If you look close, you'll see the round, chrome air cleaner cover inside my leg. It's more of a 50's style cover and is much more comfortable to ride with as my leg doesn't keep hitting it like it did with the OEM "football" air cleaner cover. The pipes are somewhat louder than the stock pipes, but not obnoxiously so...though when you "pop" the throttle and get on it they do bark...