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.