May 14, 2016

Amy and I just spent 2 nights camping at Vogel State Park with Jason, Shelley and Brooks.  We had a really great time.  Enjoyed everything except traffic delays just getting to the park.  Atlanta traffic during rush hour and road construction made a 3 hour drive into almost 6 hours to get there.  Vogel State Park is located in north Georgia at the base of Blood Mountain.  Blood Mountain is the tallest mountain in Georgia on the Appalachian Trail. Several pictures of the park are given below.

Park entrance.

Amy looking over the lake.

Ducks went wild when Brooks went into the water to play with them.

Great view of the mountains from the far side of the lake.

Great view of the falls below the lake.  All of us.  Brooks would not pose for the camera.

This one is slightly different from the one above.

This is the name of the trail around the lake.

Managed to get our campsite setup before dark.

Of course eating is always important.

Great location for tents.

Brooks was the most well behaved of all of us.

Okay, this is not a great view, but our campsite location.

On Friday we ate breakfast and prepared for hiking up Blood Mountain.  The name comes from a war with the Cherokee Indians.  Legend has it that the fighting was so severe that the streams flowed red with blood.  Therefore the name Blood Mountain.

Jason and I posed for a selfie before the hike.

No trip to the Appalachian Trail would be complete without a stop at Mountain Crossing. 

Amy and Shelley

The store is located at Neel Gap.

Our hike started out on the Byron Reece Trail.  Seven tenths of a mile in we turned right on the Appalachian Trail.  This approach trail was rated strenuous due the climb in elevation.  

Lots of steps up. 

About a 1200 foot increase in elevation over .7 miles.

The approach trail intersects with the Freeman Trail, which goes around the mountain instead of over the top.

Of course we choose the AT trail (white blaze marked) at this intersection.

When I needed a rest, I took a picture.

These two were taken during a rest stop.

As you can see I was quickly lagging behind.

Amy taking a break.  Me too, that's the reason for the picture.

There were even some rock scrambles near the top.

Views near the top were awesome.

I think I like this one best.  Taken from the top near the shelter.

I threw this one in to prove that I made it to the top of Blood Mountain.

     Of course we went down the same path we went up.  Turned out that was a great day hike.  We met several through hikers along the way.  One young man was from Scottsboro and another from Birmingham, and many others.  One day hiker was from Blairsville, a town close by.  Of course some people passed me going up and then passed me again on their way down before I got to the top.  I might add this included my own family.  Beautiful park, beautiful views, lots of steps up and then lots of steps down, but well worth the effort.  I would totally recommend this for anyone who loves the outdoors, loves to hike and loves to get away from it all.

Just as a side note, the knees did fine and the wrist held up with the hiking poles.  We are looking forward to our next adventure --- Alaska here we come!

April 22, 2016

     Here is my latest part-time project.

     Where to start?  First, mom is doing good.  Lewis is recovering from outpatient back surgery he had on Wednesday. Hopefully the surgery will relieve some pain.  We are planning on visiting them this coming week.  There is just one setback to that.  I was asked to come back to work, so I am now working part time.  It is an ideal situation.  I work a couple of hours a day and am off on Friday, of course to day is Friday and I have been on the phone all morning dealing with school stuff.  My wife thinks I'm nuts and she is probably right.  Okay she is right.
     We had tentatively planned to go camping this weekend, but it was supposed to rain, so we put it off till next weekend.  To be in a tent while it is raining is not the ideal situation for a first time camper like my wife.  Maybe next weekend will be good weather.
     I finally got my garden planted for this year.  I set out 10 tomato plants.  Five different types of plants, but I know that come picking time I will not remember which kind is which.  I planted 2 kinds of squash and 2 kinds of butterpeas.  Also planted a couple of rows of rattlesnake beans, speckled butterbeans, purplehull peas, and lima beans.  And cucumbers, of course.  I used some of the seeds I had left over from last year.  I'll know in a couple of weeks if they were still good.  If not, I will just replant those rows.
     The water in the swimming pool is about 70 degrees now and after next week it should be just right for swimming.  I got a little mad yesterday, when I discovered that the first thing to use my pool this year was a snake.  Even though he was small I treated him like he was a 6 foot cottonmouth and chopped off his head.  I should have taken a picture so I could post it, but I didn't have my phone or camera.  I'm sure there will be another one soon, it just goes with living in the woods.

March 29, 2016

     First let me update the progress on my wrist.  I have been through six weeks of physical therapy, and met all the goals that the therapist set for me.  Most of the swelling is gone, but there are times that I have swelling in my fingers.  I now know more about what the doctor was trying to do.  The wrist bone at the base of the thumb and the bone next to it had separated due to a torn ligament.  Surgery was necessary to try to fix the problem.  The doctor had told me that the surgery may not be successful.  The plan was to use a tendon from my arm to graft and hold the bones back in place.  About 20% of this type of surgery fails.  In my case, the gap between the bones was closed considerably, but there is still a small separation in one spot.  Also, the wrist area is slow to heal thus the continued swelling.  I am not sure what the next step is and my next appointment is not until June.  It could be that another surgery may be required to fuse the bones together.  Only time will tell.  The doctor said I could begin light work with the wrist, of course I did not tell him that I had already moved and stacked 100 concrete blocks a few days before my appointment.  I only lifted them into the front end loader and used the tractor to move them.  I did ask about using a tiller for my garden, and was told specifically not to use the tiller.  I have one on my tractor, so I still can get my garden planted this year.  I plan to plant next week.

     Amy and I have been traveling a little bit.  We visited the grand-kids in Virginia for a week, and just got back from a weekend at Jason's.  He gave his wife a new puppy, a golden lab, and of course we had to go see it in person.  It is the cutest puppy you have ever seen.
     We have an exciting trip planned.  We have booked a cruise to Alaska.  We are going with some old friends that live in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, Chuck and Mary Jane Wood.  We use to vacation with them in the 1980's some.  We are really looking forward to this trip.  Everything is already taken care of for this trip and we will have a couple of days to see Seattle before the ship sails.  Can't wait!


     Being laid up with my wrist has given me plenty of time to work on my "latest hardest puzzle ever".  That is the picture below.  2000 pieces.

     I have my next two puzzles already picked out.  I started one while visiting Katy but did not finish it.  It is a panoramic view of the Auburn Stadium.  Katy had wanted to glue it and frame it, but since it was not finished by the time we left I brought it home to finish.  I tried to take it apart in sections so I would not have to do the whole puzzle over from scratch.

     Last post we were expecting my brother Lewis and his wife Deon to come visit us and Mom.  Mom's trip to rehab delayed that.  Mom is back home now and doing well, but Lewis has been back in the hospital a couple of times, then he had a fall last week and broke some bones in his spine.  He hopes that the doctor will cement the cracks and relieve the pain he is in.  We plan to go visit them some time next week since he will not be coming to Talladega any time soon.

      Amy and I also plan to use our new camping equipment soon and camp at a state park in either Alabama or Georgia.  With the weather changing it is time to get outdoors.  Until next time....

February 6 2016

Finally out of a cast.  This was the picture after the cast was removed and before the pin was taken out.  The strips were added 6 weeks ago when the stitches were removed

This shows the swelling that is still there, but the scar I thought I would have is barely visible at all.  it has been 8 weeks since the surgery.  I have no idea how long the swelling will last, and if you think it looks painful, it is.  Rehab starts next week,  Hopefully I will get full use back, but I think it is going to be a long painful rehab,

Enough about me, except Amy and I plan on hiking and camping this spring, and I hope to complete the Georgia portion of the Appalachian Trail this summer.

Mom has had a major setback in her health.  She spent the past week in the hospital with a colon problem getting IV antibiotics.  Her strength has deteriorated and she will now go to rehab for the fourth time in 13 months,  She kids that the first time was for her bachelors degree, then master's, then phd. and now for post doc work. I just hope she passes and comes home stronger than she is now.  

My brother and his wife are planning on visiting next week so they can spend some time with Mom.  We have been trying for the past month for them to come, but January has been a month of sickness and doctors visits.  We hoped this month would be better and it was off to a good start until last week when mom went to the hospital.  She did not want to go back to rehab but realizes that she is too weak to go home.  

Amy and I are planning to go to Katy's at the end of the month. We are also planning an Alaskan cruise in May with some old friends, Chuck and Mary Jane Wood,  Can't wait!!!

January 5, 2016

     Happy New Year!  Following up since the last post, I did go back to the doctor on the 23rd.  Got the bulky cast off and saw what was under it.  No wonder I was in pain.  I did take a picture, but since my arm resembled a cooked pork loin, I decided not to post the picture.  They removed the stitches but I have a pin that will have to stay in for six weeks.  I exchanged one bulky cast for another equally bulky cast.  I will have to wear this one until the first week in February.  I guess the doc will pull out the pin then.  Something to look forward to.
     The week after my surgery, my son-in-law had surgery and my wife flew to San Antonio, Texas to help.  A friend of ours took her to Atlanta for her flight out, but I picked her up on her return trip.  That gave me a chance to visit with my brother and his family before heading to the airport.  Of course it was pouring down rain, one handed, glaring lights and bad windshield wipers, but I got to the right place and on time.
     The rains continued till Christmas causing flooding all around,  So much rain fell that I had white water rapids flowing down my front yard,  I had to drain the extra water out of my pool twice to keep it from overflowing,  I now have some new piles of fist sized rocks that the current moved the bottom of the mountain.  That will give you an idea of just how powerful the water was. Rains finally stopped on Christmas day.  Because of the storms a water main broke and we had no water Christmas morning.  Amy went to Birmingham for lunch with her mom and I went to my mom's house to eat lunch with her.
     My daughter, Katy and her clan (Scott, Kinsley, Cooper, and dog Baxter) came for a few days after Christmas.  Jason and Shelley their dog Brooks, were able to come eat with us.  It was really good to have them here.  Next year we expect all here for Christmas.  Kinsley and Cooper really enjoyed playing with Brooks, since he is bigger than both of them. I think they were more excited to see Brooks than Jason and Shelley.
     Amy and I celebrated the new year by falling asleep before seeing it in,  I guess that is just a sign of getting older.  Also we have watched all the bowl games we care to see, except for one more next week.  I decided not to make any new year resolutions, that way I will not break them.  Until next time ...

December 12, 2015

The days seem to fly by.  I seem to have so much to do that I can blink and another week has passed me by.  Or it may be that I am getting old enough to be forgetful.  Injury update -  Doctor set me up for an mri to check on the ligament damage. By this time I was feeling no pain in my wrist and I was able to move everything inside the cast.  The mri was extremelypainfull due to the awkward position I had to lay in.  The prior damage to my shoulder made it impossible to lay on my stomach with my arm stretched out.  He said the imaging would take four minutes.  After what seemed like an hour, they said three more minutes, but I was done. I had to get out of the machine.  They had to lift my arm up because I could not raise my arm.  I hope I never have to do that again.  This past Monday (7th) I went back to the doctor halfway expecting to have the cast removed.  Instead I was told that I needed surgery to repair the wrist. Not only was there a break in one of the outer bones but also a dislocation of the bones in the center of my wrist. After more X-rays the doctor showed me the problem and scheduled surgery for Wednesday (9th).  The surgery was extensive and the wrist was reconstructed with ligaments taken from the back of my hand.  When I left the hospital I was in fair shape, but I've had to double up on my pain meds every 4 hours.  Fingers are really swollen and thumb is in what feels  like heavy concrete cast.  On a scale of 1 to 10, I would rank my pain level at 15. Meds sure help but make me feel loopy and all spaced out.  I go back to the doctor on the 23rd. I guess I will find out what it looks like under the cast then. 

November 28, 2015

Yesterday was so beautiful that we headed for the woods. Amy, Jason, Shelley, and Brooks and I hiked about 7.5 miles.

On Monday after my doctor visit, where I was told there may be ligament damage in my wrist, we headed to Woodstock, Ga. to visit my brother.  We originally planned to stay one night, but those plans went out the window.  After lunch on Tuesday, Lewis and I went to Walmart and were headed to Lowe's when my car started to overheat. We tried to get it to a chevy dealer, but I did not want to ruin the engine, so we could only go about 1/2 mile before I had to cut it off and let it cool.  Although the dealership was only about 7 miles away we had to get on the interstate during rush hour traffic and continuously pull over on the shoulder to let the car cool.  Needless to say we never made it to the dealer.  Had to call a wrecker and have it towed the last mile,  One of Lewis's neighbors came to pick us up.  So, we stayed an extra night.  The dealership provided a car for us to drive home because the repairs would take a couple of days.  We will go pick up our car on Monday.  The problem was a busted water pump, and someone put the wrong coolant in when trying to get to the dealership, which ruined the radiator.  Okay, the someone was me.  Other than the mis-adventure with the car we really enjoyed the visit,  We will plan on visiting once a month.