Chattahoochee National Forest - Wagoneer Adventures

I recently went on a fly fishing weekend getaway to North Georgia, and I just happened to be right in the middle of the Chattahoochee National Forest, which of course meant some Forest Service Road Adventuring! It was a dark and gloomy day and the area I was in was recovering from a tornado from a few months ago, so a few roads were closed and many others were in poor condition.

Billie, Cody, and Julia.

This was one of the more interesting roads I found, off of Tray Mountain Road. Upon venturing down this road, we were met by three teenage "mountain boys" driving a lifted Chervrolet heading in the opposite direction. The road was too narrow to pass, so I backed up until they found a suitable place to pull off. I drove forward, and the driver of the truck rolled down his window. I pulled beside him and thanked him for pulling off the road.

"I wouldn't go down this one!" The driver, looking a little pale warned.

"Yeah, you don't want to try it!" The younger boy in the bed of the truck warned, looking frightened and thankful he was alive.

"Oh yeah?" I innocently asked, even more amped up to drive down the road.

"Oh, no, no you don't want to do it." The boy stuttered, still somewhat shaken and shaking, "there's a tree blocking the road and rocks... rocks everywhere! And a huge rut in the road. We barely made it to the end!"

"Oh... ok." I said, reaching an even more anxious level to travel this rocky rutted death inducing road! "Uh, thanks, then. Say, is there a place I can turn around down there?" I asked, no wanting to show my over eager hand that I was in no way going to heed their warning. He informed me there was a turn around, and we parted ways.

The road turned out to be rough, but not as impassible as I had hoped. I did wind up turning around, after I found the rutted out area in the road. Earlier while driving a trail I had blown one of the lines to my air shocks, so my Wagon was saggin', which limited my maneuverability.

Over all it was a pleasant and fun ride, it would have been even more enjoyable if it had not been such gloomy weather. 





Callaway Gardens #5

Billie, Julia, and Cody sitting for a moment beside an apparent over grown Chia-pet at Callaway Gardens. Actually the shrubs sculpted into Easter Bunnies were pretty cool!

Flat Rock Park

Billie and Julia and the Woody Wagon by Flat Rock Park Lake.

Geese

Julia being Julia.

Self Portrait

Dr. Roberto Gonzalez. My alias in case I ever have to escape to Mexico and become a goat farmer.

Billie and me.

Chattahoochee National Forest Part One

Billie

Cody

Your photographer. Photo by Billie. She's been taking some photography tips from me.

Me again. Photo by Billie.

Me with the adventure vehicle. Photo by Billie. 

Black and white. Love this picture. Photo by Billie.

All of us. (left to right, Randy, Cody, Billie and myself)

Summer Bar-B-Que!

In this time of cold and early nights, let's dwell back to a Summer Bar-B-Que.

Nothing pleases me more than grilling out on a weekend, or after work. I grill only over hardwoods that I have harvested myself, and I love to try to cook anything I can over a smoky wood fire.

Country style ribs, coated in various spices and my own "secret" bar-b-que sauce recipe. 

Looking good!

My other favorite grill treat, sausage!

Served perfectly.

Billie and Lilly.

Canoe Trip Down Standing Boy Creek

About a week ago I borrowed a canoe from my good friend Rick of Country Boy's Antiques and Collectibles. Cody, Billie, and myself took it down Standing Boy Creek for some fishing action.

Billie and Cody took the front of the boat.

Standing Boy Creek.

Over all, it was a nice trip down the creek. I saw a lot of fishing activity, but I wasn't able to catch anything... Mainly because I forgot my tackle box and lost my lure early on!

When we got back to the Wagoneer I had a card placed on my seat with "Please call" written on the back. On the flip side it had a Columbus Police Detective's name and number. I figured maybe it was a warning that I shouldn't have been parked by the bridge or something like that, but I called anyway. As it turned out, he wanted to know if I was a Standing Boy Creek "old timer." He told me a body had been floating down there 20-some years ago, and he was the detective on the case. He wanted to know how much it had changed down there. Of course, I was of no help to him since it was my first time down Standing Boy Creek!

Phinizy Swamp Nature Park - Augusta, Georgia

I enjoyed a trip to Phinizy Swamp Nature Park in Augusta, Georgia on a weekend getaway with the family. The first half of the park was very enjoyable and filled with scenic nature and from which most of the pictures came from. The latter half of the park I found less then enjoyable in the hot "not summer yet, but feels like it" sun. The back trails lacked any real tree cover and felt very man-made, exactly the opposite of what made the first half of the park so special.

These old silo's are a relic of the past welcoming you at the main parking lot.

Billie and the boy posing in front of the silo's. She's armed with water to fight the heat! (The water didn't last long!)

Nature is creeping up the side of these silos...

Venturing into the swamp...