Thursday, May 1, 2008
Thirty one days on the road. It seems much longer than a month, since I left Lake Worth. Time seems slower for some reason. I suppose that is due to all of the new and different activities and locations that I am encountering. I like slow. Slow is a good thing. I liked living in Lake Worth, (I miss my warehouse) it’s just that for the last few years one day just seemed run into the next, then one day I woke up and I was old. What’s up with that? A body can’t sleep through the night without getting up 4 times to go to the bathroom. That’s another thing, now I never pass a restroom that I don’t do an internal check before moving on, and I can certainly no longer trust a fart to be just a fart.
A friend asked me yesterday if this traveling thing was all I had hoped it would be and it surprised me that the answer didn’t spring to my lips with an unequivocated, “Absolutely”. Like most things in life there is a lot of grey swirled in with the negro e blanco. For the most part I have purposely tried not to build up much expectation, a task which is all but impossible when turning your life upside down.
If I had to give the adventure a percentage rating at this point it would be 80% great and 20% not so great with a error figure of + or – 5%. I guess I am one of those people who focuses on the disappointments and tribulations in life when I would be much happier dwelling on how grateful I am that 80% of my adventure has been exceptional.
One of my goals on this journey has been to live life as it comes. Live in the “now” and not in the “past or future”. I seem to be struggling with that (sound fammilar). I occasionally wake up in the night thinking about the money currently going out, none coming in and only having a “hopeful” plan to alter that cash flow scenario. I knew starting out that I would not work to bring income in until after my classes at William Holland School. Waiting for my classes to start could also be why feel like I am circling the airport in a holding pattern. Of course that feeling comes from the book “Live Now, How it should be Done” by M. Payschent Mann.
So in keeping with focusing on the negative, the thing (other than the money) that I was most disappointed in is the “Treasure Factor” here in the Franklin area. It is was not what I had expected it would be. First I must explain “Treasure Factor”. “Treasure Factor” refers to the potential that exists of finding some treasure in any given location. I am not talking large financial gain here (although that would be cool). Treasure is a unique stone, an arrowhead, a civil war musket ball, a fossil, things to mark the adventure. I assumed, mountains, rocks and the “Gemstone Capitol”, would have a HIGH treasure potential, but as I mentioned in an earlier posting that the gemstone mines are pretty much a farce. Perhaps I need to alter my perception of “Treasure” to include the discovery of Highlands road, the waterfalls on the Cullasaja River and old Roy, the rock man, all pleasant treasures. Which reminds me; I need to get a picture of old Roy.
So far, I have to say, I like what I am doing, however I am almost certain when I have decided that I have seen all the things I want to see and done the things I want to do, I plan to get another warehouse / barn / shed. I just like making stuff.
Though cool at night, the last few days have been fantastic. I could not have asked for better weather, the mountain atmosphere and country attitude has been wonderful. (See, I can do positive stuff). People here actually slow down and wave at you when they pass, even if they have no idea who you are.
I will be picking Jo up in a few days and I am excited about that. It will be good to see her again. The Rock and Gem Show is this coming weekend. The end of this week will be a busy time. I will pick Jo up on Friday the 9th. Then on Saturday, break camp and all but connect Lyca to Cazee, hit the Gem show and then grab the trailer and drive down to the new camp site near Young Harris GA. Then we have Saturday evening and Sunday morning to set up the new camp site before we need to be at the school on Sunday afternoon.
Tuesday, May 06, 2008
Nothing much going on here, same old great weather, same old wonderful people, same old exquisite camp site.
I noticed yesterday, that the tents for the Rock and Gem show are being erected. I am really looking forward to the show, however Cutter, not so much. Rocks don’t have strong odors and they don’t digest well.
One of the ladies that has a permanent trailer site got Mack, the campground owner, to take his tractor and dump three buckets of dirt in her garden area yesterday. When I passed her trailer while walking Cutter, she was struggling to spread the piles out. I asked her if she would like me to help her but she said no, that she could handle it. When Cutter and I returned from the walk she had moved very little dirt and was sitting down mopping her brow. I put Cutter in the trailer and grabbed my shovel and within 20 minutes had the piles leveled inside the stone boarders that defined her planting area. It felt great to be able to help someone like that, plus it earned me a glass of lemonade and a pleasant conversation while making a new friend. What a cool treasure that was.
Many of the part time residence have not arrived for the summer yet. The trailer occupancy is about 20%. I have been told that many of them are rockhounds and some actually make a living doing the things I am aspiring to do. I hope some of them show up before I leave. There is one man, John Wilson that is here now, who does gem faceting (fa-cet-ing). Faceting is cutting a clear or colored gemstone with flat areas so that it reflects the light internally and makes the stone sparkle. Gemstones like diamonds and rubies, sapphires, amethyst, quartz, etc. Though interesting, for some reason faceting is not something that I desire to learn to do. When I told John about what my plans were and how I wanted to cut opals he informed me that he used to cut opals but he liked faceting so much that he rarely does any cabochon cutting more. Then he added that he had a bottle of rough opal that he would sell me if I wanted them (cheap). Wow, more treasure. They were pretty good stones too and they cost less than half of what I had previously purchased at the West Palm Beach Gem Show for the same quality and quantity of stones.
I showed them to Mack, the campground owner, and after looking at them he said that he had a bottle of opals somewhere and if he could find them he would sell them to me. Then one of the other men standing by said that they might be with that stuff that Bill left. It turns out that the “Bill” he was referring to was an avid rockhound who unexpectedly died a several years back and left Mack with the chore of disposing of his property. Among the items abandoned was a bunch of rough rocks, rock slabs, crystals, geodes, and who knew what else. Bing, bing, bing, treasure jackpot!!!! Mack said that they were buried in a shed and said he would try to drag them out if I was interested in them.
I said “Absolutely” trying not to show how excited I was.
Then one of the other guys said you have been saying that every year since you put them in there. I told Mack that I would bug him every time I saw him until he did it. He laughed and nodded, but made no further commitment.
I saw Mack this morning (Tuesday) and as promised I mentioned the rocks. He indicated that he would dig in the shed this afternoon. I offered my assistance and he said he would let me know. I’ve got my fingers crossed.
AV
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Panthers WIN!!!
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Franklin Panthers win 7 to 6
At 4:30pm it was 62 degrees but the wind was blowing about 15 to 20 which made things a little uncomfortable, but not enough to chase the fans away. By the time the game was over it was in the high fourtys and I was glad I brought my heavy winter coat rather than my leather jacket.
It was a good game the North Bucholm Blackhawks Struck first with 2 runs in the first inning. Then the Panthers came back in the third with a big inning and it was 5 to 2. The Blackhawks tied it in the 5th in inning and then in the last inning pulled ahead 6 to5. However the Panthers were the home team and were last to bat. They tied it with two outs and a runner on second. The last play was the best of the whole game. The batter hit a long ball to the gap in left center. All the guy on second had to do was to run home and Panthers win. Tonight things were not that easy. The runner on second missed the base as he rounded third and stopped to go back then decided for some reason to not go back and just go home. (I guess hoping nobody saw) Now, the left fielder who thought the game was lost began walking to get the ball and casually picked it up and began trotting in. The third base coach was yelling at the runner to go back to third. The runner halfway home turns around and hustles back to third. The coach sees that the fielder is just now picking up the ball sends the runner back home after he tags third. The fielder sees the runner take off and throws the ball in to the plate, but by that time the play wasn’t even close.
The Victors,
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
It got down to 35 degrees last night, but our little Quarts heater that Bobby Shank loaned us, kept us nice and toasty. Once the sun came out and the wind died down the temperature climbed to around 74. I cut a few more stones today and Cutter and I went for a long walk. It turned out to be a chamber of commerce day.
AV
Franklin Panthers win 7 to 6
At 4:30pm it was 62 degrees but the wind was blowing about 15 to 20 which made things a little uncomfortable, but not enough to chase the fans away. By the time the game was over it was in the high fourtys and I was glad I brought my heavy winter coat rather than my leather jacket.
It was a good game the North Bucholm Blackhawks Struck first with 2 runs in the first inning. Then the Panthers came back in the third with a big inning and it was 5 to 2. The Blackhawks tied it in the 5th in inning and then in the last inning pulled ahead 6 to5. However the Panthers were the home team and were last to bat. They tied it with two outs and a runner on second. The last play was the best of the whole game. The batter hit a long ball to the gap in left center. All the guy on second had to do was to run home and Panthers win. Tonight things were not that easy. The runner on second missed the base as he rounded third and stopped to go back then decided for some reason to not go back and just go home. (I guess hoping nobody saw) Now, the left fielder who thought the game was lost began walking to get the ball and casually picked it up and began trotting in. The third base coach was yelling at the runner to go back to third. The runner halfway home turns around and hustles back to third. The coach sees that the fielder is just now picking up the ball sends the runner back home after he tags third. The fielder sees the runner take off and throws the ball in to the plate, but by that time the play wasn’t even close.
The Victors,
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
It got down to 35 degrees last night, but our little Quarts heater that Bobby Shank loaned us, kept us nice and toasty. Once the sun came out and the wind died down the temperature climbed to around 74. I cut a few more stones today and Cutter and I went for a long walk. It turned out to be a chamber of commerce day.
AV
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Mountain Lake
Monday, April 28, 2008
It rained pretty good last night and the temp dropped around 9am about 15 degrees. The river has risen about 8 to 10 inches. Nothing to worry about; however they were telling me about a night three years ago, after the tail end of a hurricane went through, the river rose 10 feet. Most of the campground was under four feet of water and several trailers were lost. A house that was upstream from the campground was washed into the river and 3 people died. I don’t have anything to worry about I’m a good 20 feet above the river so no matter how much it rains I will be high and dry. But it is interesting to see how much more powerful the river is today than yesterday. I wonder what the lower falls looks like today.
I decided to ride the back road up to the lake before it got any colder. It looks like the rain will not be an issue, the river has already started going down by Monday afternoon. The Back road, though pretty, is not as scenic as the Highlands road. The lake is nice, it's at an elevation of around 4000 feet. It was windy when I took these pictures. I bet it really looks nice when the water is glassy.
A valley on the back road was very impressive, but the picture does not give you the depth of the valley and the steepness of the hills.
Thursday, April 29, 2008
The temperature definitely dropped last night it was 38 degrees at 7am. And of course, Cutter needed to do some business with the local flora when we got up. So I rode my bike down to the local grassy strip with my buddy hopping behind me. He must have thought it was a little cool as well, because he wasted no time and was headed back to the trailer.
This evening, if it isn’t too cold, I had planned to go to the last game of the season for the Franklin Panthers High School baseball team. It is supposed to get colder tonight than it did last night, so we will see when the time comes. The Game is at 4:30pm and the temperature has normally been fairly warm in the early evening so I might take a chance.
AV
It rained pretty good last night and the temp dropped around 9am about 15 degrees. The river has risen about 8 to 10 inches. Nothing to worry about; however they were telling me about a night three years ago, after the tail end of a hurricane went through, the river rose 10 feet. Most of the campground was under four feet of water and several trailers were lost. A house that was upstream from the campground was washed into the river and 3 people died. I don’t have anything to worry about I’m a good 20 feet above the river so no matter how much it rains I will be high and dry. But it is interesting to see how much more powerful the river is today than yesterday. I wonder what the lower falls looks like today.
I decided to ride the back road up to the lake before it got any colder. It looks like the rain will not be an issue, the river has already started going down by Monday afternoon. The Back road, though pretty, is not as scenic as the Highlands road. The lake is nice, it's at an elevation of around 4000 feet. It was windy when I took these pictures. I bet it really looks nice when the water is glassy.
A valley on the back road was very impressive, but the picture does not give you the depth of the valley and the steepness of the hills.
Thursday, April 29, 2008
The temperature definitely dropped last night it was 38 degrees at 7am. And of course, Cutter needed to do some business with the local flora when we got up. So I rode my bike down to the local grassy strip with my buddy hopping behind me. He must have thought it was a little cool as well, because he wasted no time and was headed back to the trailer.
This evening, if it isn’t too cold, I had planned to go to the last game of the season for the Franklin Panthers High School baseball team. It is supposed to get colder tonight than it did last night, so we will see when the time comes. The Game is at 4:30pm and the temperature has normally been fairly warm in the early evening so I might take a chance.
AV
Sunday, April 27, 2008
A Change in the weather
Friday April 25, 2008
Sic Fiddy and I went back up Highlands Road to take some more pictures. The river that runs behind my campsite is the “Cullasaja” River (I have no idea how to pronounce it). It is the same river that the road borders up through the mountains. These first pictures show the winding road. I am not sure I would want to pull the trailer over this road. However there were several big trucks that passed me going the other way. But only one was a large trailer type truck and it was hauling logs.
The next picture is the lower Cullasaja Falls. It is the most spectacular of the three falls on the river.
This shot of Dry Falls (so named because you can walk under it and stay dry). It was closed for renovation if the parking facility. But I snuck down to the falls to take these pictures.
Then Sic Fiddy wanted to get under some falls so here he is at Bridal falls.
The loop under the falls was made so that cars could drive under it. However last year a big boulder fell down from there so they put barricades up to close it off. Which someone promptly removed. When Sic Fiddy and I arrived at Bridal falls there was a red Honda getting his picture taken under the falls.
These next shots are of the upper falls.
On the way up we saw a sign that said “Rock Shop” so when we came back down off of the mountain we stopped by Roy Jukes Rock Shop. Roy is older than most of the rocks in his shop, but he is still kickin. We got to talking about stones and he told me his favorite stone to cut was Opal. Cool Beans. We talked for quite awhile about cutting opals until Roy’s voice failed him. I told him about some Ethiopian Opals that I had and he wanted to see them. He showed me some he had but they were a lot different than the ones I had. I told him I would return tomorrow and show them to him. He said he would show me how to put a stone on a dopp stick.
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Went to Roy’s Rock shop and Gave him one of my uncut Ethiopian opals, he showed me how he does his dopping but he wasn’t feeling very well and we made it a short visit. He said I could come back Sunday afternoon if I wanted. I may stop by and see how he is feeling. I told him I would drop off some info on the Ethiopian Opals.
The weather is changing. It has been beautiful for the past 5 or 6 days. Today it rained in the afternoon. I checked the weather forecast and it is supposed to rain most of Sunday and Monday the temperature is supposed to drop into the mid thirties.
Sunday, April 27, 2008
The sky is overcast but it has not rained since yesterday. It is still very comfortable temperature wise. I had planned to run up the mountain to a lake high up on a back road with Sic Fiddy, but I hate riding in the rain. I don’t know if I can trust the rain to hold off while I ride up. We will see. I still have 12 days left to do it before I pick up Jo in Asheville.
AV
Sic Fiddy and I went back up Highlands Road to take some more pictures. The river that runs behind my campsite is the “Cullasaja” River (I have no idea how to pronounce it). It is the same river that the road borders up through the mountains. These first pictures show the winding road. I am not sure I would want to pull the trailer over this road. However there were several big trucks that passed me going the other way. But only one was a large trailer type truck and it was hauling logs.
The next picture is the lower Cullasaja Falls. It is the most spectacular of the three falls on the river.
This shot of Dry Falls (so named because you can walk under it and stay dry). It was closed for renovation if the parking facility. But I snuck down to the falls to take these pictures.
Then Sic Fiddy wanted to get under some falls so here he is at Bridal falls.
The loop under the falls was made so that cars could drive under it. However last year a big boulder fell down from there so they put barricades up to close it off. Which someone promptly removed. When Sic Fiddy and I arrived at Bridal falls there was a red Honda getting his picture taken under the falls.
These next shots are of the upper falls.
On the way up we saw a sign that said “Rock Shop” so when we came back down off of the mountain we stopped by Roy Jukes Rock Shop. Roy is older than most of the rocks in his shop, but he is still kickin. We got to talking about stones and he told me his favorite stone to cut was Opal. Cool Beans. We talked for quite awhile about cutting opals until Roy’s voice failed him. I told him about some Ethiopian Opals that I had and he wanted to see them. He showed me some he had but they were a lot different than the ones I had. I told him I would return tomorrow and show them to him. He said he would show me how to put a stone on a dopp stick.
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Went to Roy’s Rock shop and Gave him one of my uncut Ethiopian opals, he showed me how he does his dopping but he wasn’t feeling very well and we made it a short visit. He said I could come back Sunday afternoon if I wanted. I may stop by and see how he is feeling. I told him I would drop off some info on the Ethiopian Opals.
The weather is changing. It has been beautiful for the past 5 or 6 days. Today it rained in the afternoon. I checked the weather forecast and it is supposed to rain most of Sunday and Monday the temperature is supposed to drop into the mid thirties.
Sunday, April 27, 2008
The sky is overcast but it has not rained since yesterday. It is still very comfortable temperature wise. I had planned to run up the mountain to a lake high up on a back road with Sic Fiddy, but I hate riding in the rain. I don’t know if I can trust the rain to hold off while I ride up. We will see. I still have 12 days left to do it before I pick up Jo in Asheville.
AV
Thursday, April 24, 2008
The road to Highlands
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Cutter and I had to go to the bank and the closest Bank of America is in a little town called Highlands, NC. According to folks around here that is where the rich people live. Well we drove there today and the road to get there is one of the prettiest that I have seen so far. It is very narrow in places and you are hanging on the side of the mountain but the natural beauty is something else.
A small falls along Highway 64 / 28.
See the road in the upper left corner.
The city of Highlands itself is about as quaint as a small town can get. All of the stores have that country mountain look even the Ace Hardware has the down home look. The streets are neat and clean, no dilapidated buildings or anything in need of repair was evident.
The view of Highland City Limits coming from Franklin
Main street
Me and sic fiddy are going back on the road to Highlands tomorrow and take some more pictures. There were not many places where I could pull the truck over and stop without blocking the road.
PS. Happy Birthday to my seeester. (female sibling)
Cutter and I had to go to the bank and the closest Bank of America is in a little town called Highlands, NC. According to folks around here that is where the rich people live. Well we drove there today and the road to get there is one of the prettiest that I have seen so far. It is very narrow in places and you are hanging on the side of the mountain but the natural beauty is something else.
A small falls along Highway 64 / 28.
See the road in the upper left corner.
The city of Highlands itself is about as quaint as a small town can get. All of the stores have that country mountain look even the Ace Hardware has the down home look. The streets are neat and clean, no dilapidated buildings or anything in need of repair was evident.
The view of Highland City Limits coming from Franklin
Main street
Me and sic fiddy are going back on the road to Highlands tomorrow and take some more pictures. There were not many places where I could pull the truck over and stop without blocking the road.
PS. Happy Birthday to my seeester. (female sibling)
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Good weather ahead
Sunday, April 20, 2008
It’s 2:33 am and I am half asleep when I roll over and I glance out the window and a street light is shinning in my face. I think, “I don’t remember a street light outside the camper.” Then I’m thinking, “Wait a minute, that street light is over the river, oop’s, full moon”. The full moon is so bright it hurts my eyes to look at it. I would have gone outside and looked around except that it was 40 degrees. As beautiful as it was I closed the blinds and went back to sleep.
Later that day, when the sun had come up and the temperature had risen about 30 degrees, I drug out my lapidary tools (stone cutting and polishing equipment). This is the first time I have used this type of equipment and some of the classes that I am taking at William Holland School will use this kind if machinery.
Pixie Lapidary machine
10 inch Diamond saw
So I sorted through some of the stones that I brought with me and decided to practice, so that I would have some experience on it before I walk into the classroom. I cut these stones and have worked them up to the pre-polished stage.
The five across the bottom are opals. In the photo it's hard to see the fire in the stones, especially the dark ones.
I haven’t read the instructions so I am not sure about the polishing procedures, plus I have to put the cut stones on dopp sticks it make them more manageable for polishing. A dopp stick is a round wooden dowel that holds the stone on by the use of a hard wax that is melted and adheres the stone to the end. This is another procedure that I have never done, plus I don’t have the right type of alcohol to melt the wax with. I think I will wait to get to the school to do the dopp sticks and the polishing.
I am afraid that these stones show just how much of a novice I am at this endeavor. But a guy has to start somewhere. Besides I’m having fun. I have chosen fairly small inexpensive stones to start with. Pictures don’t show the true beauty of the stones but until they come up with a better process this is the best I can do. When you cut stone you have to run water over the wheels to keep the stone from building up too much heat and breaking. So when my fingers thaw out I will get on the computer and post this on my blog.
Monday, April 21, 2008
It is still too cold to lay on the ground and adjust Cazee’s brakes so I plan to take Sic Fiddy into town and pick up a few items then perhaps cut a couple of more stones later in the day.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Wow what a beautiful day, I mentioned earlier in my blog that the Dogwood trees are in bloom. Now the wild flowers are popping up all over and make wonderful splashes of color on the otherwise drab landscape.
Most of the trees are showing tiny bits of green but it will be several more weeks before they have enough foliage to affect the overall look of the stark landscape.
The weather has cooperated and it is sufficiently warm to allow me to comfortably crawl around on the ground and adjust Cazee’s brakes, which I completed around three this afternoon. Now I think Cazee will be able to help Lyca navigate down these treacherous slopes. I will test the brakes before deciding which rout to take back to Young Harris, GA. There is a longer route that does not have the steep climb and decent but it will add to the time and fuel expended. We will see how the trailer brakes perform then I will decide.
The afternoon was young so I cut a few more stones. These came out somewhat better than my earlier attempts.
I especially like the long angular one. The person who sold it to me said it was Hickoryite. I had never heard of this stone before so I looked it up on line. It goes by several other names, Wonderstone, Elixiriye and Rhyolite. I think it has some nice colors. It will be interesting to wire wrap this piece. I think it could make a really nice pendant.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Another great day, the temperature is supposed to get into the 80’s, but it still gets pretty cold at night, however all I have to do is close up and we are cozy.
Cutter and I went Gem Mining today. Cutter was the only one to find anything. He found a bunch of dog adoring gem mining families. I found zip. I’m not to impressed with the “MINING” operations here. They are not very productive and most of the mines salt there dirt. (Salting means; adding attractive, non local and virtually worthless stones to the piles of dirt, so that you actually get something when you sift through your bucket. They call it enriching.) I call it lame. However it was an enjoyable time at the mine, but I didn’t strike it rich. I guess I will have to rely on the Lottery. Now there is a real opportunity to strike it rich.
Right behind our camp site is a wooden deck that stands about 20 feet above the river and that is where cutter and I usually have our meals unless it is too cold.
We get great seats and we don’t even have to tip the may-tra-de (French, for head waiter guy).
AV
It’s 2:33 am and I am half asleep when I roll over and I glance out the window and a street light is shinning in my face. I think, “I don’t remember a street light outside the camper.” Then I’m thinking, “Wait a minute, that street light is over the river, oop’s, full moon”. The full moon is so bright it hurts my eyes to look at it. I would have gone outside and looked around except that it was 40 degrees. As beautiful as it was I closed the blinds and went back to sleep.
Later that day, when the sun had come up and the temperature had risen about 30 degrees, I drug out my lapidary tools (stone cutting and polishing equipment). This is the first time I have used this type of equipment and some of the classes that I am taking at William Holland School will use this kind if machinery.
Pixie Lapidary machine
10 inch Diamond saw
So I sorted through some of the stones that I brought with me and decided to practice, so that I would have some experience on it before I walk into the classroom. I cut these stones and have worked them up to the pre-polished stage.
The five across the bottom are opals. In the photo it's hard to see the fire in the stones, especially the dark ones.
I haven’t read the instructions so I am not sure about the polishing procedures, plus I have to put the cut stones on dopp sticks it make them more manageable for polishing. A dopp stick is a round wooden dowel that holds the stone on by the use of a hard wax that is melted and adheres the stone to the end. This is another procedure that I have never done, plus I don’t have the right type of alcohol to melt the wax with. I think I will wait to get to the school to do the dopp sticks and the polishing.
I am afraid that these stones show just how much of a novice I am at this endeavor. But a guy has to start somewhere. Besides I’m having fun. I have chosen fairly small inexpensive stones to start with. Pictures don’t show the true beauty of the stones but until they come up with a better process this is the best I can do. When you cut stone you have to run water over the wheels to keep the stone from building up too much heat and breaking. So when my fingers thaw out I will get on the computer and post this on my blog.
Monday, April 21, 2008
It is still too cold to lay on the ground and adjust Cazee’s brakes so I plan to take Sic Fiddy into town and pick up a few items then perhaps cut a couple of more stones later in the day.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Wow what a beautiful day, I mentioned earlier in my blog that the Dogwood trees are in bloom. Now the wild flowers are popping up all over and make wonderful splashes of color on the otherwise drab landscape.
Most of the trees are showing tiny bits of green but it will be several more weeks before they have enough foliage to affect the overall look of the stark landscape.
The weather has cooperated and it is sufficiently warm to allow me to comfortably crawl around on the ground and adjust Cazee’s brakes, which I completed around three this afternoon. Now I think Cazee will be able to help Lyca navigate down these treacherous slopes. I will test the brakes before deciding which rout to take back to Young Harris, GA. There is a longer route that does not have the steep climb and decent but it will add to the time and fuel expended. We will see how the trailer brakes perform then I will decide.
The afternoon was young so I cut a few more stones. These came out somewhat better than my earlier attempts.
I especially like the long angular one. The person who sold it to me said it was Hickoryite. I had never heard of this stone before so I looked it up on line. It goes by several other names, Wonderstone, Elixiriye and Rhyolite. I think it has some nice colors. It will be interesting to wire wrap this piece. I think it could make a really nice pendant.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Another great day, the temperature is supposed to get into the 80’s, but it still gets pretty cold at night, however all I have to do is close up and we are cozy.
Cutter and I went Gem Mining today. Cutter was the only one to find anything. He found a bunch of dog adoring gem mining families. I found zip. I’m not to impressed with the “MINING” operations here. They are not very productive and most of the mines salt there dirt. (Salting means; adding attractive, non local and virtually worthless stones to the piles of dirt, so that you actually get something when you sift through your bucket. They call it enriching.) I call it lame. However it was an enjoyable time at the mine, but I didn’t strike it rich. I guess I will have to rely on the Lottery. Now there is a real opportunity to strike it rich.
Right behind our camp site is a wooden deck that stands about 20 feet above the river and that is where cutter and I usually have our meals unless it is too cold.
We get great seats and we don’t even have to tip the may-tra-de (French, for head waiter guy).
AV
Saturday, April 19, 2008
Off to Franklin NC
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Sic Fiddy and I went into Thomaston to pick a spare battery for my cell phone. The air was crisp and cold on my face, my jacket kept me warm, but my cheeks got numb. It was still a nice ride.
I cleaned up around Cazee and made preliminary preparations to break camp.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Left Martha’s around 9am and headed north on 27 to Rome then 411 to the Zell Miller Pkwy (515) into Morganton where we camped at Whispering pines CG.
It is a fairly nice campground with all new electrical circuits and plumbing. The entrance road is steep, however it is paved. The campground boarders on a small picturesque stream.
Friday, April 18, 2008
The team continued on the north Zell Miller Pkwy into Young Harris, GA. We stopped at The William Holland School to drop off some donation items and to get my schedule straightened out. I checked out the camping facilities at the school and found them sparse and small. I may decide to camp somewhere local and commute to school.
Having finished my business at the school I continued north to Franklin NC. Along the way there were several scenic pull-offs, Cutter and I stopped so I could take in the exceptional sights and Cutter could take in the exceptional variety of smells from past animal visitors. You would think a dog would eventually run out of pee to mark territory with but Cutter seems to have a reserve tank hidden somewhere.
This drive proved to be the first test of Lyca’s ability to pull Cazee. The route that I chose included hwy 64 in North Carolina there is a section of this road that goes up and over a box canyon that ends in a mountain climb that took a lot of effort, often Lyca down shifted to work his way up the slope. At times we were in low gear, thirty miles an hour at 4000 rpm. Lyca stayed cool and though it was work, made it to the top. Once at the top we started coasting down the steep 8% grade. New problem, I found I had to keep riding the brakes to keep from gaining too much speed. Even though I had just replaced the brake pads on Cazee, I discovered yesterday that I had not adjusted them properly and they were only partially adding to the stopping power available, so Lyca was doing 90% of the work to retard what was becoming a 25,000 pound meteor. Lyca’s brakes were getting hot, to the point that I could smell them, luckily there was a pull-off and we stopped to cool down. Slowly pull-off by pull-off we worked out way down. At the first opportunity you can bet I will readjust Cazee’s brakes.
We pulled into Franklin about 1:00pm and checked into the Old Corundum Mill Campground. Where they put us next to the small river at what I felt was one of the most attractive sites that they had and the park was almost full.
It appears that most campers here park there trailers here year round and just come up during season, a vacation home of sorts.
Anyway it is beautiful here and I will be here three weeks, until May 11, when Jo will join me and we will go back to William Holland School. I may take a different route rather than hwy 64. I bet we used 5 gallons of gas getting up that hill. At today’s prices that’s almost twenty bucks.
There is one problem with this campsite, no cell or internet reception. My cousin Billy tried to call me but it was all broken up. I will go into Franklin tomorrow and see if I can find a signal booster. At the very least I will find a Wi-Fi connection and get my e-mail. I will probably be able to make calls from there also.
I purchased an antenna in Franklin and I am connected and back online even down in the hole where the Old Corundum campground is. I am posting this blog with the new antenna and my phone also works as long as it is connected to the antenna.
Later
AV
Sic Fiddy and I went into Thomaston to pick a spare battery for my cell phone. The air was crisp and cold on my face, my jacket kept me warm, but my cheeks got numb. It was still a nice ride.
I cleaned up around Cazee and made preliminary preparations to break camp.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Left Martha’s around 9am and headed north on 27 to Rome then 411 to the Zell Miller Pkwy (515) into Morganton where we camped at Whispering pines CG.
It is a fairly nice campground with all new electrical circuits and plumbing. The entrance road is steep, however it is paved. The campground boarders on a small picturesque stream.
Friday, April 18, 2008
The team continued on the north Zell Miller Pkwy into Young Harris, GA. We stopped at The William Holland School to drop off some donation items and to get my schedule straightened out. I checked out the camping facilities at the school and found them sparse and small. I may decide to camp somewhere local and commute to school.
Having finished my business at the school I continued north to Franklin NC. Along the way there were several scenic pull-offs, Cutter and I stopped so I could take in the exceptional sights and Cutter could take in the exceptional variety of smells from past animal visitors. You would think a dog would eventually run out of pee to mark territory with but Cutter seems to have a reserve tank hidden somewhere.
This drive proved to be the first test of Lyca’s ability to pull Cazee. The route that I chose included hwy 64 in North Carolina there is a section of this road that goes up and over a box canyon that ends in a mountain climb that took a lot of effort, often Lyca down shifted to work his way up the slope. At times we were in low gear, thirty miles an hour at 4000 rpm. Lyca stayed cool and though it was work, made it to the top. Once at the top we started coasting down the steep 8% grade. New problem, I found I had to keep riding the brakes to keep from gaining too much speed. Even though I had just replaced the brake pads on Cazee, I discovered yesterday that I had not adjusted them properly and they were only partially adding to the stopping power available, so Lyca was doing 90% of the work to retard what was becoming a 25,000 pound meteor. Lyca’s brakes were getting hot, to the point that I could smell them, luckily there was a pull-off and we stopped to cool down. Slowly pull-off by pull-off we worked out way down. At the first opportunity you can bet I will readjust Cazee’s brakes.
We pulled into Franklin about 1:00pm and checked into the Old Corundum Mill Campground. Where they put us next to the small river at what I felt was one of the most attractive sites that they had and the park was almost full.
It appears that most campers here park there trailers here year round and just come up during season, a vacation home of sorts.
Anyway it is beautiful here and I will be here three weeks, until May 11, when Jo will join me and we will go back to William Holland School. I may take a different route rather than hwy 64. I bet we used 5 gallons of gas getting up that hill. At today’s prices that’s almost twenty bucks.
There is one problem with this campsite, no cell or internet reception. My cousin Billy tried to call me but it was all broken up. I will go into Franklin tomorrow and see if I can find a signal booster. At the very least I will find a Wi-Fi connection and get my e-mail. I will probably be able to make calls from there also.
I purchased an antenna in Franklin and I am connected and back online even down in the hole where the Old Corundum campground is. I am posting this blog with the new antenna and my phone also works as long as it is connected to the antenna.
Later
AV
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