Planning West Coast Trip

Out of curiosity I checked to see how expensive it would be to have my Ford crew cab shipped from the west coast to Atlanta in February. I have no intention of driving back to the east coast whatsoever. 3,000 miles is enough and I've never been on a coast to coast train before either.

Suprisingly quotes to ship the truck are around $ 1,000. I thought it would be more than double that. Transit time is 7-10 days, but I'm not sure where the start place would be yet. Phoenix, LA, San Diego, or San Jose.

The Train Trip!

I'm tempted to go off the wagon...hehe. Sounds like a blast but leave the smokes behind:( Actually there are many stops where I can smoke as many as needed. Two options.

1- TO Chicago, Washington DC, then Atlanta
2- TO New Orleans then to Atlanta

Let's say the departure date is February 23. Going out of Tucson the start would be 2:20 AM (Yuk)I guess pasenger trains don't run into Phoenix.

1- I've been along this route before. Quite a bit of it follows Interstate 10. Timewise it's shorter along with cost. Arrive New Orleans the following day at 4PM(36 hours) Transfer to another train that leaves out of ...Forget that, see pic.

2- New country to see! Well almost. I would rather go through the Rockies. Never been to Chicago either. Probably colder than ...that time of the year.

Another option. Leave from Northern Cal after the Pebble Beach ProAm and really go through the Rockies! Not sure how much I would enjoy being on a train for five days though. Actually five transfers. Hmmn, Looks like the snow prohibits that particular route during the winter. I'll have to keep digging, otherwise it wants to take me up to Washington state and across the northern US border that includes a long bus ride as well.

View the lodging arrangements....tiny, tiny cabins.

http://www.amtrak.com/trainTour/superlinerSLEEPER_CONTROLLER.html

Peak Foliage Season

But I will miss the best part of it as I'm going to Florida for about ten days. Red and white oaks are just beginning to turn. Anyway, some photos taken around the area and at home. Several pictures were taken at the post office offering some great color.

515 looking north from the main intersection.

Here's something different. Again at the post office; orange berries.

Early Winter Temperatures

I wondered if I'd be freezing my begeemas off when the temps dropped under 30 degrees. Having lived in Florida since 1980 I had concerns I'd be sitting in front of the wood burning stove all day long. Not so! But this is unusually cold weather looking back at historical numbers.

How will I feel two months from now at the end of January? Oh...forget that, I'll be in warm sunny Arizona then Southern California. I don't plan on returning until Late February when it appears things start to warm up here in the hills.

7:12 AM today...


The local weather station on the right side of this page doesn't show the actual temperatures where I am. This time of the year temps are about 4-5 degrees cooler while in the summer months about eight. Adding to the confusion is the larger thermometer. It typically reads 4 degrees cooler than the smaller one behind it (the accurate one), but it's handy to have when I don't feel like venturing out before sunrise.

The Wunderground Amicalola falls weather station(apprx 10 miles east) provides more accurate readings; very similar to my little area than others.

Looking back over the last two December months, numbers don't look too bad. At least it's not your dreary northeast type of weather, but there are some cold starts here and there. Temperatures do warm up quickly once the sun appears. Coincidentally I have been surprised to see so many sunny days this year, but as Mom told me "...you're in the south."

Looks like I can squeeze in some golf late in the year.

Why Not? Another Path Project

It's not often I get into the east side (bottom right on illustration) of the property because of the overgrowth during the summer months, but after looking at it yesterday I thought...this would really look nice. A small walkway of railroad ties and gravel leading up to the driveway from the bottom near the creek. A nice flat area along the creek exists with a small waterfall created by a fallen log. Perhaps a resting place of some sort.

I grabbed my property plat from the local county website and sketched some details providing a better idea where stuff lies in relation to the rest of the property. Unfortunately Blogger likes to turn all images into JPEGs so the clarity may be spoiled a bit. Dimensions of the property run near 600 lineal feet along the creek. Total acreage is 4.16 acres.

Anyway, this would be a large project due the steep slope from the creek bottom to the driveway shown along the property line on the right (above). Adding to the complexity are large boulders and tree roots everywhere. Elevation from the creek to the driveway could be twenty feet over a span of 100 feet. Start area on driveway will be at the start of the fencing.

The next pic is an example I found while looking through Google images. The steps will not be that wide but more on like 30-36 inch width in most areas. Those danged railroad ties are impossible to lug around in one full eight foot section. I'll just have the Lowes guy drop a bunch of them at the top of the path where I can cut and roll them down the hill. How to cut them is a dilemma. My chainsaw dulls too quickly with these things.

Halloween Pics From Around Town

I haven't seen these kind of Halloween displays in years! Walking about the town square yesterday morning I gathered these pictures of decorations from local shop owners.

Red Maple Fall Leaf Color Changes

Red Maples offer the most impressive color change in my opinion. I've been watching this set of maples near an apple house a few miles away on 52. The colors have stuck in my mind since last fall. The red Maple is at peak while a sugar Maple is beginning to take shape and will become a brilliant yellow.
Another...
Another Sugar Maple closeup...View overlooking a pasture with Maples being predominant.
Maybe it's not a Red maple but a Scarlet Red Maple?

Here's a great source of foliage activity in state parks. The source seems to be very current.

Wood Heat - Wood Burning Stove

I am quite surprised how much heat this little stove puts off in the cabin. Temperatures barely barely rose above 50 Friday accompanied by a steady and chilly soaking rain. Within six hours the heat from the fire took the temperature from 65 degrees to 74. Now I regret having the tree guys haul off most of what they cut down a year and a half ago.

I'm left with a small woodpile that probably won't last two weeks if I keep the wood burning stove going throughout the day in the winter months. The good news is I've had this on my mind and have plenty of fallen trees on the propety that need cleaning up. It's my way of staying in shape this winter.

Cohutta Mountains & Highway 52

My trip to Dalton took a different route. Instead of a more standard route on highway 282 that eventually leads into Chatsworth, highway 52 goes west of Ellijay into the Cohutta Mountains to an elevation of nearly 4,000 feet. I thought I would see more pronounced fall foliage at the higher elevation, but not much of a difference was seen.

Considering I know very little of the surrounding area I never know what I'll run into. I really don't investigate before any trip either. I just prefer to go for it and see what it has to offer. First stop was the Cohutta Overlook. Pictures never explain the awe of actually being there, but shown are some examples.

The next surprise was the Cohutta Lodge and Restaurant near the peak. Views are near similar to the ones shown above. The area has much to offer and reminded me of a resort in the Poconos I stayed at a few times as a kid. Definately not as grand, but offers horseback riding, an indoor pool, and cabins scattered about but absent of chipmunks.

More pics coming down the mountain. Some color here and there.

Sometimes You Have To Wonder

Short story today...gravel being delivered.

What's wrong with this picture? The driver has yet to get out of his truck.

Guesses?

No tailgate!! I could not believe this. This guy drove ten miles from the plant including one mile up and down my weathered bumpy road. I could only imagine how much rock was left in his wake. Wow! Talk about some liability issues. He claimed somebody else broke the tailgate off last week. So they've been riding this truck all over the county since.

Yes there were small piles of rock here and there leading up my gravel road.

Next.

Um, I kinda wanted it centered so it would line up with the flagstone walkway. Something about not being able to get the level in between the block and steps to check for plumb. It was fixed.

I'm off to Dalton, Georgia (50 miles west of here) for a few days to catch up with some flooring inspectors. The event is a flooring inspectors convention. Many of these folks I have never met; only knowing them from internet message boards over the years. Should be interesting.