Not Much Left

Really. There isn't.

A Fun and Relaxing Party

Over the weekend, my sister and bother-in-law celebrated their 23rd year marriage anniversary by having a party. They've been married for quite some time and their relationship is still going strong, I'm happy to tell. They invited me and most of our friends to the grill out/bonfire party and some were able to come while some were unable to attend.

In any case, we had a fun, relaxing time. No one got too drunk and fell in the fire this time. In fact, no one got hurt at all. Must be a record. lol.

Below, you'll find a 60 year old bicycle that my brother-in-law received as a gift. It was made by Bridgestone, of the Bridgestone Tire Company, which is owned by Japan. They only made so many of these bikes in limited edition and it was state of the art during the time.

Whitney the dog having some fun attacking the turkey and being attacked by the turkey. Don't worry. No animals were harmed and there wasn't any betting going on.

Here's a video of the dog and turkey playing around with each other. Turn up the volume to hear our "witty" banter during the animal grudge match.

Here are some baby chicks at my sister's farm. I thought this was a neat shot.

The sun sets, creating a sky of pink and blue hues, rippled in layers of clouds beyond the many trees. It's a tranquil setting. A place where you can breathe in the fresh country air and feel at peace.

Clifty Falls State Park (part 1)

I took so many great pictures during our trip to Clifty Falls State Park over the weekend, I have to split them up into two posts.

Clifty Falls features a park rife with waterfalls, trails to hike and absolutely beautiful scenery. The following are shots of scenes we enjoyed at lookout points during our travel in this substantially sized park. My wife, my friend and I spent a relaxing, yet fun filled day while here. If you wish to hear about a few of the good times we had, click this link.

The Parks Are Quickly Thawing Out

My friend, Steve and my wife went to one of the state parks, Saturday and had a nice time. The temperature, for the first time in over two months, began closing in on 50 degrees (F). It felt so good not to be shivering for once and to be able to travel from our place without driving on ice or snow-covered roads. We joked around and had a wonderful time.

Instead of our park lake in the back of our place being totally encased in ice, everything was melting to the point where you could see the gazebo and the lake.

Don't ask me what this is supposed to be. We found this "snow creature" off to the side of the road inside the state park. My friend thought it resembled a fox. I thought maybe they, whoever they were, were trying to build a elephant that could walk on two legs or a wombat. Whatever it was, they gave it a walking stick, leafs for eyes and a green thing on it's head.

After leaving the park, we enjoyed the rest of the day, telling stories, sharing jokes and listening to Pink Floyd and The Who in the CD player. It seemed the improving weather had improved our spirits. Funny how that is.

Christmas Scenery Around Town

When my wife and I lived in town, one of our favorite traditions, during the Christmas season, would be to go walk along the sidewalks in town to look at the decorations and the store that featured animatronic holiday figures that moved about and sang. It's best to see all of it during evening hours, all lit up.

This feature, plus the bonus of living so close to the river and taking the scenery of that were probably the only two things I liked about living in the downtown area. Well, that and being able to walk to the grocery store without having to drive. :)

Yes, that is a Christmas tree (above) sitting in the middle of a four way stop in the middle of the town's busiest area. It tends to create havoc when you're trying to drive around it while you're trying your darnedest to not crash into other cars or a fire hydrant but it sure is pretty to look at, at night. Heh heh.

The Panda & Penguin Band are getting down and shaking loose. They'll be signing autographs after the show.

The next two pictures are of the Tunnel of Lights. There's no need to drink or "whatever" to enjoy walking through the "Tunnel" to enhance the fun of the activity but you may do so if you wish. Just don't let the town cops see you smiling! They don't like that.

I hope all of you have a very Merry Christmas or Happy Kwanzaa this year. Ho! Ho! Ho!

Winter Wonderland Festival

Every other weekend during this time of year, one town in my area has what they call a "Winter Wonderland Festival".

Each festival will have different events, like skating or musicians coming to town to play and so on.

Last weekend, they had some pretty cool things going on. Huge tents were set up that housed booths where you could get hot chocolate, chili, home crafted Christmas wreaths and other holiday items. One booth featured ice sculpting. Yet another had a gifted glass blower who would create ornaments and holiday figures made of glass in front of you. You could ask for something specific to be made and he would do it.

Below, you'll find a few choice scenes of the festival that included reindeer, barrel train rides, a trolley and the town's Christmas tree.

The Trip To Red River Gorge (part two)

Continuing from the previous post.... After my wife, friend and I easily walked the quarter mile trail to Sky Bridge, we were greeted with some amazing scenery. You had to be cautious while walking on the natural rock bridge or you could fall and quite possibly die. No railing around. As long as you're careful, you can really enjoy the sights.

Iron ore can be found embedded inside the bridge. Click the pic to enlarge. And yes, that's my shadow. :)

(As for that dude up above, to the left) I'm not sure I'd want to stand where he's standing. And check out the graffiti that's been carved into the rock, below. It's everywhere- even on the edges of the bridge.

Yep, this is the Mrs. and I.

This is a really good map of Red River Gorge and all the trails scattered and connected within the area.

Now, in the following shot, we're on the way to the Nada Tunnel. The Nada Tunnel is a 12' by 12' tunnel, open to only one lane of traffic. Nada Tunnel and the community of Nada were named for the Dana Lumber Company. In the early 1900s, a logging company built the tunnel so they could haul logs out of the Red River Gorge by railroad.

The Nada Tunnel. We had to wait quite a long time to get to the point where we could go through it, but once we did, it was cool. We were surrounded by bronze colored rock as we drove through it and it was pretty neat. Every sound was amplified.

This is the Hemlock Lodge. We ate supper here before making the trip back home. The pic after this, shows what's behind and down below the lodge/restaurant. Standing over the lodge's long balcony, you'll find a golf course, a small track, a lake and a place for dancing and celebrating.

The Trip To Red River Gorge (part one)

My wife, my friend, Steve and I took a two and a half hour trip to Red River Gorge a couple weeks ago. It's located in east-central Kentucky and boasts a bounty of beautiful, unique flora, sandstone arches, limestone cliffs, ridges, waterfalls and natural rock bridges.

There's tons of things you can do there like kayaking in the Red River through the canyon, rock climbing, hiking, camping, fishing and so much more. You can also get eaten by a bear if you're not careful. Check out one of the signs posted below.

My friend, Steve and I have camped down there about half a dozen times. No matter what season it is, the Gorge is always a fantastic site to experience. The first time I went down there with Steve, more than twenty years ago, we camped out on the edge of a cliff after hiking up mountains all day with another friend's pet German Shepherd. It was tough going, carrying the German Shepherd half the time because of the steep terrain we climbed, but it was worth it in end. We drank ourselves silly with some of the moonshine the natives gave to us.*

*Hic

Here, you can see we enjoyed a little picnic. No moonshine this time around. :)

Beautiful, isn't it?

This is the trail leading to Sky Bridge. Sky Bridge is just one of many natural rock bridges at Red River Gorge. When you walk across it, you have to be careful or you can fall off either side and possibly die. The scenery is beautiful from there.

I have pictures of Sky Bridge, plus a whole lot more coming up in part 2 of our trip.