Lumpkin's Little Grand Canyon

The kids went back to school today and Elizabeth and I returned to our Friday road trips. We decided to start with a longer one. We planned out a trip to Providence Canyon in Lumpkin GA, also known as The Little Grand Canyon. We took 27 down from LaGrange, through Columbus and pretty much right to the front gate of the park. It was 100 miles down and 100 miles back. I pulled the sled into the garage with 200.1 new miles on it.

The trip down was uneventful, but I did discover that I never want to be behind a chicken truck on a motorcycle. The smell was horrendous and gave me flashbacks of the chicken coops of my youth (I loved my youth but I don't like chickens).


There are many hikes there and we decided on the relatively easy 3.1 mile trek through the canyon and then up along the ridge. I was in jeans and my Doc Martins, so I wasn't really dressed for distance summer hiking in Georgia.

Below is one of the stream beds on the bottom.

There are a few old cars out along the path that the woods have claimed as their own. We were down here a year or so ago and it seemed like the vehicles have decayed exponentially since our last visit. It is hard for me to take a color picture of a rusted out car body in the middle of the woods - it has black & white written all over it. I've started exploring with this medium and the pictures may be rough for awhile - sorry. Most are too light - these are on the dark side.

This is Elizabeth along the ridge, followed by a sweaty picture of myself. The path way along the ridge has progressed further away from the ledge over time because of the unstable ground. The view is still spectacular but is slowly getting lost among the growing underbrush. I imagine it was awesome 10-20 years ago.

We left in the morning around 8:00 and the weather channel website said 65F. Elizabeth and I were wearing our leather jackets and were still a little cool during certain shaded parts of the trip. On the trip back we passed a sign saying the temperature was 98F. The leather was still protecting us but, Man, was it hot. When it is that hot, even the wind at 60 doesn't to much to cool you down.

East to Zebulon

The day was open, the weather was perfect and I knew that I was on call next weekend. After staring at the map for a good 30 minutes, I finally asked Elizabeth which direction she wanted to head in - North, South, East or West. She said that we don't normally go East, so that is where we went.

It took us awhile to get through LaGrange, but things opened up nicely once we got past the exits for 85 and headed into the country. As there was no destination and only a direction, we just cruised and enjoyed the day and held our breath as we passed the occasional carnage being cleaned up by the vultures. At one point we passed about 8 on the ground and 3 in the air taking care of an opossum on the half shell.

As we were riding I found my destination - Zebulon. A small town with a memorable name.

We'd been riding for about an hour when I spotted a gazebo to stop at and enjoy that thermos of coffee that we'd brought along. As we sat and enjoyed our brew, we watched the many other bikes out enjoying the day.

We reached our destination and Elizabeth graciously took my picture to show that we successfully completed our journey.

We took a side road on the way home and ended up in Warm Springs where we walked around for awhile before heading back home.

Great South Harley Davidson 2nd Anniversary

The temperatures have been close to 100F for the past couple weeks and I was expecting the heat to get the best of me this day. It ended up being hot but it did not negatively affect the day in anyway. Dylan and I took the back roads up to Newnan and I fell in love with riding all over again. The whole experience was great - temperature, roads, scenery, etc.





We got to the dealership ready to eat. There was a band playing, outside booths, lots of folks and a slew of bikes. After digging into the hamburgers, hot dogs, potato chips, soda and water we found a shady spot to enjoy the spoils.



After the dealership, we headed up to Ashley Park so the girls could go shopping and we could enjoy a hot cup of coffee.


Elizabeth, the boys and myself sat outside of Barnes & Noble visiting with a cup of joe while the girls went from store to store.


Then we went home. The day didn't result in any great stories but it the simplicity of enjoying the outside and relaxing with my family left me completely satisfied and content.

Ride For Literacy

On June 20th Jessie Ann and I got up before everyone else in the house and went into town for the 2nd annual Ride for Literacy. The ride took us down to Warm Springs, through Pine Mountain and back to Loyd Presbyterian for burgers.

This is Jessie Ann by the bike getting ready for the trip

We had a police escort on the journey and the lead bikes blocked traffic as we went through intersections and then jumped into the back of the line.


Abate was also hosting a ride and party in Warm Springs so bikes were everywhere when we got there. We saw some really nice older bikes, custom bikes, choppers and other such toys.


We ended back in LaGrange where we stuffed ourselves with good food and company. After lunch I made for our air conditioned house because the temperatures have been around 100F this week and the bike's air conditioning just doesn't cut it at that temperature.

Back to Horseshoe Bend

Saturday June 6th we got back to Horseshoe bend with the crew. Dylan and I rode the bike and the rest of the crew took the cage. Prior to starting the hike we had our snacks and we were off.


The last time Elizabeth and I didn't have time to walk the trail so got there early in order to have plenty of time. Along the way there were stops explaining the different sites.


I really need to blog these after doing them because I'm a blank. I do remember the nice bridges along the walking path - as seen below.


If you notice the two tiny white spots to the left of the sign, you will see Jessie Ann and Dylan doing a little reenactment.


After the hike we saw a movie explaining the history of the park and I unsuccessfully fought sleep. Then we went down the road a bit and ate lunch next to the river.


There was a beautiful river but the kids found a much nicer place to hang out and film cars going by.


Here is a not so good picture of me, but one of me doesn't show up often so I thought I'd throw it in. Besides, I shaved and I miss my crazy mustache.


The ladies looking at turtles in the river. One of them grabbed Dylan and they were concerned that he may not be able to make the return trip.

For the record, Dylan made it home but he was wet so he rode in the cage and Jessie Ann went with me.

The Mother's Day Honeysuckle Run

For Mother's Day Elizabeth wanted to take a hike at Cheaha State Park. This is a great time for this hike because the hydrangea flowers are all blooming along the path. I also had the pleasure of smelling the honeysuckle flowers the entire trip up and back - real good stuff. Terence and I took the bike and the rest of the crew went in the cage.


As we got closer to the park, the sky got darker. We had checked weather three days ago and everything looked fine and we were hoping that it hadn't changed. This is a picture on the top of the mountain and you can see the dark & windy sky.

Here is a nice scenic shot that Sarah Joy took.

Everyone but Dylan and his friend, Draven, in poser shots.

At the bottom of the mountain is a small lake for swimming, playground, bathrooms, and picnic area. We let the crew relax a bit and we ate snacks before headin' back up.



This is us back at the top of the mountain heading back to the car to enjoy the meal that Elizabeth prepared for us.



We did one more walk before dropping Draven off at his parents, who were camping in the park that weekend.

This walk is a wooden walkway that leads to a nice overlook.

We visited with Daven's family for a bit before hittin' the road.