George's Birthday - March 9, 2013

On March 8-10, 2013,  George and I spent his Birthday Weekend near Fort Payne, Alabama.  On Friday,  we visited the Little River Canyon area.  Click HERE for more information on the area.  Then, on Saturday and Sunday,  we visited DeSoto State Park.  Click HERE for information about this wonderful state park.

Our goal (other than to just have fun) was to see lots of waterfalls (we saw 12 total during the entire weekend) and do some good hiking.  We hiked about 2.8 miles on Friday,  5 miles on Saturday, and 3.5 miles on Sunday.

Saturday was George's 71st birthday---so today's blog is all about Saturday.  I'll blog at other times about our Friday and Sunday experiences..  All in all,  we had a fabulous weekend.

The picture above was taken on our hike to find Lost and Laurel Falls.  There were so many interesting rock formations along our trail. Be sure to click on the photos (especially the collages) to see them larger.

Here is a collage of George at 5 of the waterfalls we saw that Saturday.  All of the waterfalls were pretty,  but DeSoto was definitely the largest one.  Sometimes I enjoy the smaller ones better because of the rustic area around them.  But DeSoto is a marvelous waterfall.

When we got to DeSoto Falls (note photo above),  we could only see it from the SIDE---so we couldn't get a good shot of the entire falls.   Therefore---we hiked/bushwhacked around the ridge of the mountain to see if we could get a good photo of this waterfall... AND-we DID!!!! Hope you like it.  (Click HERE for more information about DeSoto Falls.)

This collage shows my photographer at work on his birthday.   These were taken on the trail to Lost and Laurel Falls.

I do anything I can to get my man on his KNEES.  Maybe he was trying to get away from me by crawling under that big rock!!!!!!!   NAH---doubt it.  No telling what is sleeping under there!!!! Yipes!

I love this collage of George bushwhacking through the brambles --just to get a better photo of the waterfall.   I was sitting on a rock watching him---so why not take some pictures of my MAN working hard!  ha ha

George is following the path around some very big rocks..  This was a gorgeous area --and the trail was in good shape, although not marked as well as it should have been.

Here is a picture of MY HERO..  He was holding that big rock up so that his "Bride" could walk under it!!!!!!  Wonder where the red carpet was????? ha ha....  What a GUY...  (See how much fun we have!!!!!)

That evening,  we had a delicious Catfish Dinner at the restaurant at DeSoto State Park and then went back to our motel (Holiday Inn Express in Fort Payne) to open his cards and enjoy some birthday cake.

The collage above shows you his delicious  German Chocolate Birthday Cake,  complete with 71 (7 + 1) candles that he had to blow out---after making a wish of course.  Then he opened his cards  (bottom left was from his bride,  and the ones on the right are a funny card from our friends, Judy and Charlie)..   After that we both had a piece of that German Chocolate cake..... (Even I had a small piece.  YUM)

Finally,  here is a photo of the two of us taken at Lost Falls. We had such a fabulous day together ---and highly recommend this area to anyone who enjoys being out in nature.

If you missed my Wednesday blog  (my new Photo Blog),  be sure and check it out.  Click HERE.   And be sure to sign up to follow that blog.  Thanks!

Have a fabulous weekend and I'll see you on Monday.

Hugs,

Emoticons

Which One to You Want?

When we visited Little River Canyon on Valentine's Day, I couldn't help but notice three huge homes sitting along the top of the canyon on the 'other' side from where we were. I thought to myself: "What a neat place to have a home!!!! WOW---what a view!"

Today I'll share with you a few more pictures of that gorgeous canyon --and I'll show you the three homes!!!! You can pick a fav!!!!! Above is a beautiful picture of the canyon. Below are more!

Can you see that house sitting at the top of the canyon????? Wow..... Do you want that one????

Here's a close-up of the house---which I got with the zoom lens... I'm sure that 'tiny little house' doesn't cost much.... Ya think???? ha

Here's another home at the top of the canyon. What a view they must have!

Here's a close up of that house. Another tiny one, huh????

I think this is where I said: "Honey, will you buy us that home?" Wonder what George's answer was!!!!!!!!????????

I only took one picture of this beauty... This was when we were taking pictures of the kayakers below. I looked up--and there she was!!!!! WOW--what a house....

"Honey, I changed my mind... I want that last home!!!! Okay, Sweetie Pie???? PUH-LEASE!"

Here's one last picture of Little River Canyon. I can only imagine having a house (or even a teeny tiny cabin) on top of the canyon --with a view like this.... (How 'bout a tent?)

Well--did you pick a fav????? Maybe we can all go in together and buy one of them --and share it!!! It could be a Blogger House!!!!

If you want to see other pictures from our trip to Little River Canyon, go to the sidebar LABEL list and click on LITTLE RIVER CANYON. Or click HERE for one of the posts showing the canyon.

Have a great Tuesday.

Hugs,

Desoto State Park, Fort Payne, AL

On February 14, 2010, George took me on a surprise Valentine's trip to the Little River Canyon and Desoto State Park in Alabama. Desoto State Park is the place to go IF you like waterfalls. Besides all of the waterfalls in the Little River Canyon area, there are SIX waterfalls in or around the State Park. We have seen them all --but this trip, we only saw four of them. The other two (Laurel Falls and Lost Falls) were seen on previous trips to the state park.

Today I will share with you the other four waterfalls in and around Desoto State Park --which we saw on Feb. 14 or 15. Above is the main falls, DESOTO FALLS --which we have featured on several blog posts. In order to see more pictures of this gorgeous waterfall, you can check my sidebar and look under the label ALABAMA. Below are more from our Valentine's trip.

I liked this picture of the top of DESOTO FALLS--showing the snow and icicles.

This is LODGE FALLS, which is not far from the lodge where we spent the night on Valentine's night.

This is INDIAN FALLS. There is a bridge which crosses the brink of this waterfall.

We climbed down the side---toward the bottom of INDIAN FALLS --in order to get more pictures. This is a pretty waterfall, isn't it? You can see some of the bridge above.

We woke up on February 15 to some snow on the ground at Desoto State Park. We took a short hike down the boardwalk to see the AZALEA CASCADES, before heading home to find TONS of snow that day.

This was a pretty area of the park---with beautiful rock formations around...

This little waterfall (AZALEA CASCADES) is not as large as the others, but the area around the cascade is serene and relaxing. There are places where you can sit and just enjoy hearing the sound of the water.

Several of you have asked about Desoto State Park, and we highly recommend it. This 3,502-acre park provides mountain chalets, log and rustic cabins, motel rooms, meeting rooms, and also has both improved and primitive campgrounds. They also have a picnic area with playground, olympic-sized swimming pool, a nature center, and over 19 miles of hiking and mountain biking trails.

Hugs,

Mushroom Rock

On our Valentine's Weekend trip to Alabama, we visited the Little River Canyon. See pictures from Little River Canyon by clicking HERE. We love driving on Canyon Rim Drive (Alabama Highway 176). This little road connects eight overlooks along an 11 mile stretch of the Little River Canyon. The drive begins near Little River Falls where Alabama Highway 35 from Fort Payne crosses the Little River.

One of the neat places where we stopped along our scenic route was MUSHROOM ROCK. This is a rock formation found in the MIDDLE of Highway 176. The rock is shaped like a giant mushroom. It has also been known as Needle Eye Rock due to the slot in its base.

The story is that several decades ago, a road crew constructing the original scenic drive is credited with saving this canyon landmark. Plans called for the rock formation we now call Mushroom Rock to be removed. Construction staff refused to blast it away (thank goodness). SO---thanks to the determination of the crew to leave the formation intact, we now have Mushroom Rock in the national preserve.

Here are some pictures in and around Mushroom Rock. As you know by now, I am fascinated by all rock formations. SO--I loved these. While looking at the pictures, note also the lichen/colors--and overall beauty.

Does it look like a big Mushroom to you??? Aren't we all glad that the construction crew decided to save this beautiful rock? You can see how the road passes by it --on both sides.

For your info, the other 'rock' pictures shown here are in the same area ----on the canyon side of the road. It is a gorgeous little area---and if you ever get to the Little River Canyon, stop at Mushroom Rock.

Hugs

Kayaking in Winter

While we were at Little River Canyon near Fort Payne, AL on Valentine's Day (see the previous 3 posts), we were amazed that there were people kayaking on such a frigid winter day. I can only imagine how cold that water was!!!!

See the picture above... Can you see the kayakers???? We took the pictures from an overlook -- far away from them.... NOW---look at the pictures below!!!





Now--can you see them better????? These 300mm lenses are WONDERFUL.




There is one kayaker in the lead---and three following.




Here are the 3 kayakers who were following the leader. Wonder if they knew we were WAY up there taking their picture????? ha



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By the time you read this post, we'll be on the road to ARKANSAS. If you have followed my blog for awhile, you will know that George and I love to go to Mt. Nebo, Arkansas. In fact, this will be our sixth trip. We have a favorite cabin (pictured above) that we rent ---which is on the edge at the top of the mountain. This time of year, we can see the sunset from our back porch. This is like our 2nd home--since we keep going back, and love it so much!!!





Here's one of the gorgeous Mt. Nebo sunsets we hope to see again this week... Mt. Nebo has a Sunrise Point and a Sunset Point. We also hope to see deer and other wildlife. We will do some hiking and see some waterfalls. AND--I'm even taking some bird seed to feed the Arkansas birds!!!!

I'll have the laptop with me ---but we don't know if we'll have internet service on that mountain. SO---we'll probably be back to blogging on March 1st. Our neighbors are house-sitting for us and feeding my backyard birds here.

Have a wonderful week.
Hugs,