The BackWoods Drifter

… that says I’m a nice guy. How did that happen?

At least Taj over at Taj Wanders seems to think so. She gave me the Nice Matters Award. Thanx Taj you are too kind!

This award is the Nice Matters Award, and this award is for nice people, good blog friends and those who inspire good feelings and inspiration. Also for those who are a positive influence on our blogging world. The award should be passed on to 7 others who you feel are deserving of this award.

Kristine
Morgan
Rex
Speedcat
Michael
Marian
Film Geek

This was an easy award to give away. There are a lot of nice people out there that have a positive influence on the blogging community. The hard part came in choosing just seven.

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I’m finally home for 3 days after a 13 day road trip. When I first sat down at my CP I could think of a multitude of topics to blog about and couldn’t really zero in on any one in particular so I may ramble from one to the other.

For those that know about the accident it has been interesting trying to adjust to the loss of a finger. I have found it to be a big handicap these past couple of weeks back at work. There are literally things I do every day that, although I am right hand dominant, still requires an equal amount of the use of my left hand. I’ve always been comfortable working in the vicinity of high voltage but now I feel…. I don’t know how to describe how I feel… it’s not really nervous…. unsure would probably be a good definition. I have to teach my new hand how to work safe. As far as physically, the hand hurts like hell and it was way to soon to return to work.

But anyway… In the past 13 days I have been to a coal prep plant in Logan County, a mountaintop removal site in Boone County and another prep plant right here in Raleigh County. What do you think I’m going to talk about? I can’t help it, I have to talk just a little about mountaintop removal. This is an area of conversation and debate that can usually lead to an argument or disagreement. I don’t care…. I hate mountaintop removal. I love the outdoors, anybody that loves the outdoors should hate mountaintop removal. The problem lies in that no one else can see what they are doing. At least not the general public. As a citizen that does not work for the coal company or have direct business with the coal company then you would almost have as much luck getting access to Area 51. The coal company doesn’t want the general public to see what is going on just over the ridge from the roads the public travels every day. Any debate over mountaintop removal should be held at a mountaintop removal site.

That’s all I have to say about that…. for now.

I guess I’m a little addicted to blogging, I missed being out in the blogging community. We are an interesting bunch to say the least.

I’ve been tagged a couple of times so I’ll be catching up on those…. I promise

It’s good to be home.

As the title suggests this post contains both good and bad news. The good first, after two months of being off from work due to an accident I’ve decided to return to work early. I haven’t been getting help with any bills and honestly I’m going stir crazy. When I had the accident I was laid off from my real job and working construction to make ends meet. I’ve been called back to my real job. I’m a start up technician for a large electrical contractor specializing in coal processing plants and supporting equipment. Basically what that means is after a new plant has been built and wired I’m the guy that pushes the start button and does the troubleshooting. I love this type of work for the challenges it presents. Integrating new technologies and always somewhere in the learning curve. Plus the pay is not bad either…

Anyway that was the good news. The bad is that I’m not going to be blogging regularly for a little while. This job requires me to be gone up to two weeks at a time depending on job load and start-up dates. I had a laptop I used to blog while on the road but have since gotten rid of it. Wasn’t much else to do in the motels. But I plan to get another one soon until then posts to my blogs will be erratic. I enjoy blogging while on the road because since the job takes me all over the state I get some good pictures from everywhere in the state. If you want to keep up with where I am and what I’m doing maybe even check out some cool pics then I would suggest that you request updates by e-mail or subscribe to my feeds.

On another note, I have a question. A couple of weeks ago I found one of my posts copied, word for word even with a couple of photos, on another blog. Word for word may not be exactly true. The post was translated onto a German blog. I actually had to translate it back to English to read it. I’m not sure how to react to that. My first thought is I don’t really care especially since they linked back to my blog. On the other side it probably would have been cool to ask me if they could use my post for whatever reason instead of my finding out through Technorati. I guess I’ve been thinking about it because since it is on a German blog I can’t tell in what context the post was published nor can I tell for what reason. My question is, how would you feel about this scenario?

I was digging around in old photos and found a few of this Honda dirt bike I used to have. That is another passion of mine, dirt bike riding. My friend Dennie and I actually took a vacation here a few years ago just for the purpose of camping and bike riding. It is that trip from which these photos originate. I loved this old Elsinore. If you couldn’t get where you wanted to go with this bike then you may as well had forget going. In the photo above the bike is actually sitting beside a road that disappears behind the bike into the pine. My favorite kind, the roads less traveled. My friend rode a four wheeler for those days and we were from the top of the mountain…

all the way down to the river…

and everywhere in between. I think one of Bolt Mountains best kept secrets is the sheer amount of off road opportunities available. We rode for five days going someplace new every day. The only road we visited more than once was the one that led to camp. Since that first vacation riding here, an off road adventure has become an annual event. With Fall fast approaching it is getting close to this years ride. Hopefully everything falls into place to allow it to happen.

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I’ve been missing in action for a few days spending a lot of time in the mountains mostly. But I’ve been avoiding this blog as well, re-evaluating it and where I want to go with it. I haven’t come up with those answers yet.

On another note, I’ve been given another Schmooze Award from my good friend Morgan from A Process Of A Miracle. I will write a post for that on the Bolt Mountain blog since I already have that award displayed here.
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I went for another hike in Breckenridge today armed with a camera I didn’t trust to take a good photo. Wouldn’t you know that this would be the day animals were out in abundance. I made a big circle going to the top of one hollow and crossing over two then coming back to where I entered the woods via a lower route. Making my way through the hollows I saw quite a few squirrels, three turkey and one six point. It was so dry in the mountains being quiet was out of the question without standing still.

I entered the woods and came back to the place where I had encountered a deer a few weeks ago. This time I decided to sit on the hillside under a pine for a little while. I was about twenty to thirty yards up the hill watching the bed of the hollow. I had only been sitting there maybe fifteen minutes when this beautiful six point comes in from the direction of the road which was to my right. Being as there are fields on the other side of the road I assumed that is where he came from. If I had had a gun I could have dropped him a dozen times. I may as well have had a gun because even with the camera I still had the feeling. Other hunters will know the feeling I mean.

I’m sitting right in the open wearing a white t-shirt and he didn’t see me. Coming in from my right he gets to where he is almost directly in front of me, scrapes his antlers on a small tree then lays down. I couldn’t believe it. He was that close and I couldn’t see him with my camera. This would never due. I started looking around on the ground where I was sitting. I wanted to throw something down there to spook him and make him stand up again. I found one small rock and threw it to where it landed about ten yards behind him. That didn’t even phase him. I don’t even think he looked in its direction. So I start looking for another rock. Would you believe that I am sitting on the ground in the mountains and can’t find another rock? Finally after digging through the soft topsoil I did find another really small rock but didn’t think that would do it. It turns out he saw me throw this one and stood up. He had seen me that time and was very alert looking in my direction and slowly making his way back in the direction he had originally came from. Instead of going back to the road he turns and actually moves closer to me coming up the hill to my right. I think at this point he is just curious. He knew something was there but he didn’t know what it was.

My hands are shaking as I take a few pictures. He came within fifteen yards of me before he realized I was something to be avoided. He must have caught my scent because he has a snorting fit as he bounds off to the opposing ridge. I see him stop once and look back before he completely leaves the area.

I was excited and apprehensive because I had taken 8 photos with a camera I had trouble with before. And I was excited while taking the photos. I knew there was a good chance the photos would be blurry. Afterwards I came straight home anxious to see if any of the photos turned out good. I was in for a major disappointment. Not one of the deer photos turned out good. So what did I do? I took out the memory card and the batteries and the rest of the camera went in the trash.

You can see the buck in these photos but not well enough to tell what he is.

The photo below is just a little bit before he got as close as he was going to get.

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I’m a big fan of Lynyrd Skynyrd especially their early music. The song in this post is from the Muscle Shoals Sessions 1973. If you enjoy Lynyrd Skynyrd and you don’t have that CD, I would suggest it. Another good Skynyrd CD is called “Legends.” I think I enjoy older Lynyrd Skynyrd most for the guitar work which seemed a lot more personal back then. Playing guitar, I wanted to get that good…

–Lyrics–
Like a restless leaf in the autumn breeze
Once I was a tumble weed
Like a rollin’ stone
Cold and all alone
Living for the day my dream would come
Never cared for school
Or any golden rules
Papa used to always say I was a useless fool
So I left my home
To show them they was wrong
And headed out on the road singing my song
Then one sunny day
The man, he looked my way
And everything that I dreamed of, it was real
Money, girls and cars
And big long cigars
And I caught the first plane home so papa would see

When I went home to show ‘em they was wrong
All that I found was two tombstones
Somebody tell me please was I right or wrong
Oh, such a sad song
First I got lost, then I got found
But the ones that I love are in the ground
Papa I only wish you could see me now
Take a listen papa
Whoo, I learned how to play my guitar
Gonna be a superstar

First I got lost, then I got found
The ones I love are in the ground
Won’t you tell me please was I right or wrong

If there’s any way
You can hear what I say
Papa, I never meant to do you wrong
All the money, girls and cars
And all the words and all the cigars
Papa, I just want you to know they couldn’t take your place

When I went home to show ‘em they was wrong
All that I found was sticks and stones
Somebody tell me please was I right or wrong
Oh, such a sad song
First I got lost, then I got found
But the ones that I love are in the ground
Somebody tell me please was I right or wrong

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All of my plans for the Labor Day weekend turned out completely different. That’s what I get for planning. I did go ginsenging for a bit which was painfully uneventful. I came home empty handed but at least I got to go for a little hike. I didn’t make it to the falls at all. That’s the last time I post about my plans for a camping trip or whatever. From this point forward I will only post about it after the fact… I think I’m jinxing myself.

As promised this post is to let anybody interested know that I have once again started updating the Bolt Mountain blog. Check out the latest post entitled Wet N’ Wild.

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Lately it seems as if I have been all over the place with my blog posts from personal to the mundane. I think boredom has a lot to do with that due to a recent accident that has kept me pretty much a prisoner in my home. Today that changes with the beginning of the ginseng season. It is finally time to start doing some serious mountain roaming. It is about 1am right now and this day will start with some ginsenging here on Bolt Mountain and end with setting up camp at Peachtree Falls. The first a definite and the latter a maybe depending on the time of day. I have been dying to go to the falls looking for Indian artifacts but once I get into the mountains there is no way to know when I will come out again. I have looked for ginseng right up until dark on a few occasions. It just depends on how well I do. I’m not real fond of the idea of setting up camp after dark so the trip to the falls may have to wait for another time. I keep thinking the artifacts, if they are there to be found, will wait. On the other hand ginseng is quickly dying due to the dry season. I guess you could say I’m getting my priorities lined out. It will most likely be ginsenging all day and then blogging into the night.

On another note, for those interested I plan to update the Bolt Mountain blog sometime this weekend. It would probably be a safe bet to say that update will happen tomorrow evening.

I hope everybody has a great Labor Day weekend. Be safe, if you drink don’t drive…

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Happy Birthday to my good friend Michele!!!
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