Raven Cliff Trail

 

Blairsville, Georgia  (high 56, low 33)

 

Yesterday was another beautiful sunny day, though it was a little chilly for us.

We decided to go back to Raven Cliff Trail and do the 2.5 mile hike.  It’s about 12 miles from us on the beautiful Richard B. Russell Parkway.

The leaves are changing a little more every day.

We got to the park hoping it would be a little less crowded than the last time we were there.  It was, but not by much.  Evidently it’s a very popular trail.

The trail winds through the woods following Dukes Creek, and passes along 6 waterfalls, and ends up with a sheer rock cliff that used to be popular for repelling.  It’s not allowed anymore, but I would imagine you could still see it happening on occasion.

Toward the beginning of the trail there were a lot of places that were used for camping.  You could many campfire pits made by using river rocks.

There were even bathrooms.

Notice the white dot in the middle of the picture?

Can you see it better now?

This dirt pile was nearby.   I’m not sure what this is, but I have my guess.

I can only guess that these campers used the “facility” in the dark, because there was sure not any privacy during daylight hours!

We took our time along the trail, stopping often for photos.

There were a lot of bridges.  Al is pretending to be Nik Wallenda.

Lots of small streams and strategically places rocks to keep your feet dry, and lots of tree roots to trip you if you didn’t pay attention.

I am always amazed how some trees seem to live despite the rocky terrain.

Interesting rock formations.

 

Most of the trail was in dense woods, but occasionally the sun would peek through.

 

The 6 waterfalls were very nice, but with the dense forest, it was difficult getting good photos.

We followed alongside the creek the entire time.

The forest was full of rhododendron and would be beautiful when they are blooming in the spring and early summer.

Lots of rocks.

 

interesting trees too.

We could sure tell that we had been riding the golf cart too much, because we were getting really pooped by the time we got to the end of the trail.  With all our stops for photos and to admire the scenery, it ended up taking us 2 hours to get to the cliffs.

We suddenly realized that it was 4pm, and if we didn’t hurry and get back, it was going to start getting very chilly in the woods and maybe even dark. 

So….we took a quick look at the last waterfall, and the 80 foot rock cliffs.   I didn’t even try to take any pictures, because I knew I would be unable to capture what we saw.

Here are a few I borrowed from the web.

We turned around and headed back without making any stops, and got back to the trail head in about an hour and a half.  Along the way we stopped some young guys that we’d seen earlier.  They were swimming in the river.   burrrrr that water must have been 50 degrees.

By the time we got back to the car, we were both POOPED.  My neck and shoulders were hurting from looking down and trying to watch my step.  Our feet and legs were tired and we were sure glad to get back to the car.

We decided to reward ourselves and get a Mexican dinner, since I sure didn’t feel like cooking. 

The first thing we did when we got home was the hot tub.  It sure felt good on our tired bodies.

We are sure going to miss it when we leave here!  I can tell you, sitting in a warm hot tub is the best thing after a strenuous day of hiking!

Thanks USAA

 

Blairsville, Georgia  (high 67, low 43)

 

It warmed up nicely yesterday to about 68.  Our overnight temperature last night was only down into the 50’s, but on Sunday night we hit 34 degrees. 

We are expecting overnight temps all the way down to 30 degrees later this week.  Brrrrr.  That is pretty cold for us Floridians.   Might it be getting close to time to head south?

We decided to invest in a quartz style heater since it’s going to be so cold, and we hate running our noisy furnace.

We bought this heater from Walmart  This one has a fan and works pretty well, and is quieter than either our heat pump or furnace.   It’s tall and has a small footprint, so that it doesn’t take up much valuable space.

We hung around home yesterday, and got a few chores done.  It was a  beautiful sunny day and the sky was clear and blue. 

We aired up the tires on the motor home, which involves starting the engine, and airing up the motorhome.   When we left Florida the temperature was in the 90’s.  It’s now much cooler and our tire pressure was getting low as it gets cooler.   You need to consider that air expands in warmer temps and what is the correct pressure in the summer is not the same in the colder winter months.  We saw first hand what a difference temperatures made when we used to store an inflatable dingy in our garage in Tampa.   It would be nice and hard during the heat of the day, but overnight would be soft and spongy from cooler temps.

So…after he aired up the tires, while the chassis was lifted up, Al decided to clean and lube the levelers and steps.  He also dumped the air from the air filter which is a job we don’t do as regularly as we should because we never remember it until we’ve dumped the airbags and lowered the chassis.  

After reading Paul’s blog about the tail pipe, I made sure Al checked ours.

I spent my morning checking on Medicare.  Mr. Al will be 65 soon and I had a few questions.   Of course, I couldn’t get my answers on the website, so I had to call Medicare directly.  I got a message saying the wait time was over one hour, and would I like a call back?   I left my name and phone number, and was surprised when I actually got a call back in an hour or so.   I got some answers, but then found I needed to call Humana, which is the company that manages our retiree medical coverage from USAA, (my old employer).  It appears that between USAA and Medicare, we will be pretty well covered with minimal out of pocket expenses.   At least that’s what I think.  We shall see!

Of course they couldn’t tell me what the Medicare deductible will be for 2014, only 2013.  Wouldn’t you think they would know by late October?   

I was happy to find that USAA had not dropped medical coverage for it’s retirees, like so many other companies that I’ve been hearing about.   I had also heard about many people having substantial rate increases, and was again pleasantly surprised to see minimal increases for our health and dental, and vision.   Thanks USAA!   Our old boss, General Tom Draude always told us to “do the right thing.”   If we had a member on the phone that needed something and we weren’t sure if the rules would allow it, he said do the right thing and I’ll stand by you.   And he did.  He was a great man who sadly died way too soon.   That’s the model USAA lives by and they did the right thing by us as well, and I very much appreciate it!

 

So….on Sunday we found a really cool place nearby.  We decided to take a fall foliage drive along the nearby Richard Russell Scenic Highway.  It was pretty, but the fall foliage is just beginning.

As Al was driving, I was looking into the woods as usual, in the hopes of seeing a bear.  I did!  I saw what I think might have been a  baby bear.   Of course, we turned around and tried to see him again but never did.  Al was mad!   :) 

We came across a nice little park called Raven Cliffs.   It had a nice 2.5 mile trail to the cliffs.  We didn’t hike it, but supposedly you pass by 6 waterfalls on the way to the cliffs.

This was a sign posted at the beginning of the trail.

No repelling.  No problem.

We will go back when we have more time and do this hike. 

We saw this crazy sign eating tree.

There was a beautiful mountain stream and apparently many people fly fish for trout there.

The water levels were down so that we could walk in the stream along the rocks and see all the beautiful rocks.  I guess it’s the kid in me, but for some reason, I love to pick up rocks!

 

 

 

We hung around the stream for a while then headed out for other roadside parks. 

I believe this is Mount Yonah.

I see the sun has finally broken through the clouds, so it looks like it’s going to be another beautiful day, so I better get moving.