This is a collection of stories that happen in my life. Enjoy life and make the most of every moment.
We had a warm Christmas and since our family gatherings were on Christmas Eve, we hiked Christmas day. By the time we got to the falls we were hot and sweaty. I jumped in to cool off and it was cold water, but it really felt good. It was a good hike and we only saw one other couple.
Christmas started on Christmas Eve this year. Nick and Amy came up for a brunch at Lora's moms house. Later in the day we headed over to the Smith Family Christmas with 40+ family members where fellowship, dinner, and games took place.
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Tony Jones hosted the annual Murfreesboro chapter Christmas party at his beautifully decorated home. The chapter furnished the ham and turkey and everyone brought a side dish to share. Tony also provided his famous and delicious banana pudding. Some folks enjoyed their meal around the fire pit outside. Everyone got to meet our new chapter chair Cheryl Smith for 2026.
Mark Hubbard planned this great hike that is evidently very popular with this group. 22 hikers met at Arch Lake at Pickett to shuttle cars to Pogue, and a couple to Black House Mountain Rd for a shorter hike option. It was a cool start, but warmed up nicely. We broke into two groups, Mark leading half the hikers and Joan leading the other half. Pogue Creek Canyon is always beautiful no matter the season. The views into the canyon are awesome. It was about a 7 mile hike or more depending on whose GPS you belived. Hikers were from Nashville, Murfreesboro, Highland Rim, Columbia Franklin, and Memphis Chapters.
Mark Hubbard, Amy Sutton, Cheryl Smith, Zari, Lori, Deb Owens, Cindy Clark, Debbie Dodd, Gloria Dale Williams, Jay Brain, Jean Breuer, Jim Barrit, Joan Hartvigsen, Karen Jones, Kathryn Lofton, Kathy Woods, Marietta Poteet, Sara Pollard, Sarah Lovett, Scott Jordan, Todd Stanley, Wendy Fish, Lora McBride, Gorgeanne Ross. Old friends and new ones!
Cheryl led 5 of us on a snowy hike at Big South Fork. Had a couple of creek crossings, we took our time and didn't get wet feet. One couple had family connection in the area of Rance Boyatt Farm and grave site. We found frost flowers all over the farm area, always excited to see these. Back across the creek, onward to Maude's Crack. We all made it up thanks to the rope someone has left there to help you scramble up or down.
Hikers: Cheryl Smith, Zary Rahimi, Lori Olinger, Gayron and Marla Franklin, and Lora
The original plan was to leave Sunday afternoon and campout at Campsite #1. Rain came in so we left Monday morning and camped at Campsite #2.
We started at Abrams Creek campground and hiked Coopers Road trail to Little Bottoms trail. We ate lunch at campsite #17. We came across a lot of bear scat along the trails. We then took Hatcher Mountain trail back to Cooper Road trail down to Cane Creek trail to campsite #2. It had been overcast the whole day, but cleared up at night so we could see the full moon and stars. We were entertained by a couple of owls that night. Even with the damp wood we had a nice campfire and kept Lora warm.
Tuesday morning we woke up to a Screech Owl saying it was time to get up. We enjoyed breakfast at the campfire and watched the sun come up over the mountain. We hiked back to Cooper Road trail and out to the car.
This years meeting was held at Paris Landing SP in Buchanan Tennessee. There was 135 in attendance this year. Multiple hikes were led in the area.
Lora and I drove to Tanbark Campground in Dickson the night before so that we could be there for Fridays hikes. We stayed in the Paris Landing SP campground for the event. Friday we hiked the Britton Ford Interpretive Hiking Trail in the Big Sandy Unit of the Tennessee NWR. Really nice trail with views of the lake.
Saturday we went to the Land Between the Lakes and hiked the Tennessee Ridge, Peytona, and Telegraph trails. Our expert guide told us about the history in the area while we hiked.
Sunday we hiked the Raptor Ridge Trail there at the park and visited the Nature Center. After lunch we drove to the Fort Donelson National Battlefield and hiked the area. Then we drove on to see the Surrender House and National Cemetery. We stopped to get our calories back at the Cattle and Bakes.
Monday we hiked the Marina there at the park before heading home. It was a great time of visiting and hiking.
Wednesday was Gettysburg day. We visited the visitor center which now charges you for everything. From there we did the driving loop listening to the NP app. We stopped for lunch at O’Rorke’s Family Eatery which was awesome. We visited the candy store across the street and then visited the President Eisenhower House and Farm. After that we continued the auto tour. We had to go back to see the Tennessee monument because we didn’t see it the first time through.
Thursday we went further South. We went through Federick and down 15. We stopped at Point of Rocks for lunch and a walk. From there we headed to Fairfax for the night staying at Fairfax County Park Campground. This is a huge park with a small clean campground. We hiked the trail around the campground seeing deer, ducks, and squirrels.
Friday we drove on to Mechanicsville to see the parents and my sister.
Saturday we went to the Richmond Folk Festival to listen to music and have dinner. Sunday was a down day. Monday was a trip to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and dinner at Lynelle's. Tuesday we headed south to Bristol VA and spent the night at Sugar Hollow Campground. Wednesday we headed home to spend a day before headed to the TTA Annual Meeting in West Tennessee.
East Coast Trip Summary:
Eight Weeks; Kentucky, Ohio, Michigan, Canada, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, and Tennessee.
