Hiwassee Refuge Lake

Lora and I decided to go back to the Hiwassee Refuge and canoe the lake there. When we got to the inlet we found a dirt dam across the end of it. Off to the left side there was an access point between a metal section of the dam that you can canoe through. It is hidden through another inlet.

Once inside we had the entire lake to ourselves. It is a large lake and the wildlife is abundant. We saw all kinds of birds, including Cranes, Blue Herons, Red Wing Black birds, Crows, and all kinds of ducks. We saw numerous turtles, deer, and fish.

When we came around one corner there was a doe standing in the water next to a bush. Once she saw us coming she climbed out of the lake and headed up through the corn field. We tied off at a tree just down from where she was standing and ate lunch. Shortly after we heard a crashing sound and a buck came running out of the corn field. He walked down to within thirty yards of us and just stood there watching us while we ate. Finally he just disappeared with no sound.

We came around another point and a flock of red wing black birds came out of the tall grass. Numerous adults followed by many young. Around another bend flocks of ducks took off. It is a beautiful and peaceful place to take a water tour of.

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Childers Creek

My hiking partner had to work so I went hiking with the East TN TTA Chapter in Reliance, TN on the JMT Recreation Trail. It’s been a while since I’ve been hiking; trying to make sure I had all the essentials. Craig said “don’t forget your first aid kit.”

The temps were cooler and humidity low, perfect day for hiking. It’s a pretty drive coming into the Cherokee National Forest. When I called Craig to let him know I was on the road, he asked about my first aid kit….oops….have a small one in the car, got it. Then came the other questions…did you bring???????

I got to the trailhead early and drove around a little in the area. Rosemary got there so I started to put my hiking shoes on and realized I had two different shoes. Oh well, at least I had a left and a right. Robby (hike leader) Karen, Gail, and Larry pulled in and we took a shuttle vehicle to the other end. Spray down with deet and off we go.

This is a beautiful trail, hiking along the river side. Lots of wildflowers blooming, some we knew, some we didn’t. Didn’t carry the wildflower book. Took pictures, feel free to identify them for me. I can’t find the white ones in the guide. Never seen them before. Somebody had done fine trail maintenance thru this area. Nice job.

We stopped for lunch at a real pretty camp spot by the river where I realized I didn’t pack my little sitting pad. At least I remembered food! Had to wade in to see how cold the water was. There was a little rocky beach area with several wildflowers blooming along side. Saw some spotted Jewelweed-pretty. As we were finishing lunch and getting ready to get back on the trail, someone said look where we were standing by the water. Wow, the water was rising fast! It wasn’t long till we saw kayaks and rafts coming down the river. Lots of folks out enjoying the river.

We hiked out to a parking area and there was our shuttle car. Oops, we didn’t park in the right place. Plan B. We all kept going and a little while later, 3 of our hikers turned back to get the car while the rest of us kept going. This part of the trail had not been maintained lately and we had to crawl under a tree across the trail and watch out for briar's. Our trail came out on the road to the powerhouse that releases water for the rafters and kayakers and the traffic was a little dangerous. When our shuttle car came by we jumped in and drove the ½ mile to the powerhouse.

This is a beautiful trail with lots of swimming holes.

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Hiwassee Wildlife Refuge

Lora and I took the canoe out for a trip around the Hiwassee Wildlife Refuge Island on the Tennessee River. It was a beautiful day with a wind that gave us a good test. The east side was protected from the wind pretty good so we had some smooth sailing. The west side kept us paddling pretty strong and the trip back to the boat launch was challenging.

We did get to see lots of Ospry birds and there were a lot of boats out on the water. Lora even got to see a black snake which she is always so excited to do.

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Michigan 2011

Another wonderful and exciting vacation in Michigan. Marco joined us again this year for a week up at Elk lake. It was going to be different this year without Granny. She was thought of often throughout the week.

We got to the lake just before Deanna and McKinley got there, so I could rub that in.

Sunday morning we got up and got some stuff done before our trip to Lake Michigan to fish with Captain Ed.

The weather was beautiful and we were all excited about the limit of trophy fish we were going to bring back with us. Captain Ed was ready to go after the introductions of the new people in the group. We got to set sail in his updated boat for the first time.

We went about ten miles out to catch our fish. We trolled for a few hours with no luck. It wasn't the Captains fault as he had every line he owned in the water and fish were on the finder. I think it was the storm coming in. It felt a little like Gilligan's Island as a storm came in and our little ship was tossed. We did manage to catch one Salmon as we were reeling in all of the lines. We went through a major rain storm on the way in to the shelf. We set the lines out again, but the waves were getting bigger and bigger. Lora didn't appreciate the waves and got a little sea sick. We ended up calling it off as the weather was beating us down.

We slept in Monday morning for a little bit and then we got the chores done before doing the vacation relax thing. We went out on Elk lake and Marco caught his large mouth. We had a campfire that night and watched the stars.

Tuesday the girls went shopping and the guys worked on the dock. It was an overcast day with rain on and off. The dock had to be braced up and the bench repaired. When the girls got back we got into some Sequence games and then Smear card games into the night.

Wednesday was another relax day. We took a walk around the lake and then did some relaxing. We got the Corn hole game going. That night after dinner we went to the Ice Cream shop. They were not opened yet so we entertained ourselves learning to whistle with our hands and doing the snap clap dance. That evening the toilet backed up and it was time for another septic tank search. We found out that the drain field was going to have to be replace.

Thursday was the Canoe trip down the Manistee river. Betty, Steve and Kathy came up to join us. It was a great day on the river. It was hot enough that we did alot of swimming and did the picnic lunch. That evening we celebrated Betty's birthday with some banana splits. Another night around the fire.

Friday we had Mandy, Melanie, and Kim join us as well as Aunt Micki. It was a beautiful day at the lake. We went out for a fish dinner that night and came back for another campfire.

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