OldeBenOutdoors

A Wilderness area on the Alabama/Tennessee border last visited about 15 years ago. Hike is 3.5 miles one way and hardly one step is flat ground. Jericho Canyon has several waterfalls that when drier you can walk next to on the creek bed. I brought the drone in hopes I could fly it here, but there was much more brush at creek side than I remembered. My videos do not do the place justice as we ran out of daylight and had to go. This year's cicadas evident at 1:58. https://alabamarecreationtrails.org/trail/walls-of-jericho-trail/

Hiked the Land Trust property Blevins Gap trail a couple of weeks ago. https://landtrustnal.org/ Best views Certain Trail to radio tower (2:00 view up radio tower makes me dizzy with no clouds in the sky). I suggest returning via the West Bluff trail instead of the Varnado trail for better views. This is the year of the Cicada, with 2 species emerging after 13 and 17 year hibernations. Turn the sound up at 2:56 for a sample. https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/once-every-221-years-what-to-know-about-the-rare-2024-cicada-emergence/3336594/

As described in my last video, the temps got down to 0-2 degrees Fahrenheit here. Covered my plants and hoped for the best. What survived: garlic, onions, cabbage, spinach, rutabaga and some bok choy. USDA zone 7B.

Snowed/sleeted here on Sunday, temps down to 0 degrees. Went out to the backyard to check on my plants and surprised that everything didn't die. The double tarp system works great and the greenhouse keeps winter vegetables alive. Zone 7b.

Yearly birthday hike on Monte Sano Mountain Huntsville AL. Temps in the low 30s this year and overcast, not as nice as last year.

This is a local elevation over 350 feet tall, easy to access from about a 10 minute drive anyplace in town. The Rainbow loop trail is about 1.5 miles long. Part of the North Alabama Land Trust, check out their web page for more pictures: https://landtrustnal.org/explore-our-lands/preserves-north-alabama/rainbow-mountain-preserve/ I haven't been here in a few years, they have done a lot of work here as the parking lot was just gravel and there was no picnic area. Also there was only a couple of marked trails and a few other goat trails the local kids made. A great place to take small children hiking as there is some wildlife.

I bought a drone to take pictures of places I want to go from different angles. They aren't that expensive and lots of fun to just fly around the park. Still working out that "inexperienced operator" issue and trying not to wreck the drone. Video without sound here is where I sent the drone to two different heights. A cool little toy, I would highly recommend.

Planted winter vegetables and made row covers for them. This is Zone 7B and temps usually don't go below the mid 20's before January. The row cover keeps the frost (and birds, squirrels and bugs) off the plants and allows for a winter garden.

One of our stops on the Kentucky trip last week. Visited the Natural Arch Scenic area while staying in the Daniel Boone national forest lodge. Cool hike with impressive views.

Tour through the Historical section of Mammoth Cave last week. The cave is about 400 miles in length, so we only went through the touristy part. Very well ventilated for a cave and worth a look. Broke my GoPro tripod in "Fat Man's Misery" when I abruptly bent over to avoid banging my head on the roof, a very tight squeeze.

Another stop on our Kentucky trip last week. The Ark Encounter is in Williamstown Kentucky, just South of Cincinnati. However you feel about the Biblical interpretation it is an impressive engineering project and worth a visit.

October 2023 trip to Williamsburg Kentucky's Cumberland Falls. Very rustic lodge in a State Park. Hiked a couple of miles of trails and visited the Falls.

How to make your own natural mosquito repellent from the citronella plant. Visit from dachshunds during video.

After Mt. Leconte hike I ran into Gatlinburg for a few hours. Took the ski lift from Gatlinburg city to Ober Gatlinburg. Then jumped on the chair lift to the top of Mt. Harrison (elevation 3590). You can look across the valley and see Mt. Leconte from there.

My Brother's rental in the Smokies was empty last week so I drove up there to hike Mt. Leconte. Link to brother's farmhouse: https://www.vrbo.com/2855482?adultsCount=7&childrenCount=1&unitId=3427519 The lodges at the top are rentable, but if you cannot get one it is a round trip of nearly 12 miles, 3000 feet up and 3000 down. Hiking up took me 3 1/2 hours and down almost the same as my toe was stubbed. Video: :15 intro :59 Alum cave trailhead map 2:48 Arch Rock (1.8 miles from trailhead) 5:15 Alum Cave (2.3 miles from trailhead) 9:11 sign to summit (4.8 miles from trailhead) 9:29 Llamas resting in lodge area. Llamas on Monday, Wednesday and Friday and a once a month helicopter resupply are the only way to get supplies to the summit/lodge area. The only way to the top is to hike it. 10:00 Lodge area 10:32 Summit pile of stones 10:34 Myrtle Point best viewing place on the mountain (5.7 miles from start) Tragically erased some video from Go Pro including Tarzan yell from summit and a really good view from the Point. Link to Mt. Leconte: https://www.pigeonforge.com/great-smoky-mountains-national-park/mount-leconte/

Trip to Dauphin Island Alabama. 00:00 Storm clouds over the beach. Weather is amplified here, clear weather in August allowed us to view the Perseid meteor shower at night. 0:52 Intro with map 1:32 Ft. Gaines, site of battle of Mobile bay of "damn the torpedoes" fame. 10:25 Ferry ride to Ft. Morgan/Gulf Shores on the other side of Mobile bay. 11:05 view of beach, another synonym for "nice" needed. 16:01 Walk to Eastern tip of island with State Park and another view of Mobile Bay where it meets the Gulf. Very mellow, quiet place to vacation. Would recommend.

Update on the mid summer garden this year. Some success and a couple of things that did not go well due to last January freeze and a rabbit.

A local couple has turned their back yard into a wildlife/bird sanctuary. See their weblink here: Creativebirding.com Mr. Lewis explained that the way to attract birds to your yard includes doing the following things: -work with nature -no spraying chemicals -use natural materials to attract insects (which birds eat) -focus on planting mostly local species of native plants -provide a water source with perches and cover plants to help birds avoid predators -it only takes a 10'x10' space to make your own nature preserve-this book shows you how: Nature's best hope by Douglas Tallamy 13:20 pictures from back deck of house when Go Pro battery failed. https://herbsbirds.smugmug.com/CreativeBirding (pictures of birds at this location)

:05 Squirrels digging up my garden :10 White squirrel in front yard, no predators around here. :37 Varmints cavorting in garden :56 The Solution, dachshund rescued from local shelter 1:15 Dachshund deployed to back yard after nap 2:32 Unintended consequence, dachshund digging up potato plants hunting moles.

Paddle up Short Creek with the Huntsville Canoe Club. Become a member and come along next time. https://hccofficial256.wixsite.com/hsvcanoe/about Guntersville State Park. Short Creek put in is to the right over the bridge. https://www.alapark.com/parks/lake-guntersville-state-park Paddle notes: 3:00 minute mark: view of one of several waterfalls, observed current and this point got much stronger upstream as creek narrowed. 3:08 loss of sound (training on Go Pro needed) 3:14 raising paddle to avoid power craft, pretty easy to overlook a kayak on the water. 3:43 rocks/rapids can be seen ahead. only one experienced club member with a fast kayak got close. the rest of us gave up making headway after furious constant paddling

7 day cruise from New Orleans to Jamaica, Grand Cayman and Cozumel. As we have been on this trip before we just went for the ride and some beach time. I would suggest the best thing to do at each stop: Jamaica -Dunn's River Falls Grand Cayman-swim with sting rays Cozumel-scuba/snorkel or pick your own excursion. video description: 1:38 View of New Orleans St. Louis Cathedral from the river 2:20 brief view of interior hallway, approximately 900 feet long 2:23 View from our cabin on deck 8, trying to get video of flying fish. Tiny things on the wavetops at 2:33 , 4:36 and 5:05-5:09 (group) are flying fish. At 5:12 you can see one of the fish travel several hundred feet. 5:20 deck 3 under lifeboats 6:10 right under smokestack, we usually try to play one game of inebriated golf up here. with the ship swaying it gets...unusual. Endless ocean views to Portside. 6:52 Grand Cayman 7 mile beach. All developed, but accessible. We just went for a swim at a beach club.

Climbed back to the top of Monte Sano. The wind was brisk, but the day was perfect.

Yearly birthday hike up and down Monte Sano mountain in Huntsville Al on the overlook trail. January weather is usually awful, but this year clear and low 50s with a strong breeze. Monte Sano is a Huntsville Land trust property, see links for Monte Sano park and Land Trust properties below. I will be doing more of these in the future. Monte Sano link: https://www.alapark.com/parks/monte-sano-state-park Land Trust properties: https://www.landtrustnal.org/

A good place to see the night sky and the Milky Way without light pollution. Found a nice place to stargaze without the back country camping aspect the spouse hates. Sorry about the choppy videos. Film comes from 3 different places on the island on 3 different days. Struggled with Go Pro battery life and a new video editor. Unable to get good video of the Milky Way. Link to Light Pollution map: http://darksitefinder.com/maps/world.html#4/39.00/-98.00 St. George Island link: https://www.floridastateparks.org/parks-and-trails/dr-julian-g-bruce-st-george-island-state-park

Drove to near the top of the mountain and hiked the last quarter mile up. Beautiful 360 degree view from the observation platform.