Monday, May 24, 2010

A Super Sunday

Today we’re going to show you some views of Tallulah Gorge from a location where visitors are never allowed access.  But first, we got up early yesterday morning and were out the door by 7:15 to meet up with Randy and Terry at the Cracker Barrel in Commerce, Georgia.  They had been in Alpharetta to attend their niece’s high school graduation and were making their way back to Pennsylvania.  As always, it was great to see them again and, as always, we seemed to pick up right where we left off with our conversation and laughter.  Just can’t wait to spend time traveling to Maine with them later this summer.  Here’s a quick photograph just in case you’ve never seen a Cracker Barrel restaurant/store before.Cracker Barrel RestaurantWe returned home and at noon time reported in for our duties at the Jane Hurt Yarn Interpretive Center.  To bad we had to work because this was the clear day that we have been waiting for to drive the scenic byway.  Hopefully Wednesday or Thursday will be a repeat; we are predicted to have thunderstorms this afternoon and tomorrow.

Jane Yarn was a conservationist who dedicated over thirty years of her life to the coastal waters of Georgia.  Her work was vital to the protection of the barrier islands and marshes of along the coast of Georgia and, also, instrumental in national conservation legislature as well.  She passed away in 1995 and the State of Georgia dedicated the Interpretive Center at Tallulah Gorge State Park in honor of her when it opened in 1996.Jane Hurt YarnPortrait of Jane Hurt Yarn in the Interpretive CenterNow for the photos promised earlier.  The Park Rangers have several different viewing stations where they can keep an eye on what’s taking place in the Gorge.  Everything is about safety and they are very diligent about enforcing the park rules.  For those who violate the rules citations are given out which results in a fine of $116.00 per incident.  These ranger viewing stations have no safety rails and are positioned at several locations throughout the Gorge.  Yesterday afternoon I got to visit one of the ranger viewing stations with the Assistant Park Ranger, Michael Woods.  It’s a good thing that I am not afraid of heights because we were about 1000 feet above the Gorge floor and it was straight down.  Here are the photos:Looking Down into the Gorge Same Picture But Zoomed In Top of Hurricane Falls A View Down the Grand Chasm One of Several Turkey Vultures That Frequent the GorgeI will get to visit a few other Ranger viewing stations in the future and will be sure to share those photos with you as well. 

Here’s a great idea for you.  After work we had some nice homemade BBQ’d pulled pork sandwiches.  We used boneless spare ribs which we cooked in a mixture of chicken broth and Emeril’s Original Essence using our crock pot on the low setting for five hours.  The pork came out nice and tender so all we had to do was “pull” it apart using a fork.  Then we added just enough Jack Daniel’s BBQ sauce to taste (I added a little Viper Rub to mine to spice it up) and yum, yum.

After dinner and a little computer time, we watched a movie (27 Dresses) which lead us to the end of another fine day in the life.  Who could ask for anything more?  Good friends, good weather, and good food – yes, life is good!!! 

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