The Hiking Writer

I finally got a chance to wander around the Blackacre nature preserve today. It's a very cool place tucked away inside of Jefferson County and thus inside the Louisville city limits. You can read more about it here.

From the Blackacre Conservancy website:

"Judge Macauley Smith and Emilie Strong Smith gave Blackacre, their 170-acre farm on Tucker Station Road, to the newly established Kentucky State Nature Preserves Commission in 1979, creating Kentucky's first state preserve. The Smiths had owned the 1844 Presley Tyler house and surrounding acreage since 1950, and they wanted to preserve Blackacre from encroaching development in the formerly agricultural Floyd's Fork basin. Later, in 1983, the Smiths established the Blackacre Foundation to provide financial support and stewardship of the preserve’s grounds and historic structures."

The house dates back to the 1840s and parts of it all the way to the 1830s. It was a very pastoral experience with farm animals, a spring house and a kitchen that was so cool I could photograph it for hours. My mom even got the chance to walk some of the trails. I hope you enjoy the new album Blackacre April 2008.

Went with my sister and mom to one of my favorite places in the world: Bernheim Forest

The dogwoods were in perfect bloom and the redbuds were still out in force as well. Lots of nice shots with lake reflections on a slightly cool breezy day. It was really nice to just drive around the park with the windows and sun roof open.

I hope you enjoy the gallery Bernheim Spring 2008

Really?

Screw the NFL.

Brian Brohm is now a Green Bay Packer. I hope he spends the next decade showing the idiot scouts they were dead wrong.

I hate cheeseheads too. This won't be easy.

We'd just finished a nice meal at the Smoky Mountain Brew Pub (everyone was wearing halos, no beer was ordered) and I made a suggestion. The sun was about 30-40 minutes away from setting and I figured I would take a drive up to New Found Gap and take a gander at the sunset from 5000+ feet.

Innocently enough, I asked if anyone wanted to tag along. After a quick discussion, everyone decided to go, so the students piled into the SUV and I trailed along in my Jetta and off we went. About halfway to the gap, we saw several people parked or standing on the side of the road looking down a hill into the forest. We all parked just ahead and walked back to see what the hubbub was about.

Sure enough, it was a black bear. So, I won't take credit for the idea to look for bears, but I will take credit for being the impetus to seeing one. And it was the highlight of the weekend for many, since they'd never seen one.

Here's a picture of the yearing bear munching away on variouos flora. Be sure to check out all the images in the Smokies Spring 2008 album.

Well, I finally posted the rest of the photos from my Smoky Mountains trip this past weekend.

I still hope to have a film of the black bear we saw before the end of the week, so check back for that.

For now, I hope you enjoy the Smokies April 2008 gallery.

HI folks, I'm back.

I just got back from a 2 day hiking jaunt in the Smoky Mountains and my goodness it was BEAUTIFUL. Spring has sprung for sure.

I'll fill you in on the details later this week and share some stories, but for now, I'll just leave you with this picture of me at the foot of Abram's Falls today around noon. A nice little 5 mile there and back hike. I'm quite tired, so I'll post more images later this week as well.

Wow, what was gloom and doom 2 weeks ago is music to my ears today.

Louisville basketball forward Earl Clark was going to test the NBA draft waters and coach Rick Pitino said that there was ZERO chance that Clark would return to U of L for his junior season, but lo and behold, miracles can happen!

As it turns out, Clark didn't even file papers to be eligible for the draft and didn't hire an agent, so he can test the waters again next year and retain his senior elegibility if he so desires.

The rumor mill and message boards have also been talking about Derrick Caracter possibly trying to return, but no official word has been given, and quite frankly, the kid might have worn out his welcome. We could use the body and his talents for sure, but we could do without the bad karma.  Personally, I'm over the DC era and am ready to embrace the Samardo Samuels epoch. If Samuels is as good as advertised, we'll be lucky to have him for 2 seasons.

Well, I'm really looking forward to this weekend as I'm driving down to the Smokey Mountains for a nice weekend of day-hiking.

And of course, both Saturday AND Sunday are calling for rain.

Note to those in charge: Quit making in rain every damn weekend!!! You're ruining my spring hiking dagnabbit.

Seriously, this is the word that caused the controversy?

Oh my God?!!! How dare someone say that the people are "bitter". Apparently Barack Obama can't say that word.

Both Hillary Clinton and John McCain feel that Obama was wrong. That is all well and good, but it is just an opinion. To call it a mistake is not just stupid, it is patently WRONG.

My sentiment? F**k you Hillary and John. That's how he sees it.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not voting for Obama. But this constant microscopic scrutiny of everyone's language is tiresome, annoying and damn dishonest. And the spin doctors are just eating it up like Sunday dinner. I can't remember when I have been so thoroughly disgusted by ALL of the parties involved. I honestly believe that this country is sliding down the slippery slope of complete ignorance and anarchy.

I don't want any of these fools in office because I trust NONE of them. I hope that the Democratic convention ditches BOTH of these egomaniacal jokers.

American politics is on life support, and I'm voting to pull the plug.

Am I bitter? You bet your ass.