Thanks to a dedicated group of volunteers, hikers have new paths to explore in Dawson County. Last month, about 10 miles of trails opened in the Dawson Forest Wildlife Management Area, a 25,000-acre property operated by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. The DNR manages the area for hunting and fishing. But two years ago, the North Georgia nonprofit group Mountain Stewards joined with the state agency to promote use of the land by nonhunters.

“What we’ve done is connect a lot of these trails together, cleared them, put blazes on trees, added signage,” Wells said. “We’ve also added three primitive campsites in the Wildcat campground, and built two 60-foot bridges across the Amicalola River.” And it didn’t cost taxpayers a dime. Ken Riddleberger, regional supervisor for game management at the DNR office in Gainesville, said the donation-funded project represented $14,700 in construction materials and $10,000 worth of volunteer labor. “(Mountain Stewards) has been a big help to us,” he said. “They’ll also be responsible for maintenance of the trails.” The south end of the wildlife area, known as the Atlanta tract, has trails for horseback riders and mountain bikers. (more…)

search for : Dawson County, Georgia Department of Natural Resources, hunting and fishing, North Georgia, Mountain Stewards

Number 10. DEAD BUGS LYING AROUND! That being said, I have to admit that not only have I sold properties with dead bugs lying around, I have bought them myself. Often people will exterminate a home after moving furniture out and then put in new light carpet and put it on the market vacant. After exterminating a home, dead bugs can appear for weeks afterward, and with no one living in the house, you find the dead spiders lying on the brand new light carpet. “I said light, bright and airy NOT light, bright and buggy!”

Number 1. ODORS! In my experience, this applies to all smells, both good and bad. If you open the door and there is a strong smell of ANY kind, it is a problem. That doesn’t just apply to pet odors and smoke or mustiness, but also bleach, pine cleaners, rose and floral scents, carpet fresheners or wall plug in room fresheners. I can only think of one time in 16 years where I have sold the house, when I had to walk outside to get a gulp of fresh air after viewing each room. If I feel like I am going to pass out before I make it up the stairs to the second floor, the buyers and I are usually out of there before making it through the entire house. Often these homes are vacant, and the owners or listing agents haven’t been inside the house, since they installed “plug-ins” in every single room outlet, to mask some other foul odors. (more…)

search for : exterminate a home, ODORS, carpet fresheners, room fresheners

Soon 775 secluded acres in rural Cherokee County, north of Atlanta, will overflow with hard-fought memories from battles long past like Iwo Jima, Inchon and Danang, and eventually from recent ones in Iraq and Afghanistan. The new Georgia National Cemetery will accept its first burials on April 24, becoming sacred grounds and a lasting tribute to those veterans who served their country in times of her greatest need.

On land donated by the late World War II veteran and Atlanta developer Scott Hudgens, the cemetery joins 122 others run by the National Cemetery Administration, part of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. The national cemetery program dates back to the height of the Civil War, when President Abraham Lincoln signed legislation in 1862 recognizing that national cemeteries were needed ‘‘…for the soldiers who shall die in the service of the country.’’ In 1873, the program was expanded to include all honorably discharged veterans. It provides the gravesite (including a concrete graveliner for caskets), headstone and perpetual care of the grave. It also opens and closes the gravesite and provides the veteran’s family a memorial certificate and U.S. flag. (more…)

search for : Cherokee County, Atlanta, Iwo Jima, Danang, Iraq, Afghanistan, Georgia National Cemetery

The 19th Annual “World’s Longest Yardsale”, also known as the Hwy 127 Corridor Sale will begin on August 3- 6, 2006 (Thursday - Sunday). The Sale is headquartered in Jamestown, Tennessee at the Fentress County Chamber of Commerce. Hundreds of thousands of folks join us each year for this fun filled event, spanning 450 miles and four states including Georgia.

The Lookout Mountain Parkway Association asked to be included in the sale route a few years after the sale began. The Lookout Mountain Parkway leaves Chattanooga as Highway 58 and becomes several different highway numbers before reaching Gadsden. It is no longer US 127, but is the same great sale. This routing crosses the Northwest corner of Georgia, going into Cloudland. This added another 100 miles to the already existing 350 miles, thus making it 450 miles — “The World’s Longest Yard Sale”.
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search for : World’s Longest Yardsale, Hwy 127 Corridor Sale, Jamestown, Tennessee, Fentress County Chamber of Commerce, Georgia, Lookout Mountain Parkway Association, Chattanooga, Cloudland

Just a short drive from central Georgia, the backwaters of the Tennessee River in northeast Morgan County, Alabama are worth the visit. Hidden from the untrained eye by the lush hardwood forest, the birds passing through Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge on their migration home join a mixed tune of breeding birds building nests to hatch their young.

Cardinals, blue jays, blue gray gnatcatchers, Carolina chickadees, American redstarts and prothonotary warblers join in as a great blue heron stands quietly and searches for food in the crystal-clear water of Charest Creek. The morning scene is a birdwatcher’s dream, or least that’s the hope of organizers for the upcoming North Alabama Birding Festival. They have a dozen new canoes and kayaks to offer a special watery field trip May 6. (more…)

search for : Georgia, Tennessee River, Alabama, Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge, Cardinals, blue jays, blue gray gnatcatchers, Carolina chickadees, American redstarts

In 1992, many folks had never even heard of riding bicycles on a trail through the woods. That was the year Jim Parham published Off The Beaten Track, A Guide to Mountain Biking in Western North Carolina, a book that would change the way trail guidebooks were written, and strongly impact the recreation industry in the Southeast.

At the time, he was a 28-year-old whitewater river guide and kayak instructor for the Nantahala Outdoor Center in Bryson City, NC who’d fallen in love with off-road cycling, and he noticed the outfitter store staff spending precious sales time drawing crude maps on scraps of paper for customers asking where to ride. In October of 1991 he decided to take action and publish the first mountain bike trail guide for the Southeast. The concept was simple: concise directions, basic, ultra-clear maps, and everything a rider needed to have the best experience possible. The book itself would be slender, but packed with information–no philosophical musings, no text padding, just a few terse comments from the author to help the reader find the right ride. (more…)

search for : Off The Beaten Track, A Guide to Mountain Biking in Western North Carolina, Nantahala Outdoor Center

President Bush’s contention that America’s economy is “petroleum-based” is not entirely accurate. Although oil makes up approximately 40 percent of total U.S. energy consumption, coal and natural gas each now supply about 25 percent of the total energy consumed by the United States. So, while oil is a major element in America’s energy supplies, it is by no means the only significant factor. Disruption in natural gas or coal supplies would pose major problems to the American economy.

Until recently, the United States was in pretty good shape when it came to natural gas. Prices were low and supplies sufficient. In 2000, for example, North America consumed nearly one-third of the world’s annual output of natural gas. Unlike oil, for which the United States, Canada, and Mexico together produced only 60 percent of the supplies they consumed, the three countries produced nearly 100 percent of the natural gas consumed. Bound together by free trade agreements, the continental market for natural gas more than doubled through the 1990s. (more…)

search for : America, petroleum, coal, natural gas, oil