Archive for December, 2009

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Betsy’s Newest Toy

December 5, 2009

Betsy sending a text message on her new phone. December 4, 2009.

For quite sometime, Betsy has felt that she would have more contact with her sons and grandchildren if she could send and receive text messages.  She had said several times that she didn’t know how her two Texas granddaughters could use the tiny keyboards on their phones, but she did know that they were constantly texting their friends.

Well, a couple of weeks ago we qualified for a new phone from our wireless carrier.  Betsy wanted one that would allow her to send and receive text messages, so that’s what we got.

I’ll admit that I was sceptical about how much texting Betsy would do, but she has definitely gotten the hang of it.  I couldn’t begin to count the number of text messages she has sent and received in the past two weeks.  She was definitely right about having more contact with her sons.  During last Monday night’s football game the text messages flew from our house to Chattanooga to Texas to Nevada and back every time New Orleans scored.  I’m very impressed with my tech-savvy bride!

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Skywatch Friday: Galveston Sunset

December 4, 2009

Sunset at Pointe West, Galveston, Texas. April, 2007.

This is my post for Skywatch Friday, a meme for sharing views of the sky from all over the world.  To see more, or to join and share your own photos of the sky, click HERE.

This picture was taken on Galveston Island, Texas, in 2007 before Hurricane Ike did so much damage on the island.  I like the silhouettes of the palm trees against sunset afterglow.

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Where It All Began

December 3, 2009

Betsy at Fall Creek Falls State Park, Tennessee. April 21, 2001.

Monday was a cold, rainy day here on the Plateau on Monday, so I had a chance to work on some more of my archived photographs.  One of the folders I was able to work with contained pictures of the first time Betsy and I went to Fall Creek Falls.

Betsy and I had had a couple of dates (dinner, a morning in the park and lunch) before that Saturday morning when we drove to Fall Creek Falls State  Park.  Although Betsy had been to the park a time or two before we met, I had never been there before.

The scenery in the park is fantastic.  It is centered around the Cane Creek Gorge, a fifteen-mile long gash that contains views remeniscent of the Grand Canyon.  A road along the rim provides several overlooks with fantastic views.

Betsy and I were impressed with the five major waterfalls within the park.  We visited each and every one.  But the high point of the day (at least for me) was our first kiss.

We realized we were falling in love on that first date to Fall Creek Falls in April, 2001.  We’ve managed to get back there almost every year since to celebrate that anniversary.  Fall Creek Falls will always be special for us.

If you would like to see more of our first trip to Fall Creek Falls click HERE.

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Watery Wednesday # 64: Millstone Creek Falls

December 2, 2009

Millstone Creek Falls, Erwin, Tennessee. November 27, 2009.

This is my post for Watery Wednesday.  To see more of our beautiful watery world, or to join and post your own pictures to share, click HERE.

Betsy and I spent most of Thanksgiving weekend visiting waterfalls in Northeast Tennessee.  Most of them were fairly small, but pretty nonetheless.

Millstone Creek Falls is on undeveloped private property, but the owners allow visitors to the falls.  The owners’ home is on the adjacent lot and the house has a beautiful view of the falls.  But we enjoyed our short hike through the woods to this view of the falls.

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Why?

December 1, 2009

Hogskin Branch Falls, Flag Pond, Tennessee. November 28, 2009.

As most of you know, Betsy and I ‘collect’ waterfalls.  We enjoy finding waterfalls, since they give us a great excuse to get out in the great outdoors.  We’ve been to some beautiful and awe-inspiring places on our visits to waterfalls.  We usually research an area (online and through books) and try to find and visit as many waterfalls as we possibly can.

This past weekend we spent a couple of days in northeast Tennessee and visited several waterfalls.  The waterfall in the picture above was one of them.  We knew that not much could be seen from the road since it was a small waterfall and was in a small gorge.

I’ve become pretty good at bushwhacking (for an old man), so I went down into the gorge and was able to get a better view and the photo above.

But I also found some other things that weren’t apparent from the road — garbage bags, old televisions, tires, and even the old car pictured above.

Hogskin Branch Falls is no Niagara, but it could be a pretty place to visit.  Why do we feel it is okay to trash any part of God’s beautiful creation?

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Posted in American Life | 16 Comments »

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