Wednesday

Well today was a fun day that started around 6:30 in the morning with temps in the low 60's. After my quiet time I heated up a left over buckwheat cake with a couple fried eggs on top. Our old friend DJ from Florida who moved to Clemmons permanently around 6 years old was en route to our place. He was interested in doing some shooting and before we did that I mentioned about the beauty of Stone Mountain Park which is just a few miles down off the mountain. He had never visited there so we headed out down the mountain on the Oklahoma Road which looked like a serpent with its switchback turns around 9AM.

I decided that maybe just the hike back to the falls would be enough for the first time for him plus I was reminded about the steep climb up the rock face and the injury I sustained to my knee earlier this summer. The trail back to the falls was about a 4 1/2 mile loop with some good inclines along the way. Since I was last there the park has received some upgrades with small bridges over several creeks and even the trail itself has been upgraded to make the hiking much easier with smoother paths. We both worked up a good sweat which took us over an hour each way to and from the falls. We decided to do the rock face on a later date preferably when cooler temps prevailed, maybe when the Botbyls arrive in October.

We got back from the park around noon and had a nice lunch of fresh salad, deer salami, cheese and sliced tomato. After lunch we headed out to do some shooting. DJ brought his new Marlin 22 long rifle semi-automatic that holds 16 rounds. Before we shot the 22's I learned he had never shot a shotgun. Well I fixed up a couple targets and got 4 different loads for the 12 gauge; a slug, buckshot, bird shot and a skeet shot. Needless to say he had red marks all over his right shoulder were the shotgun left its mark. He was rather impressed with its kicking power as well. I loaded up my 40 cal Beretta service pistol that I was awarded when I retired and had him run a clip through it as well. He seemed impressive with the power from that gun as well.

We set up  a couple aluminum cans in the back woods about 50 yards away then retreated to the back porch where we proceeded to fire the 22's. My old 22 is a single shot that only shoots shorts; his new Martin shoots long rifle shells and he must have run 75 rounds through it while I ran about 20 rounds. We did manage to shoot the cans up from that distance, but had more misses than hits. We had a grand time and that was the first I had used my guns in over a year. Afterwards we headed down to the basement to clean and oil the guns.

DJ left shortly there after so we took another hike up to the top of the mountain. We ran into Joe and Jetta on top and visit with them for awhile before heading home to set on the porch and read until it was time to start supper. We cooked up some hamburger meat spiced up with some taco seasoning and then I made a guacamole sauce to add to the burritos laced with raw onions, 'maters, cilantro, green pepper(hot peppers for me), sour cream and cheddar cheese. My oh my is that ever a tasty meal loaded with lots of fresh raw veggies.

After the cleanup I got involved in the Fox News and the now tropical storm Issac and what's happening with this slow moving storm in the Gulf Coast area. Our thoughts and prayers are with those folks who failed to leave the low lying areas that were flooded with all the storm surge and rainfall from this slow moving storm. I got interested in the RNC in Tampa last night and I was deeply moved by Ann Romney's speech. She is definitely a great women and patriot who has experienced more than most of us ever will. I feel she is the solid foundation for this man who wants to be our next president and I'm totally impressed with her. LATER