Jeff and Tom's Florida adventure 2006

getoverit · February 21, 2006, 12:47:44 AM

I got to Tom's place about 4pm, and as soon as I turned the corner to get into his yard (making sure to avoid driving on Gael's grass) , I found this HUGE fire right in the middle of the driveway. I wsnt sure if this was meant to keep me out, or what, but I stopped the truck right there and walked the rest of the way in ;D

The funny part is that someone in the crowd that had drank a few cold ones during the afternoon was kicking some of the unburnt wood into the fire later that night after dark. It took them several tries to kick one piece in there until they figured out they were trying to kick a tire track into the fire :D It wasnt until they yelled "DanG thats a long piece of wood !"

I'm not gonna mention no names :

Corley5 · February 21, 2006, 11:29:56 AM

Jeff's new saw compliments of Dang trucking provided by Corley5 Express ;) ;D

What got cooked over the second fire ;D

DanG · February 21, 2006, 11:50:59 AM

Looks like ya got a couple of shots of me preachin' and everybody else sleeping through it. :D :D :D

Corley5 · February 21, 2006, 11:55:16 AM

Little editing required ;)

SwampDonkey · February 21, 2006, 11:56:16 AM

Looks like Tom was the only warm body in the group. Sure an aweful bunch of cold whimps. ;D

Corley5 · February 21, 2006, 12:05:29 PM

I'd take 15 Michigan degrees over 28 Florida ones anyday

Texas Ranger · February 21, 2006, 12:13:18 PM

Is DanG preachin, or howlin at the moon? Does the boy get out much to roam with a pack like that? In quiring minds want to know. :P

(And DanG sorry I wasn't there to take personal note :'( of who said what, to whom)

Corley5 · February 21, 2006, 12:16:37 PM

Multi-Talented bunch

beenthere · February 21, 2006, 12:21:49 PM

Maybe that's a first! A pic of FF'rs inside and not sittin round a fire or out at an expo somewhere. Nice 'jammin' room.
I'm wondering, as DanG appears to have quit preachin, If he is gettin any 'music' outta dose whiskers der? Or is he just strokin some left-over steak drippins er sumptin just as tasty ???

Corley5 · February 21, 2006, 12:36:20 PM

I think he was pickin his teeth ;) ;D ;D

DanG · February 21, 2006, 12:59:06 PM

Actually, as it was getting on toward 1am, I was probably tryin' to hold my head up. :

Jeff · February 21, 2006, 10:41:46 PM

That was fun that night it almost hurts to think about how far away you guys really are. Old Olin is on da fiddle in that there photo. We plum run out of instruments for him ta play. Banjo Geetar Fiddle and Grand Piano and all of em sounded great!

Jeff · February 21, 2006, 10:43:06 PM

I might add I look rather brooks and Dunnish in my shirt that Gael gave me. She gave me a couple as they didnt look right hanging in Toms sea of red.

woodbowl · February 21, 2006, 11:53:12 PM

I sure had a lot of fun that night. Slept like a log too. Speaking of logs, DanG sawed a few logs hisself! You could hear him clean across two rooms. It sounded sorta' like a 1958 GMC pickup truck.
The next morning, DanG makes a Bee line for the coffee pot. I think everybody aught to see DanG before coffee ............. at least once. A good long stare into the bottem of the coffee pot, and some words uttered from an unknown language reveals that ......... coffee is now at the top of the list and should be addressed immediately!.

Radar67 · February 22, 2006, 12:11:08 AM

Looks like he's thinking, "It's in there somewhere, I know it is, gotta be .........." :D :D :D

Stew

sawguy21 · February 22, 2006, 11:57:51 AM

Quote from: Texas Ranger on February 21, 2006, 12:13:18 PM
Is DanG preachin, or howlin at the moon? Does the boy get out much to roam with a pack like that? In quiring minds want to know. :P

:D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D This is fun.

Tom · February 23, 2006, 09:32:07 PM

While on one of our rides, we stopped by Yellow Bluff Fort. It is an earthworks put up in the War for Southern Independence and guarded access to the St. Johns River. It is in close proximity to the northern end of the Dame's Point bridge and seldom visited by tourist. Not many people know of its existence. I used to metal detect there years ago and found a shovel buried beneath the tree roots in the bottom of the trench. I once found the remnants of, what I believe was, the armory. It was a small building that contained the powder and shot for the big guns. What remained were many cut nails in an area the size of the old building (according to records) on top of the earthworks.

It's difficult to find much research on stuff like this. Most sites found by search engine just take your search material and turn it into an advertisement. Florida still has the Fort as a park and this site has some info.

Florida Park Service Site

We walked around the site and Jeff got the opportunity to place his feet in the same soil as Confederate and Union troops alike. Both sides occupied this place during the war. The earthworks were just one of several that General Robert E. Lee asked to be put up on the St. Johns. As far as I know, this is the only one whose spot has been saved.

Here is a picture of Jeff squatting beneath a Live Oak whose roots have been bared by erosion. Children, including mine, have spent many happy hours here swinging from ropes in the trees and running up and down the earthworks. It used to be a fun stop on the way to the beach until the State decided to take it off of the park roles for awhile. It almost went away before some of the older Historical Society members got it reinstated. Thank goodness for those folks. History is too important a thing to lose. I'm hoping that the society will slow down and the newer generations develop an interest in its resurrection and conservation.

It really gives me a bad feeling to see the damage that vandals reek on historic monuments. The brass and granite sign at Yellow Bluff has been shot several times and cannons removed from their display. To some, nothing is sacred.

These are the types of places to take your children when you come to Florida. It will mean much more to them in later years than a ride at Disney.

SwampDonkey · February 24, 2006, 06:37:19 AM

Same with the Old Train Station in Fredericton. It's ownd by that big green and yellow company and they are letting it fall to the ground while Historical societies want it restored as a National Monument. There are several other stations that have been left to fall down over the years. People soon forget what it meant to have a railroad in this country. They turned all the river valley railroad into walking trails where you never see a sole walk, just the odd 4 wheeler or ski doo. After spending millions on a trail, it will all soon be forgotten just as happened to all the little parks they created in the 80's. >:(

Tom · February 24, 2006, 12:21:48 PM

Jeff worked real hard to get a picture of a Pelican in flight. On this one, his telescopic lens was run all the way out and he was tracking the bird like a gunner with a shotgun. He got a good movie or two of Pelicans too. They were diving at fish in the inlet, but he kept missing that.

Radar67 · February 24, 2006, 01:02:42 PM

SD, they made a trail out of railroad beds here too. All the money was donated by businesses and individuals, no federal or state tax money was used. They call it the Long Leaf Trace and it does see a good bit of use. It is only open to walking and biking, no motorized vehicles.

The trail does help keep history alive for some, but the majority of the users could care less. It is a nice place to visit and walk.

Stew

Jeff · February 24, 2006, 01:31:16 PM

Here is the clip that I did get of that pelican. I really wanted to get one of them diving, but they did not cooperate. :-\

Tom · February 26, 2006, 06:44:10 PM

where's Waldo?

We took a day to go shopping. Jeff wanted to find an antique mall. I went South on US-301 to the little town of Waldo. It is just south of Lawtey, Starke and Hampton, known nationally as speed traps, and in the same vicinity as the Big Prison. Raiford is where the state electric chair is located and the institution is reserved for the worst of the worst. The little surrounding towns have economics built around the prison. They house guards, administrators, cooks, etc. We were quite safe here, seeing as how all the bad people were locked up. ;D

This is the store where Jeff found all of the Forestry Books.

Fla._Deadheader · February 26, 2006, 06:57:28 PM

WHAT, no pics of Tom's Cypress ?????????????

Tom · February 26, 2006, 07:16:53 PM

We also stopped in at Tom's Cypress. You have probably read a few posts about Tom's Cypress. He makes big slab cuts of tree butts and burls using an LT40 and an array of chainsaws with bars long enough to reach from one end of a Thanksgiving table to the other. Tom is a member Wood Mizer's milion board foot club but does no custom sawing. He has tried to send business my way but the distances are just too great. Most of his sales are in Europe. He buys burls in the Pacific Northwest and ships them by railcar to Waldo where he slices them up and loads them into ship-board, overseas containers. They end up in Europe where they are made into fine tables and furniture.

He also has quite a display of cypress. His establishment is an old fruit stand surrounded by wire fence. Inside is his Woodmizer and tons of huge Cypress slabs.

Here is one of the first things that caught Jeff's eye. It is an old Wheel Saw. Once used in the pulpwood industry, they were out-lawed because of their danger. the blade will operate in the vertical position, for bucking, and in the horizontal position for felling small pulpwood sized trees with diameters of 12" or less.