Carson Village, Birmingham, Alabama
You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. ~ Luke 1:30-31
Sometimes it’s fun to watch the neighbors.
We’re thinking the people across the street must’ve developed a leak, because this morning, they were out there trying to put a tarp over it. The thing is, he was trying to stand on top of the trash can while she held it in place, his pants kept falling down, and then once he was up there, he was gingerly sliding around on his belly – probably because it was cold up there, and he didn’t feel the need to wear a shirt. He eventually got it covered, and then we got to watch him try to get back down. He managed, and the tarp is on, and no one was injured. Whew!!
One moon in the sky’s quite enough, thank you. : )
Once all the excitement was over, we took off on our own little adventure with David to Oak Mountain. You may have noticed, we’ve had a lot of overcast or downright rainy days since we’ve been parked here at Carson Village. Cool too. Last year when we visited, we were wearing shorts, t-shirts and hats to keep the sun out of our eyes. We kinda like the cooler temperatures, but Blaine’s craving sunshine.
At 9,940 acres, Oak Mountain is Alabama’s largest State Park, and it’s about 30-45 minutes (depending on who’s driving 😊) from home. There’s soooo many miles of trails here!
The park was created as a result of the State Land Act of 1927, establishing a park of 940 acres. In the 1930s, the National Park Service acquired approximately 8,000 acres surrounding the park. From 1934 to 1937, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) developed several roads in the park and constructed pavilions, cabins, and Lake Tranquility Dam. In 1943, the National Park Service deeded the land and facilities to Oak Mountain State Park.
Inside the park are 50 miles of hiking trails, ranging from easy short routes to strenuous multi-mile treks that can may take two or more days. A 17-mile biking trail is available as well as a 10.7-mile horse trail. The bike trail is a loop that combines a dedicated single track and fire, forest, and paved roads. The trail is heavily used and was formerly the training grounds of the U.S. Olympic Mountain Biking Team.
So says the encyclopedia of Alabama website. We didn’t even know there was an Olympic Mountain Biking Team. Guess what? I had to look it up! Apparently there is! Since 1996 at the Atlanta Games! Did you know that? Here’s some information I turned up:
Mountain biking event for both men and women is contested as a part of the Cycling discipline in the Olympics, and currently, the cross-country format of the race is the only code conducted for the event.
Organizers of the Tokyo 2020 games, revealed the course is four kilometers (2 1/2 miles) in length with several steep climbs and single-track descents. The races are expected to last for nearly 90 minutes.
Of course, we all know by now that the Tokyo Games never happened. Hopefully this summer? And then what? In three years instead of four?
The three of us completed one hike, ate some lunch and then decided to take on another, making our daily total about 10 or so miles. Uphill – a lot! And a big chunk of the second one was on that infamous mountain bike trail, which was pretty busy today. We had to keep our eyes and ears open so we could get out of the way when necessary. After reading that this was where Olympic athletes used to train, it’s no wonder David was able to ogle some of the very expensive bikes that came by us. He would know. He has a mountain bike.
Still, despite the traffic, it was a really good hike!
I almost forgot! They also have a nature preserve area where they house some birds of prey. The only part we visited today was the glass enclosure for an eagle and an owl. Gorgeous birds!
Back at David’s, he made dinner for us! It was sort of a ‘cheater’ bean soup along with cornbread. Tasty!! He was even so gracious as to prepare an additional meal just for Blaine, in case he didn’t care for the Great Northern beans. Silly man! But sooo thoughtful! Blaine didn’t touch his special meal, because the original was so good. Not to worry though, David’ll eat it for lunch or dinner one day this week.
After a delicious dinner, we took on a rousing game of “Shut the Box”. It’s a great game we were first introduced to in Williamsburg, VA. It’s a tavern game that originated in France in the 1200s, and eventually became a tavern gambling game in England that was brought over here during our early history – around the mid 1700s. Fun!