Zion

This week We are in the Zion National Park, Utah. A beautiful punishing place if you hike Angles Landing, not for the faint of heart…

Zion Lodge…

Our mission is to climb this beast… Angles Landing….

It’s not easy….

Most people stop here and go no further…

It took us 6 hours up and back, five people have fallen to their death in the past 10 years but if you go slow and steady it’s a piece of “well …. be careful” . A wonderful hike …

 

Next, westward to Valley of Fire in Nevada …

Charleston South Carolina

They call it the low country, what the demarcation line is i have no idea. I spent the weekend with some old friends in Charleston South Carolina, founded in 1670 this beautiful city on the east coast of the United States has the cultural scene covered along with the some of the best food around.

Arthur Ravenel Bridge leading into the city

St Michael’s

Waterfront Park

St. John…. A lot of churches St. Philips

Washington Park…. Ha! I’ll be there!!!!

Magnolias on E. Bay St. Upscale Southern food.

Courtesy of the TravelChannel

 

Widows Creek Waterfall

North Carolina has one of the most assemblages of waterfalls in the US. This week we hiked into the Stone Mountain park near Trap Hill to visit the Widows Creek Waterfall.

One month wait for this restaurant

Vivian and Ben Howard are James Beard award chefs from NY City. They left the big city and started a restaurant in the little farming town of Kinston, NC.

PBS picked up their story and they have an on-going weekly TV documentary called “A Chef’s Life”. The restaurant is a great success and it’s a one-month wait to get a reservation, we went this weekend and met the owners Vivian and Ben, it was exceptional. Their restaurant is called “Chef & The Farmer” and their web page and menu are here: chefandthefarmer.com .

Ben, Lee and Vivian…

Lane Angus Ribeye, asparagus, beef tallow hashbrown, spring onion vinaigrette – Wood Fired Flatbread, asparagus parmesan cream, roasted asparagus, arugula, caramelized onions – Country Ham Seared Mullet, beet vinegar sauce, shaved celery.

Kinston, NC

 

 

Wedding ….

I am not a wedding photographer however, my best friends daughter just got married…

DIY Live Edge Dining Room Table

 

This post is a little different from previous but I’ve been working on this project for about a month now and it is finally finished.

We ventured out into the North Carolina countryside to visit Kyle, a one-man lumberyard. Kyle cuts log slabs for a living and does a good business, that’s him on the left. I’m looking for a piece to make a dining room table.

Here is our piece… Ambrosia Maple, just lovely…

The log slab is sawed in-half, glued and book-match together, then cut to size and planed down to about two-inches thick.

Next i had to repair a small crack with what’s known in the wood-working circles as a dove-tail, dutchman, or bow-tie spline. This took a little practice due to the delicate inlay and chisel. 

Sanding – 80 grit, 120, 220, very time consuming but you want it smooth as an egg shell.

Building the leg base …

Next, three coats of oil-based polyurethane, no stain, sanding with 320 grit in-between each coat.

Up-close view of the Bow-tie inlays.

The finished product… Ready for dancing ;)

 

Before they become rubble

We took the day driving around a few rural roads of North Carolina to photograph the old homes and abandoned buildings we have seen out the corner of the eye. Now that the leaves have fallen some new old homesteads are visible through the tree line. My friend and I had to photograph some of these old places before it all becomes rubble.

Farmhouse 35°40’58.0″N 78°59’56.0″W

I have included the Lat’s and Lon’s in the event someone wants to visit them and of course be prepared for “No Trespassing” signs.

Using a Canon 5D MKII 24-105mm. Due to the recent rains some of the roads flooded and created some detours.

This is a beautiful abandoned modest Victorian with a barn in the back.

751&64 home 35°44’26.5″N 78°56’58.8″W

Now just a backcountry road, the Old US Highway 1 used to be the main thoroughfare between Washington DC and Atlanta. Just South of Raleigh NC the old road has some beautiful old abandon places.

Gas station – We took a peek inside – 35°39’38.8″N 78°58’21.6″W

Feed trading house and another peek inside – 35°40’52.0″N 78°56’07.0″W

Fayetteville Rd. One room house – 35°52’28.6″N 78°56’56.7″W