My life is my bucketlist

Finally ready to go kayaking

2011-12-04T08:10:00.000-08:00

Yes it is finally time for me to start my next adventure. After many setbacks and delays and doubts if I could go. It is now only two days until I push off in my kayak down the Suwanee river. This trip will be much different than my Gold prospecting trip. I will not have access to all the things I do now. This will be a true adventure and much more remote. I will not have my truck or any modern conveniences. Also will be much more isolated from people, the Internet Etc.not sure how often I will be updating this blog, (I have to be near a town and free WiFi). But I will be keeping a written journal and taking pictures along the way. Then when I have the chance I will transfer all the information to this blog. I am excited about going and at the same time a little nervous, I think I have prepared well, but until I actually go I wont know for sure if Ive prepared enough. I feel like the little girl in this picture, stepping out in the future not really knowing what to exspect or find.

Only 3 days to go

2011-11-22T09:04:00.000-08:00

Well should be on my way down the river in 3-5 days. Have solved the problem with what to do with my truck. Probably going to leave it with my friends Dave and Kathrine. I am going to miss all the folks at the Alabama Gold Camp as well as the dogs. This is molly and she would come find me to give her a good petting almost every morning. But I am really looking forward to starting a new adventure. Plus I am ready to get closer to the warmer weather. As I get older the less and less I like being in cold weather. Well this is goodbye to Alabama Gold Camp and hello to my next adventure of kayaking down the Suwanee River into the Gulf of Mexico and down the coast of Florida to Key West. Not sure how often I can update the blog because I will not have access to electricity unless I paddle into a town.

Thanks to all the veterans in the world

2011-11-11T08:28:00.000-08:00

This is Colonel Billy George Dornberger, At an early age he knew he was going to be a fighter pilot. He served in the Korean and Vietnam wars. He gladly put his life on the line to protect our way of life. And on this day Veterans day I would like to thank him and all the other people who proudly served this country.

You don't have to like war, I think its stupid.(I served in the USMC) But you do have to thank and admire the people who fought the wars at the urging of the government. The politicians should all have to fight. Then maybe they would not be so eager to start wars.

It was below freezing last night. I slept well but waking up with frost on your sleeping bag is not fun. Getting out of my nice warm sleeping bag was not easy. But boredom of just laying there with nothing to do, made me crawl out. BRRRRRR was it cold. I need to get to Florida soon.

stop killing snakes

2011-11-10T06:39:00.000-08:00

Some ass wipe decided to club this snake to death. It is not poisonous, even if it was people should leave them alone. They control the rodent population. All this time that I have been spending in the woods, every time I came across a snake the first thing it wanted to do was get away from me. They are not going to attack you unless they have no other choice. And this is especially true when it comes to the poisonous snakes. They need their venom to eat. They don't want to use it on you. So unless your starving and are going to eat the snake, leave them alone.

Still in Alabama and the forecast is for freezing weather tonight, I am prepared to sleep in the cold, but I don't like getting up in the morning when its cold.

Still have not been able to find someone to watch the truck, so I can go on my trip. May have to alter my plans. Maybe just drive down to the keys and take short little trips in the kayak. Not giving up on the original plan just yet.

Plans dont always work out

2011-11-03T09:08:00.000-07:00

This picture is from when it was warm enough to get in the creek. I would float down with my head in the water looking for a good place to dredge for gold. Sure it looks funny but it worked. Anyway the plans I made to go kayaking went wrong, the person who was going to watch my truck backed out. So I am working on that problem. And the part I need for my kayak to keep it straight is on back order. So some delay in starting my next adventure. The weather has been COLD at night but very nice during the day. Just sitting around, doing some wood carving and just relaxing.

Kayak works like a charm

2011-10-20T07:44:00.000-07:00

Finally got around to taking the kayak to the lake to test the outriggers and sail that I made. It works like a charm. The outriggers work so well that I can stand up in the kayak. The sail could be bigger but as it is it pulls me through the water at the same speed that I can paddle. Thinking about making it bigger so that I can get more speed. Still not happy with having to sit so low, it is very uncomfortable , trying to come up with a way that I can sit upright, was using a small crate but it keeps popping open the air nozzles and causing the kayak to lose air. This is a design defect in the kayak putting the nozzles where I have to sit. Will have to duct tape them shut. I don't want to be in the Gulf of Mexico and have it go flat. Keeping my eye out for a cheap used canoe or solid body kayak. I would feel safer in something that can not go flat. Not sure when I will start this new adventure, the weather will dictate when I go. Hurricane season ends Nov 1 so I will go sometime after that. but I dont have a set date to leave. If it gets very cold I will hit the road. Just figured out the seating problem, DUHH I can switch the front and back splash guards so the seat is away from the nozzles. the kayak is shaped the same front to back, so problem solved. If anyone wants the plans for the outriggers send me a note, I built them for about ten dollars.

Goldzilla spits out gold

2011-10-18T10:18:00.000-07:00

WOW look at all that gold. Today at the last Alabama Gold Club meeting of the year, Goldzilla made her debut and boy did she work well. It was a fun filled day and night. There where about 200 people in attendance for the party that lasted well into the night. as you can see the results for Goldzilla was great. We ran the machine for six hours and got about 1 and a half ounces of gold. The gold was split between the club members who qualified and everybody was happy with the share they got. I was very happy because i got one of the nuggets you see in the pan. the event was the last one for the year, the next one will be in march. I am making a slide movie of the event and will post it soon.

Goldzilla

2011-10-11T12:01:00.000-07:00

The weather has been cold and raining for the past three days so I have not been able to test out my kayak, This weekend the gold camp is having an end of year party and the premier of GOLDZILLA,(pictured above) it is a giant machine that eats dirt and rocks and in theory will spit out nothing but gold at the end.All the members of the Alabama gold club will get a share of the gold that is found with this machine. There is also going to be a cookout, The owner is going to roast a pig, make some brunswick stew. And all the ladies will bring side dishes, Then after dinner the NASCAR race will be shown on a giant big screen TV. Its a big party with lots of food and drinks.

Peace of mind

2011-10-08T09:45:00.000-07:00

As my Gold prospecting adventure comes to an end and I am preparing for my next adventure ,It is time for some reflecting, The event of my fathers suicide is what forced me to take a look at my life and ultimately led me to make some changes in my life. And this was the perfect adventure to start my new life. It allowed me to spend thousands of hours just to think, also to commune with nature and to show me that I do not need all the common things that the American dreams requires you to accumulate. It allowed me to once again to become the child I was, I love the outdoors, I love to explore the plants and animals around me, There are more stars in the sky when your out in the woods, I have never been more at peace than I am right now. I like being by myself, I really enjoy my own company, Yesterday as I was sitting watching the water running over the rocks in the creek, two large Blue herons Came around the corner about two feet above the water and flew so close to me I could have reached out and touched them. It was such a wonderful thing to see, And I could not help to think how lucky I was to be there at that moment. These kind of things happen almost everyday and I hope to have many more. Before in my life it was all work and worry, trying to just be happy but never getting there, But now it is my normal everyday way of feeling, I am at peace and I am happy.

Blue Heron

Energy Vampires

2011-10-03T08:16:00.000-07:00

An energy vampire is a negative person who tries to make the people around them miserable. They do this by trampling peoples dreams, nothing is possible for these people, the world is a dark bleak place in their minds. Everything that can go wrong will go wrong, They spend all their time trying to convince others that life is hopeless and to join them in their misery. These people are a complete waste of your time. I avoid them, and if that doesn't work I tell them to shut up and keep their negativity to themselves, This may sound harsh and mean but you cant let these parasites into your life, they will drain your energy with there self induced problems, they need for others to be sad so that they can feel that there is nothing wrong with their way of thinking. And they will not stop until you are just as miserable as they are. They will tell you to not try things because you will fail. FAILURE is your friend, embrace it you learn more from failing at something than you do from success at something. Failure brings you a step closer to your goals. If you have one of these creatures trying to drag you down, throw them out of your life and continue on the adventure and beutty that life is.<a href="http://www.hypersmash.com/hostgator/" id="oM973">HostGator promo code</a>

Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

2011-10-01T06:33:00.000-07:00

First cold night of the year 38 degrees . It is much to early in the year to be this cold in Alabama. Will write more when my fingers warm up.

16 years of sleep

2011-09-30T07:43:00.000-07:00

This little guy is only 3 and not very happy about having to wait on his daddy, I have slept more years than he has been alive. By my calculation I have spent 16 years of my life sleeping. seems like a huge waste of time. Wish there was a way to make sleeping more productive. Just think of all the things you could do if you did not have to sleep. Have tried to go with less sleep but that only makes me sleepy, If I cut my sleep by 2 hours a night I would gain a day every 12 days. that's roughly 3 extra days a month, 36 days a year, a whole year every ten years. So going to try to get by with 6 hours a night. and do something interesting with the extra time.

To old for two wheels

2011-09-29T07:19:00.000-07:00

Traded my Honda 900 street bike for this four wheel drive, The other guy got the better deal but I got what I needed, I have had more fun on this thing then I ever did on my street bike. Plus the 900 was way to much bike for an old man.Went dredging yesterday and found some more gold, the water is getting to cold to stay in it for more than a couple of hours, cant wait to start my kayak trip in Florida. the temperature is going to drop into the low forties at night this weekend. BRRRRRR.

Since I cant wear a wetsuit(latex allergy) I have to go in the creek in jeans, This spot had a lot of gold in it.

can ride in the creek because the water is low.Well got to go look for some more gold.

freedom

2011-09-27T07:54:00.000-07:00

Life is good when you have freedom. Awoke this morning and nothing to do, nowhere I had to be, nobody expecting me to do anything for them, complete freedom. free from the wants or needs of others, free from constraints of the American dream, free from worrying about what others think of me. most of the pressures that people feel are actually self imposed, they think the world is pushing them, controlling them but they allow the outside world to influences their actions. I have discovered that it is not as difficult as i thought it would be to walk away from society and just do the things I want to really do. The things I thought were necessary turned out to not be very important to me at all. I don't miss TV I don't miss living in a house, etc etc etc, I have never been more at peace than I am right now. So what do I want to do today, Still have some modifications to make to my kayak outrigger, earlier this year I took the kayak to the gulf and paddled around.

paddling in the Gulf of Mexico

And i had trouble keeping straight, the wind pushing me around and the fact that it was very unstable. so i have built an outrigger for my kayak. Also decided that with the wind I would build a sail. Am almost finished and will take it to the lake for a test run, still have to make some directional stabilizers (fins) for the outriggers and then it will be finished. Only have about three weeks before I set out on my next adventure, the time frame is dictated by the weather, I don't like the cold weather and its starting to get chilly at night.

Camp fire

2011-09-25T09:51:00.000-07:00

The nights are turning cool, a great time for a fire. Looking forward to the upcoming week, have to finish my kayak rig and take it for a test run.

First page

2011-09-24T06:42:00.000-07:00

Still just trying to get things on this blog, added a page so people have something to read. It is not complete will post when I have added more information, Have a great day.

Just trying to get the blog up and running

2011-09-20T15:15:00.001-07:00

New to this so I am trying to figure out design and layout etc, Cant wait to get her up and running.