Ruminations from November 2016 - New Mexico

You get that feeling of a lost emotion; a far off feeling; breathing deep because perhaps you capture it and store it. The image seems to disappear and the feeling is misunderstood/changed/altered; you yearn but you don’t know what for: why do we reflect on the past as it was the present; as if it was perfect; as if it was devastating; as if it will change? Could we live in a memory/feeling?

Ruminations from 7/14/17 - Denver Airport

We dwell on the things in others that are what we actually need to focus on in ourselves. Do you hate cowards because you actually are one? Do you get upset with people that have anger and frustration on their faces because you spend so much time and effort making sure not to show it on your own face?

Buddy Holly Memorial Crash Site

Mammy's Cupboard near Natchez, Mississippi

If you've never gotten the chance to visit Natchez, you must put it on your bucket list. Aside from the numerous, well preserved antebellum homes and interesting, historic spots evoking nights of debauchery and drunken bar-fights like the 'Under-the-Hill' district, is this little gem called Mammy's Cupboard.

My friend and local history aficionado filled me in on how Mammy seemed to slowly grow whiter and whiter with every repainting. The term 'mammy' itself, may call to mind a vision of a time when blacks were often hired out as servants by whites (as evidenced by numerous Three Stooges shorts), with the mammy specifically tasked with taking care of white children. Interestingly enough, I found through some digging around that Mammy wasn't originally intended to be portrayed as black, but rather as a white Southern belle-type figure.

Mammy had started to fall into repair by the end of the century, but has fortunately survived and has been restored. No matter what color skin Mammy has, or what negative connotations are often affixed to her name, she remains as a fine example of roadside Americana folk art.

Somewhere outside of Natchez can be found this amazing display of an alternative universe where frogs rule and drink mojitos at tiki bars:

This other roadside beauty seemed to be gesturing permission for me to continue my journey out West. He is in Louisiana, not Texas: 

Rodney, Mississippi

Windsor Ruins

Queen of the Gypsies

Rocky Springs, Mississippi

New Manchester Mill Ruins, Georgia

Heavy rainfall this week filled Sweetwater Creek, overflowing onto the trail, as you can see below. Try to spot Murphy on the trail! He didn't mind the water, but I personally decided to walk through the woods to prevent the ol' soggy boot.

This mill was destroyed during the Civil War. The mill workers were forced off the land and relocated great distances; much like the Cherokee, who were forced off this land just a few decades prior.

Can someone help identify this tree based on the bark?

Sweetwater Creek, which eventually flows into the Chattahoochee River

This is where the trail was supposed to be.

If you right click on this, and open full size in a new tab, or download it, you should be able to see all of the text in the picture. 

Coordinates: 33.74763, -84.62329