The man we know today as Turkana Boy was almost certainly smiling when he picked up his new stone knife, gently rubbed his finger along the freshly flinted edge, and uttered a satisfied, “Ah, yea,” — or its equivalent in the lingo of Homo erectus. We humans, beginning with our early ancestors, have been using … Read more
Georgia State Road 197 intersects U.S. 76 between Hiawassee and Clayton, Georgia, plunging south through Moccasin Creek State Park and the mountains of the Chattahoochee National Forest until it dumps Helen-bound motorcyclists onto Georgia State Road 356. From there you’ll follow the scenic, twisting two-lane through the valleys and mountains, past Unicoi State Park, and … Read more
Two days of cloudy cold weather packed up, bundled up, and trundled up the mountain paths and out of western North Carolina just in time for spring, 2026, which arrived today with sunshine and temperatures that stretched to 72 degrees. Tomorrow, the weather god, Freyr, promises even more sunny warmth. Word is he’ll push the … Read more
News arrived this morning that Trump’s misshapen Department of Justice has dropped the prosecution of an Arden, North Carolina, man who pointed out the illegality of a Trump so-called executive order designed to make it illegal to burn an American flag. Flag-burning as a form of protest has been settled U.S. law for more than … Read more
The weather forecast was for heavy fog when I left the cabin at 6:50 for an early morning appointment at the VA CBOC in Franklin, North Carolina. The route from Murphy takes you through a section of the Nantahala National Forest where it straddles Clay and Macon counties, and across some of the highest mountains … Read more
The Ides of March marked misfortune and doom for the ancient Romans, but in 2026, the month didn’t start out that way in the North Carolina mountains. March 1 marked sunny, beautiful motorcycle weather in the western mountains. You take what you can get. The thermometer eventually reached 73 at mid-afternoon. Today I rode over … Read more
