The funniest and--to any man--coolest gift Andy got came from Jack and Amy. It was two crates of craft beer. Forty of them, in fact. "Forty beers for forty years".
Damn!
 |
| Damn straight. |
Showing posts with label Jack and Amy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jack and Amy. Show all posts
Saturday, August 18, 2012
Andy Kunkle's Birthday Party
Carole and I went to my friend Andy Kunkle's birthday party last week. It was a lot of fun, of course. I got to see Andy and finally meet his wife Christy. And we saw Jack and Amy Thyen for the first time in a while.
The funniest and--to any man--coolest gift Andy got came from Jack and Amy. It was two crates of craft beer. Forty of them, in fact. "Forty beers for forty years".
Damn!
The funniest and--to any man--coolest gift Andy got came from Jack and Amy. It was two crates of craft beer. Forty of them, in fact. "Forty beers for forty years".
Damn!
Monday, November 17, 2008
Citico Creek Wilderness
Although I tend to be a loner when I go hiking, some of my favorite walking trips have been with friends. In August of 2006 our 
friends Amy 
and Jack joined us at Indian Boundary Recreation Area in Tennessee to go searching for waterfalls.
The weather was generally misty and rainy and overcast, which sucks for peak-bagging, but is great for viewing waterfalls. So I ended up driving and hiking to some premiere waterfalls, and avoiding the high country.
Peak bagging is mainly a high ceiling kind of thing when it 
comes to cloud cover. You can generally view waterfalls just fine, no matter what the weather. And waterfalls photograph better when its overcast.
The prettiest waterfall on this trip was the Falls of Fall Creek, located in the Citico Wilderness Area and accessible only after a long and very steep hike. Despite the fact that we got soaking wet, the hike down was well worth the effort, as this turned out to be yet another particularly striking waterfall. Many of the best waterfalls are in isolated spots, which serves to add to the atmosphere.
T
he area around the Falls of Fall Creek is covered in virgin timber. The reason for 
this is that before the timber company could harvest the trees, a wildfire swept through the cut areas around the virgin stands, consuming the railroad ties that had been left there for the narrow gauge rails needed to bring the lumber out. Before the timber company could bring in more ties, the contract ran out on this plot of public land, thus saving these amazing trees, which had never been cut.
Fast forward to modern times, and the introduced insect pest we know as Hemlock wooly adelgid accomplished what a timber harvesting company could not. When we hiked in, the virgin hemlock trees were weakening from the ravages of this Asian pest, but were still standing. From what I've been told by online friends who hike this area, in the two years since, all of the hemlock trees there have now died. It's all nothing but dead timber, as far as the hemlocks are concerned. Alas.
In the Citico Wilderness. Beauty unmolested by Mankind's industry.
friends Amy 
and Jack joined us at Indian Boundary Recreation Area in Tennessee to go searching for waterfalls.The weather was generally misty and rainy and overcast, which sucks for peak-bagging, but is great for viewing waterfalls. So I ended up driving and hiking to some premiere waterfalls, and avoiding the high country.
Peak bagging is mainly a high ceiling kind of thing when it 
comes to cloud cover. You can generally view waterfalls just fine, no matter what the weather. And waterfalls photograph better when its overcast.The prettiest waterfall on this trip was the Falls of Fall Creek, located in the Citico Wilderness Area and accessible only after a long and very steep hike. Despite the fact that we got soaking wet, the hike down was well worth the effort, as this turned out to be yet another particularly striking waterfall. Many of the best waterfalls are in isolated spots, which serves to add to the atmosphere.
T
he area around the Falls of Fall Creek is covered in virgin timber. The reason for 
this is that before the timber company could harvest the trees, a wildfire swept through the cut areas around the virgin stands, consuming the railroad ties that had been left there for the narrow gauge rails needed to bring the lumber out. Before the timber company could bring in more ties, the contract ran out on this plot of public land, thus saving these amazing trees, which had never been cut. Fast forward to modern times, and the introduced insect pest we know as Hemlock wooly adelgid accomplished what a timber harvesting company could not. When we hiked in, the virgin hemlock trees were weakening from the ravages of this Asian pest, but were still standing. From what I've been told by online friends who hike this area, in the two years since, all of the hemlock trees there have now died. It's all nothing but dead timber, as far as the hemlocks are concerned. Alas.
In the Citico Wilderness. Beauty unmolested by Mankind's industry.Sunday, April 13, 2008
Jack & Amy Get Married
Carole and I were fortunate enough to be invited to the wedding of our friends Amy & Jack. A sweeter couple you will not meet. We were very happy to be able to attend their wedding and both of us had arranged to have the day off to be at the ceremony.
The wedding was held at Amy & Jack's house in Spartanburg. Well, I knew from photos posted online that their new place was very nice, but I had no idea just how nice until we got there. The home is located in an exceptionally pretty neighborhood, the likes of which most of us would love to live in, but few of us could afford. I figured Jack did okay as a metals engineer, but he must be a whiz-kid!
We met Jack's parents and Amy's parents. Amy's dad, in addition to giving away the bride, also brought in his crew to man the portable barbecue pit and cook the pork and turkey. Jack's dad was also a very cool dude--he had read and enjoyed my novel, so that puts him foremost in my estimation! The crowd was really large for the wedding, as you would assume for a ceremony involving two such sweet and gracious individuals.
After Carole and I had been at the place for a while, I asked Jack if he could give us a tour of the house. What a great place they have! It was the personal home of an architect, and I'll be damned if I could find so much as one millimeter of wasted space in that amazing structure. The house, quite simply, is huge. The kind of house that I would love to own. If Jack ever invites you there, you'll be impressed, believe me.
Another cool part of the wedding was that so much of the chores were filled by family members and friends. The officiating minister was Leland, known to some of Jack's hiking crew as Pressley. Another very sweet person. The position of photographer was filled by yet another of Jack's hiking buddies. Carole and I acted as guests, eaters of food, and drinkers of Diet Coke and beer.
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