A Dirty Wild Dog Rides to God's Country to Visit Da Yoopers, Eh.

[big oil]

The next morning, I awoke early in Kerrville, though not as early as the previous morning.  I was fatigued after the long day in the saddle.  I didn't get on the road heading back to the DFW area until around 10am.

I rode for a couple of hours before stopping for some breakfast.  A colleague of mine had recommended a road side stop as he knew the owners well.  I stopped, only to find out breakfast was not served.  It was a gorgeous sunny day, already very warm.  I ordered a sandwich, bowl of soup, and a beer.  Total = 17 dollars  :eek7:.  This road side stop was turning into a highway robbery.  atch: :xxbah:  Anyway, I sat down at an outside table and enjoyed the admitted great tasting (it had better taste good) lunch, basking in the warm Texas sun. 

I arrived back in the DFW area late afternoon, ready for a nap.

Over the next couple of days, Chef Brian, myself, and his lovely daughter hung out, went to dinner, made dinner, lounged by the pool.  Just relaxed.

Here's Chef Brian, one of my true good friends, with his beautiful daughter, Alexis, and his handsome son, Drew.






Alexis is one of those tiny little Texas sweethearts.  Probably 100 pounds, cute as can be, and a wonderful friendly personality.  Some guy will be very lucky to have her as his bride.






And she knows how to handle a gun as well.  Isn't she cool?  :biggrin:






We eventually made our way to downtown Dallas, Texas.






Attended opening day at the Texas State Fair, where we visited Big Tex.  From wiki:  The State Fair of Texas is an annual state fair held in Dallas at historic Fair Park. The fair has taken place every year since 1886 except for varying periods during World War I and World War II.  While the State Fair of Texas considers quantifying its official attendance figures "too much of a hassle", it is still consistently recognized as one of the most highly attended and best state fairs in America as well as Dallas's signature event. 

Big Tex is a 55-foot (16 m) tall statue and marketing icon of the annual State Fair of Texas held at Fair Park in Dallas, Texas.  The Dickie shirt features a 14-foot collar, 23 foot sleeves and weighs 130 pounds (59 kg). The shirt is made from 150 yards (140 m) of awning material. The new Dickie jeans features a 27-foot waist, 22 foot inseam and weighs 100 pounds (45 kg). The jeans are made from 100 yards (91 m) of denim material.






You can't go to the Texas State Fair without eating a heart attack on a stick, aka a Corn Dog.  A grilled hot dog, then dipped in corn flavored batter, then deep fried. 

Here are some pics to give you an idea on what a corn dog looks like.  eepwall:






This sweet little angel obviously likes to take her corn dog deep before biting a piece off.






Presidential candidate Michele Bachman enjoys just a little tip before biting.






But, like a well trained woman, she chews and swallows with her mouth closed.






This little angel appears to be enjoying her corn dog.  :drif:






This sweet little Asian princess appears to like her corn dogs in the foot-long variety.






I enjoy a corn dog with a little ketchup and mustard like this lovely woman.






This little angel likes a vegan corn dog.






This poor girl is finding out the 'hard' way that sometimes a corn dog can be to big for her mouth.






Have I explained to you Wild Dog's that I am a very sick and twisted individual?  There is no cure for what ails me.  I can't help it boets, I find a woman eating a corn dog or hot dog very sexy.



Does anyone agree?






This sweetie pie likes a hot dog on a bun about 1 foot long.






Here's some daddy's sweet little Texas angel demonstrating the proper method to eat on a corn dog in a size I can relate to and used to carrying around.  eepwall:

​

 

[Mr Zog]

I am a very sick and twisted individual?

Yes you are...  :deal:  :dousing:  ot:



I am relatively new here, but have also found that there is just something about a redneck chick wearing a bikini top, daisy dukes, and cowboy boots, and eating a corn dog that gets my blood rushing...  :drif: :drif: :drif: eepwall:  :imaposer: :imaposer: :imaposer:

Corn dogs can be sooooo tasty!!!  :drif:

 

[OomD]

Those are the most educational and uplifting corndog eating pictures I have ever seen! That you so much for sharing!  :drif:

 

[ClimbingTurtle]

Educational too!

I had no idea there was so many ways to get down on a corn-dog!

Should show the wife!!

No...., Wait....

:imaposer:

 

[woody1]

:laughing4:

 

[Chrisl]

in a size I can relate to and used to carrying around.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jur5cgqHmI

 

[big oil]

:laughing4:  :lol8:

 

[big oil]

Those are the most educational and uplifting corndog eating pictures I have ever seen! That you so much for sharing!  :drif:

:lol8:

 

[big oil]

Educational too!

I had no idea there was so many ways to get down on a corn-dog!

Should show the wife!!

No...., Wait....

:imaposer:

I suggest you put your helmet on before showing her.  :lol8:

 

[big oil]

I am a very sick and twisted individual?

Yes you are...  :deal:  :dousing:  ot:



I am relatively new here, but have also found that there is just something about a redneck chick wearing a bikini top, daisy dukes, and cowboy boots, and eating a corn dog that gets my blood rushing...  :drif: :drif: :drif: eepwall:  :imaposer: :imaposer: :imaposer:

Corn dogs can be sooooo tasty!!!  :drif:

It's most likely because of your EMT background, Mr. Zog.  You and I care about these woman and their health.  It gets awfully hot in Texas and Florida and we don't want to see these women overheat.  So always encourage them to wear bikini tops and daisy dukes during high temp weather.  eepwall:

​

 

[big oil]

WARNING:  GRAPHIC PICS and VIDEO CONTAINED IN THIS POST.  YOU MAY WANT TO SKIP THIS POST IF YOU HAVE A SENSITIVE STOMACH.​

After attending the Texas State Fair, I asked Chef Brian to drive me to Dealey Plaza in downtown Dallas, Texas where on this day, 54 years ago, our President, John F. Kennedy was assassinated.

​

Although I was not born when JFK was assassinated, from a young age I could sense the majority of Americans in my environment, loved him very much and still mourned his death, especially the way he died.






Born May 29, 1917 in Brookline, Massachusetts, John Kennedy loved the ocean.  He served in the United States Navy from 1941-1945.  Later in life he continued his love for sailing.






As you can see in this pic of him at the helm of his yacht, 'Manitoulin'.

​

As President of the USA, JFK had the highest average approval rating of any POTUS in the history of measuring the presidents job approval at 70%.






A man with a vision of putting a halt to the war machine.  A man who at after being sworn in as the 35th President of the United States of America, in his inaugural address called for all Americans to be active citizens when he said, "Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country."  He went on to ask all nations of the world to join together to fight what he called the "common enemy of man: tyranny, poverty, disease, and war".

​

John graduated from the esteemed Harvard College.  Americans fell in love with his handsome looks and his eloquent speaking ability.  Not all Americans loved him, however.  Deep South states deeply entrenched with Jim Crow segregation laws despised JFK.

​

He married his sweetheart, Jacqueline Bouvier in 1953 when John was a United States Senator representing Massachusetts at age 36.

​

What a lovely pair.  I find Jacqueline very beautiful.  I like the wide between the eyes look.  I call girls with such width between the eyes, 'hammerhead sharks'.








Jacqueline adored John, easy to see in these pics.  She may not have liked him very much after learning of his affairs, but she still loved and adored her man.



​

The love birds had two children.  Here's a pic of JFK with daughter Caroline.






A pic of President Kennedy with son, John F. Kennedy Jr.  JFK, Jr. is playing under the Resolute desk in the Oval Office of the White House.  You can see him in the opening of the trap door.

​

President JFK and First Lady, Jackie, getting seated in the beautiful long black Lincoln convertible limousine at the airport, shortly after arriving in Dallas, Texas.






Shortly after entering the Lincoln, the Presidential Motorcade began driving to downtown Dallas.  They entered Dealey Plaza.






A closer look at Dealey Plaza and the Texas School Book Depository on the left where witnesses allegedly heard the fatal shots come from.






The former Dallas County Courthouse not far away.  It is now a museum.  If you're ever near Dallas, I suggest you go see the architecture.






The Presidential Limo turned left traveling South in front of the Texas School Book Depository.

​

A short time after turning left, apparently 2 shots were heard.  The first shot hit our President in the back, exiting his throat and then entering Governor of Texas, John Connelly, also shot apparently by the one bullet.  A few seconds later, shot 2 hit our President directly in the head, blowing off approximately 1/4 of his head and brain, as seen in the following video.  After the head shot, Jackie can be seen crawling onto the trunk of the Lincoln to gather pieces of her husbands brain and scalp.

[youtube]https://youtu.be/Zmz4lz6l8Fs[/youtube]​

Leaving our beloved President in this condition.

​

A few days later, our President was laid to rest.  This pic shows the Kennedy family at the funeral procession in Washington, DC.  Caroline to mom Jackie's right and John Jr. nicknamed John John saluting his fathers casket.  :'(  I'll not ever understand the mindset or evil it must take to kill someone in cold blood, especially a father of 2 young children.

​

A few of my favorite JFK quotes:

"I believe in an America where the separation of church and state is absolute — where no Catholic prelate would tell the President (should he be Catholic) how to act, and no Protestant minister would tell his parishoners for whom to vote — where no church or church school is granted any public funds or political preference — and where no man is denied public office merely because his religion differs from the President who might appoint him or the people who might elect him."




"I believe in an America where religious intolerance will someday end — where all men and all churches are treated as equal — where every man has the same right to attend or not attend the church of his choice — where there is no Catholic vote, no anti-Catholic vote, no bloc voting of any kind — and where Catholics, Protestants and Jews, at both the lay and pastoral level, will refrain from those attitudes of disdain and division which have so often marred their works in the past, and promote instead the American ideal of brotherhood."



"Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty."




"Terror is not a new weapon. Throughout history it has been used by those who could not prevail, either by persuasion or example. But inevitably they fail, either because men are not afraid to die for a life worth living, or because the terrorists themselves came to realize that free men cannot be frightened by threats, and that aggression would meet its own response. And it is in the light of that history that every nation today should know, be he friend or foe, that the United States has both the will and the weapons to join free men in standing up to their responsibilities.

I come here today to look across this world of threats to a world of peace. In that search we cannot expect any final triumph — for new problems will always arise. We cannot expect that all nations will adopt like systems — for conformity is the jailor of freedom, and the enemy of growth. Nor can we expect to reach our goal by contrivance, by fiat or even by the wishes of all.
But however close we sometimes seem to that dark and final abyss, let no man of peace and freedom despair. For he does not stand alone. If we all can persevere, if we can in every land and office look beyond our own shores and ambitions, then surely the age will dawn in which the strong are just and the weak secure and the peace preserved.

Ladies and gentlemen of this Assembly, the decision is ours. Never have the nations of the world had so much to lose, or so much to gain. Together we shall save our planet, or together we shall perish in its flames. Save it we can — and save it we must — and then shall we earn the eternal thanks of mankind and, as peacemakers, the eternal blessing of God."



"Mankind must put an end to war or war will put an end to mankind."



"The weapons of war must be abolished before they abolish us."

























​

 

[big oil]

I apologize if the previous post was too negative or graphic.  My intention was to give you insight on the assassination and to give you a feel for how JFK's death still affects Americans today.

Hopefully this post is more positive and cheerful!

I was quite sore from saddling the HOG for so many miles in Texas.  With the weather turning cold in Michigan and the fact that my home state was receiving periods of freezing rain and snow, I decided to garage the HOG in Texas over the winter months, and fly back to Detroit.

I spent the winter staying as warm as possible.  Went on I think 1 or 2 snowmobile trips to the Upper Peninsula.  Over the winter months I began seeing pictures of the new KTM 1290 Super Adventure R.  :drif:

As I said before, I grew up riding off-road.  I missed riding sand and gravel.  There's so little traffic here in the US on gravel roads and little to no traffic on the sandy seasonal roads in my home state.

My last adventure touring bike was a 2012 Yamaha Super Tenere.  Loved the bike, the Yammie was as reliable as an anvil.  Slightly overweight and not enough power to get my blood boiling though.  I'm a horsepower fanatic or junkie.  Here's a pic of my Super Ten.  I had lots of fun riding her.  Turning the TC off and steering with the rear on gravel roads was fairly easy because the Yammie was very stable.

​

Spring of 2017 came around, us Michigan residents were slowly thawing.  I was chomping at the bit to start riding again, so I decided it was time to go back to Dallas and retrieve the HOG so I could bring the bike back to Michigan and decide to keep her or let her go.

Instead of coming directly back to Michigan, I decided to go over and visit Crazy Bill in Louisiana for a few days.  Like a lot of Louisianans, he's crazy, but a lot of fun.  Bill and I did contract work for the same company and worked together on the same projects.  Once I got promoted, Bill worked for me on my team.  He's one of those contractual workers who needs a long leash.  If you micro-manage Bill, he won't do his work.  He couldn't be trusted to even be working when he was supposed to be.  He might have been on a 3 day gambling binge in Las Vegas when he was supposed to be on project. 

Management wanted me to fire Bill.  I refused.  Management called Bill in for a meeting a few days later.  Bill called me to let me know of the meeting.  I drove about 100 mph to get to the office to find out that management had had enough of his antics and were going to fire him.  Bill had been billing days for being on-project when he was off somewhere in another state gambling!!  Luckily I saved his job, but had to put my behind on the line in doing so.  They explained to Bill that the only reason he still had a job was because I put my job on the line for him.

From that day, he showed loyalty.  I knew Bill had a gambling addiction and couldn't help himself, but when it came to meeting with landowners to secure land for pipeline projects, Bill was one of the best.  I knew he was still getting on a plane to go gamble, but when it came to crunch time and I explained to him that he had to get the impossible done in a short amount of time, Bill did it.  I understood that Bill lives like a rock-star.  Drugs, alcohol, and gambling, but when the shit hit the fan, Bill was the most loyal to me and did what no other man on my team could do.  How do you fire a guy like that?

Here's Bill grilling him, I, and a few members of his family some delicious Hamburgers and Sausage.

​

Bill no longer works in the oil industry.  He is now part owner of a heavy equipment rental business.  They rent Bulldozers, Track-Hoes, Front-end Loaders, all the way down to small stuff such as lawn mowers and Ditch Witches.  The business is doing quite well.




The next day, Bill and I went to West Monroe, Louisiana to sight see.  I'm not sure if 'Duck Dynasty' is televised in SA, but West Monroe is the city where the show is filmed and the Duck Dynasty crews business and museum, Duck Commander, is located.  The boys on 'Duck Dynasty' golf at the Country Club behind Bill's house.  He showed me where he went to high school, the main river that runs through town, then we stopped at the best place in town to eat Mud Bugs aka Crawfish.  We went to Cormier's Cajun Catering and Restuarant. https://cormierscajuncatering.com/restaurant-menu/  The place serves Boiled Shrimp and Boiled Mud Bugs so spicy they will make your mouth burn.  Just the way I like them.  We ordered 5 pounds of Mud Bugs, which come with boiled Redskin taters and corn.






A pound of Shrimp with all the cocktail sauce and hot melted butter one desires......






and a bucket of 6 beers, 2 of which were already open and 1/2 way gone, it was so hot outside.  Well, it was hot for this polar bear anyway, not the locals.  I always get laughed at and picked on when I go down to Texas and Louisiana.  Nothing changed in the Spring of 2017.  I couldn't stand the heat, felt like I could not breathe it was so hot.  All my friends are laughing and saying it's not even summer yet, the high temps have not even begun yet. Well, you could have fooled me.  I cannot imagine hell itself, being much hotter. 

​

After dinner, we went back to Bill's to drink until we passed out.  What a great day!​

 

[Mr Zog]

Awesome food!  :drif: :drif: :drif: :drif: :drif:

And speaking of food, Happy Thanksgiving buddy. Enjoy the holidays.  :thumleft:

 

[big oil]

Awesome food!  :drif: :drif: :drif: :drif: :drif:

And speaking of food, Happy Thanksgiving buddy. Enjoy the holidays.  :thumleft:

Thanks Zog, Happy Thanksgiving to you and Mrs. Zog as well.  :thumleft:

 

[NoRush]

BO, thank you for sharing he may very well have changed things for the better and that must have pissed off quite a few guys. Those girls sure look hot in their boots and shirts.
I also live in an area where we see very high humid condition and it does'nt take long for me to sweat like a pig. We are already approaching December and have'nt seen one HOT day
yet.The humidity makes terrible riding weather.  Happy Thanksgiving.. BigOil and family.

 

[big oil]

Thanks [member=18206]NoRush[/member], we had a great Thanksgiving, close family and our pets, could not have asked for more.

I ate too much though!!

The heat is something I struggle with, especially high temps and humidity.

 

[big oil]

I awoke the next morning a little later then my normal time, a few too many beers and whiskey apparently.

Bill wanted to drive West a few hours to Shreveport, Louisiana to the casino.  I enjoy playing poker and taking friends money, but I loathe casinos here in the US.  I can't take all the second-hand smoke.  Bill asked me if I wanted to go, I told Bill to go phuck himself!  He laughed.  Don't hate on me, it is just the way a lot of us talk to good friends here.

So, Bill headed West, I decided to head East to Birmingham, Alabama to visit the Barber Motorsports Museum where George Barber has a collection of apparently, 1,700 motorcycles or more.  Nobody knows the real count.  I have a thread on this forum of my visits to the museum in 2016 & 2017.  It may take years before I have all the pics I took posted of George's bikes, but if you'd like to see some cool bikes, please visit my thread here:  https://wilddog.net.za/forum/index.php?
topic=210112.0

It was smooth cruising across Louisiana.  I made a rest stop to use the bathroom at a Vicksburg, Mississippi rest area.  Vicksburg is located on a high bluff overlooking the mighty Mississippi River.






The Ameristar Riverwalk Casino on the Mississippi river.






Vicksburg, MS was a key battle site during our ugly Civil War.

May 18 - July 4, 1863
The Battle of Vicksburg

In the summer of 1863, Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant’s Army of the Tennessee converged on Vicksburg on the Mississippi River, investing the city and trapping a Confederate army under Lt. Gen. John Pemberton. The city was located on a high bluff, and Union occupation of the town was critical to control of the strategic river. Grant's bold 6-week campaign began in early June and took his army south through Arkansas opposite Vicksburg, crossed the river 30 miles below the city, captured the Mississippi capital of Jackson, turned west and pushed Pemberton's army into Vicksburg itself.

By mid-May, Pemberton's men had constructed a series of trenches, forts, redans, and artillery lunettes in a 7-mile ring surrounding the city.  Grant's army surrounded Pemberton and outnumbered him two to one. Wasting no time, Grant launched two major assaults on May 19th and 22nd and was repulsed with heavy casualties.  On May 25th, Grant decided to besiege the city. With no reinforcements coming, food and supplies nearly gone, and after holding out for more than forty days, Pemberton finally surrendered on July 4th.

Grant's Vicksburg campaign was one of the most brilliant of the war. With the loss of Pemberton’s army at Vicksburg and the Union victory at Port Hudson five days later, the Union controlled the entire Mississippi River and the Confederacy was effectively split in half. Grant's victory boosted his reputation, leading ultimately to his appointment as General-in-Chief of the Union armies.

It is one of the more remarkable campaigns of the American Civil War. For many a hard fought month, Ulysses S. Grant and his Army of the Tennessee had been trying to wrest away the strategic Confederate river fortress of Vicksburg, Mississippi. Previous, direct attempts to take this important town high above the Mississippi River were blocked by deft rebel counter moves and some of the most pernicious terrain in the entire Western theater.

In late April 1863, Grant undertook a new and bold campaign against Vicksburg and the Confederate defenders under John Pemberton. After conducting a surprise landing below Vicksburg at Bruinsburg, Mississippi, Grant’s forces moved rapidly inland, pushing back the threat posed by Joseph E. Johnston’s forces near Jackson. Once his rear was clear, Grant again turned his sights on Vicksburg.

Union victories at Champion Hill and Big Black Bridge weakened Pemberton’s forces, leaving the Confederate chief with no alternative but to retreat to Vicksburg's defenses. The Federals assailed the Rebel stronghold on May 19 and 22, but were repulsed with such great loss that Grant determined to lay siege to the city to avoid further loss of life. Soldiers and civilians alike endured the privations of siege warfare for 47 days before the surrender of Pemberton’s forces on July 4, 1863. With the Mississippi River now firmly in Union hands, the Confederacy's fate was all but sealed.

Union Victory

COMMANDERS

UNION - Ulysses S. Grant

CONFEDERATE - John C. Pemberton

FORCES ENGAGED = 110,000

Union- 77,000

Confederate - 33,000

TOTAL ESTIMATED CASUALTIES - 37,273

Union - 4,910

806 killed
3,940 wounded
164 missing & captured


Confederate - 32,363

805 killed
1,938 wounded
29,620 missing & captured

​

I continued East towards Jackson, Mississippi when I saw an exit sign for Natchez Trace Parkway.  The NTP is a famous National Scenic Byway ran by our National Park Service.

From the web:  The Natchez Trace Parkway leads you 444 miles through three states and 10,000 years of North American history. This scenic parkway links Natchez with Nashville and crosses some of the most beautiful terrain in the states of Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee. The Parkway has been declared a National Scenic Byway and an All-American Road, and has been chosen as one of America’s 10 best biking roads. Open year-round for motorists, hikers and bikers, it provides visitors the opportunity for an unhurried trip through time.

Established as a unit of the National Park System in 1938 and officially completed in 2005, the Parkway is currently headquartered in Tupelo, Mississippi and continues to be maintained and administered by NPS. The Natchez Trace commemorates the most significant highway of the Old Southwest.

The natural travel corridor that became the Natchez Trace dates back many centuries. It bisected the traditional homelands of the Natchez, Chickasaw, and Choctaw nations. As the United States expanded westward in the late 1700s and early 1800s, growing numbers of travelers tramped the rough trail into a clearly marked path. The ”sunken” sections you can walk along today are clear signs of historic use. In 1801 President Thomas Jefferson designated the Trace a national postal road for the delivery of mail between Nashville and Natchez.

Gen. Andrew Jackson, Jefferson Davis, James Audubon, Meriwether Lewis (who died on the Trace in 1809), and Ulysses S. Grant are among the famous Americans to have traveled the Natchez Trace.

Most travelers were anonymous working folks. In the early 1800s through the mid-1820s, “Kaintucks” from the Ohio River Valley floated cash crops, livestock, and other materials down the Mississippi River on wooden flatboats. At Natchez or New Orleans, they sold their goods, sold their boats for lumber, and walked or rode horseback toward home via the Old Trace. As the road was improved, stands (inns) provided lodging, food, and drink to Trace travelers.

Today the Natchez Trace provides a near-continuous greenway from the southern Appalachian foothills of Tennessee to the bluffs of the lower Mississippi River. Along the way are sites like Emerald Mound, a national historic landmark and one of the largest American Indian mounds in the United States; and Mount Locust, one of only two surviving stands.

The Natchez Trace also crosses four ecosystems and eight major watersheds, and provides habitat for nearly 1,500 species of plants, 33 mammal species, 134 bird species, and 70 species of reptiles and amphibians. Also designated as a National Scenic Byway and All-American Road, the parkway encourages modern travelers to experience historic and scenic landscapes at a leisurely pace.




A video of the NTP:  https://www.nps.gov/media/video/view.htm?id=9A0FEBAF-1DD8-B71B-0BA6802BAAF198A0



The NTP runs from Nashville, Tennessee to Natchez, Mississippi.


​

I exited Interstate 20 West of Jackson, Mississippi to travel on the NTP.  I stopped at the Clinton Visitor Center in Clinton, Mississippi to learn more about the NTP, unfortunately it was closed.  I shot some pics of the beautiful brick building and the site on which it sits.








A pic of the land the visitor center sits on.






A nice statue on the property.








A nice creek runs through the property.

​

I did not stay on the NTP long as the speed limit is 45-50 mph and I wanted to get to Birmingham, Alabama and still had quite a ways to go.  I hit a traffic jam West of Tuscaloosa, Alabama that was 40-50 miles long, so I exited the highway and made my way heading East and going through some large towns with many traffic lights.  I'd rather wait at traffic lights for a few minutes than possibly wait for hours on the Interstate highway.

I finally arrived at my hotel near Birmingham, Alabama around 5pm.  I stayed at a hotel near the entrance road to Barber Motorsports Museum.  I took a little cat nap then a shower and went across the road to a huge Bass Pro Shops I'd asked the hotel attendant about.  She had told me it was huge. 

Upon entrance one is greeted by this:






A close-up of the moose.  I don't think there are any moose in this part of the country so this moose was mostly likely hunted much further north or in Canada.  Moose tastes excellent if prepared correctly.  This shoulder mount moose really is not that big.






Black Crappie - 4 pounds 5 ounces caught by Shelley Meadows, Mentone, Alabama.







Largemouth Bass - 16 pounds 8 ounces caught by Thomas Burgin of Birmingham, Alabama.






Blue Catfish - 111 pounds caught by WM. McKinley of Elkmont, Alabama.






Spotted Bass - 8 pounds 15 ounces caught by Phillip C. Terry of Decatur, Alabama.






Smallmouth Bass - 10 pounds 8 ounces caught by Owen F. Smith of Fairfield, Alabama.






A small Warthog.  They have become an enormous problem in some southern states, especially Texas.  They reproduce like mice and destroy crops.  Texas has had to start shooting them from helicopters to help control the population.






These hogs get enormous, like this 500 pound + example.  Web pic.


​

A mountain lion.  These critters are normally afraid of humans and run away.  Though, hikers have been attacked and killed by them.  They normally attack woman and small children, rarely a man for some reason.  It is said one will never be attacked by a mountain lion if one simply wears a face mask on the back of their head.  The lion will only attack from behind, so the faced mask screws them up and they will not attack.  I don't ever want to find out if this is true or not.






A fairly large Grizzly Bear.  Most likely not taken anywhere near Alabama as they're mostly found out West and Western Canada and also Alaska.  A very powerful animal, they can decapitate or disembowel a human with one swipe.  You cannot outrun them, they run at about 30 mph.  You cannot out climb them because of their claws and strength.  People claim to play dead lying on your stomach.  I'm not going out like that.  Indians have told me in Canada the best thing to do is actually to walk towards them waving your arms, yelling loud, and appear as big as you can and it will scare them off. 

If the bear is badly injured or if you are walking on a trail and surprise a mother bear and her cubs are nearby, say your goodbyes if you don't have a large caliber weapon.








And finally, have a look at this prehistoric fish.  It is called an Alligator Gar and they get enormous.  My pics don't do this fish justice, it is over 7 feet long.






And the guy who caught it.






Another example.

​

After leaving the Bass Pro Shops store/museum, I decided to ride up a very curvy road to the summit to capture a photograph of dusk.  Notice the cows in the valley.






And the sun going down behind the mountain.







Rode back down the mountain through a few small villages looking for a tavern.  Nothing to be found.  I was starting to get the shakes!  I phoned the hotel attendant to ask wtf is going on.  Just my luck, I'm staying in a dry county.  Jissus what in the %*#$.

So, I decided to hit up a restaurant and eat some Prime Rib beef and a tasty Sweet Tater.  I like it cooked rare if you can't tell.  This one is cooked just to my liking.  I like it when you can give it a good slap and it shakes a little from still being alive!




After my belly was full, I went back to the hotel and got in bed early.  All that Prime Rib had me feeling like a beached whale.
​

 

[Oubones]

Interesting country and way of showing it.
Keep it coming!
I have wildebees and kudu halfmounts in my lounge, much to my wife's dismay.
I did not shoot them though, got them as a present.
I shot smaller game. eepwall:
Nice to see pics of areas that I only read about in cowboy books. :imaposer:

 

[DirtyTeNeReLess]

interesting. a dry stop over though? poor planning. get out there quick!

Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk

 

[big oil]

Interesting country and way of showing it.
Keep it coming!
I have wildebees and kudu halfmounts in my lounge, much to my wife's dismay.
I did not shoot them though, got them as a present.
I shot smaller game. eepwall:
Nice to see pics of areas that I only read about in cowboy books. :imaposer:

Glad you are enjoying my report, Mr. Oubones  :thumleft:

I love shooting and owning guns, but I do not hunt.  I killed some small game when I was a teenager but I'm too much of a softy.  I will eat wild game though.  I'm the type that will remove a spider from the house without killing it  :lol8: