Why Can't I Do It?: Cheaha

The first thing we noticed when we arrived at Cheaha was the squirrels. The drought has affected their food supply and they were not nearly as afraid of humans as they normally are. While we were setting up the camper, Leyden sat down and ate some potato chips. She was quickly joined by a few squirrels - including a pregnant one and one with a bad eye - that were happy to take the chips right from her hands. We fed them the whole time we were there, and of course Leyden named them. The one-eyed squirrel is Hammy. Brad was a little upset that I let Leyden feed the squirrels. He said squirrels carry rabies. I promised him that if I saw any squirrels with whipped cream on their mouth, I'd get Leyden away from them. (If you haven't seen Over the Hedge, go rent it. Besides making sense of Hammy and the whipped cream, it's a good movie.)

Cheaha has several points that provide amazing views. To get to these points, you have to hike steep, rocky trails. Some folks got together and built the Doug Ghee Accessible Trail, a boardwalk about 1/4 mile long, which leads to Bald Rock.

It's a wonderful trail for families, because little kids can walk without stumbling over rocks, mamas and daddies can push strollers, or people in wheelchairs can roll along smoothly. It provides a way for people to enjoy the view that might not get to see it otherwise. Friday, our whole clan went to Bald Rock - Mom, Dad, my brother Scott, my cousin Sara, me and Leyden. It was fun!

Saturday, our friend Kevin, Scott, Sara, Leyden and I hiked the 1/2 mile trail to Pulpit Rock. From the restaurant and from the lake, you can see Pulpit Rock sticking out from the side of Cheaha Mountain. It was a grueling hike at first for those of us who aren't in shape. (Translate: Scott and KountryMama!) We had hiked from the Bunker Observation Tower to the campground earlier, so my legs were already Jello, and on the way back up from Pulpit Rock, I had to sit several times and let my legs rest. Needless to say, I was applying BioFreeze and Icy Hot for over a week after this trip!