As I reported earlier today a rock slide overnight has closed a section of I40 on the Tn/NC border inside of Tennessee. The slide deposited large boulders in the breakdown lane on the westbound side and there is still a potential more rocks will slide. Tennessee officials have brought in geologists to study the situation and develop a plan to stabilize the rocky face and remove the slide rocks and reopen the road. While a timeline has not been set speculation is this will be more a matter of weeks as opposed to the last time when it took 6 months to reopen the road. The east bound lane remains open.

“It doesn’t look anywhere near as extensive as the major rock slides years ago,” said Mark Nagi, a community relations officer for Tennessee DOT.

It is unclear what or how big an effect the rockslide will have on businesses in Haywood County.

“That is just something that we can’t answer at this point in time,” said CeCe Hipps, president of the Haywood County Chamber of Commerce. “Hopefully, this will not have a big effect on business in Haywood County.”

For now, county tourism leaders are spreading the word that Interstate 40 is still open near Waynesville, Maggie Valley, Canton and Clyde.

“We are just thinking how to keep the doors open,” Hipps said.

The Haywood County and Maggie chambers and the Tourism Development Authority have emailed businesses and posted information on their websites about the slide and encouraged visitors not to cancel their plans.

“We want to make sure that people are not deterred,” Hipps said.

Smoky Mountain News

With a much milder winter this year now is a good time to beat the crowds in the Cataloochee Valley and see the elk. This is one of my favorite places in North Carolina to go and relax if you’ve never been you need to go check this place out.

A rock slide this time on the Tennessee side of the border has closed sections of I 40 in North Carolina and Tennessee.

Asheville, N.C. — The North Carolina Department of Transportation closed westbound Interstate 40 in Haywood County on Tuesday morning following a rock slide in Tennessee.

The interstate is expected to be closed for at least two weeks as crews clear the debris from the roadway and stabilize other rocks to prevent similar slides.

Westbound drivers need to take the following detour: Exit at westbound Interstate 240 (Exit 53B) in Asheville and head to Interstate 26 West (Exit 4A). Then, follow I-26 to Interstate 81 South (Exit 8A) in Tennessee and back to I-40.

Eastbound traffic isn’t affected by the rock slide.

A rock slide west of Asheville in late 2009 closed I-40 for about six months.

WRAL News

This mountainous section of the state is pron to rock slides and hopefully they can clear it quickly. This is important travel route for commerce as well as outdoor types looking to access Great Smokey Mountain National Park and other high interest locations. We’ll continue to follow this story as it develops

National Geographic Wild America channel is a new channel in the satellite lineup that is in my book a great channel. Tonight they are exploring the Grand Canyon which is one of my favorite places to visit.

America’s Wild Spaces: Grand Canyon

NGC joins a scientific expedition to explore the Grand Canyon’s entire 277- mile lenght. We’ll trace its geological history, study its colonies of vegetation and examine its unique creatures to unlock the mysteries of this wonder.

Nat Geo Wild

This is a pretty good show tracing wildlife and human impact on the canyon. They covered a story I reported on a few years back on the accidental death of wildlife biologist Eric York

They also covered the restoration of the Condor and the impact of hunting on them. Many believe that Condors are being poisoned by ingesting lead from gut piles of hunter killed game animals. There has been an effort to get hunters to use lead free ammunition to reduce the possibility of poisoning the birds.
A very good show and worth watching if you have any interest in the Grand Canyon, wildlife, and the natural world. I’m sure they’ll rebroadcast this show in the future so check the listings and DVR it you won’t be disappointed.

Friday I tagged out on my second gobbler in North Carolina which is good and bad. Happy I tagged out after last year not killing a bird but it takes out half of what I planned for this next week. I’m on a Cast & Blast Trip plan was to fish for bass and turkey hunt. Being tagged out I guess I’ll focus on maybe some photography along with bass fishing. Once I get back and get a chance I’ll post some detail stories of my hunts.

This weekend I attended a family wedding in Florida and while I spent most of my time visiting with family I did get out early on Saturday morning with my camera and captured some wildlife mostly birds. I did come across a flock of Osceola Turkey’s the first time I’ve ever seen them. Osceola turkeys are only found in the southern parts of Florida with Eastern sub-specie found in the northern parts. I was in Fort Myers so there is no doubt they were Osceola’s. Now if I could only find a place to hunt them down there I’d be all set.

Florida was beautiful a bit on the warm side. I wish I had more then the few hours on Saturday to get out and check out the nature and the sights. I hope you enjoy the photos I’ve posted.

I’ve had few opportunities to meet other outdoor bloggers but yesterday Rick Kratzke of Whitetail Woods and I met up at the Cabela’s in East Hartford Connecticut. We have both been blogging for a number of years and talked on line but have never met face to face. My route home from my New England trip took me right by the Cabela’s and the opportunity for us to finally meet.

We had a great time walking around the store looking at stuff with many of the objects prompting one of us to tell a story or two. The time passed to quick and I had to get back on the road and headed home. Pretty amazing that a couple of deer hunters meet up on the internet a number of years ago and become friends. Technology is great.
The Cabela’s in East Hartford is a bit tricky to find, especially if your brand new GPS dies on the trip (future story), because it seems to be in an odd place and not visible from the highway. Once you find it you won’t be disappointed. There is some spectacular displays in there…. My favorite was the two bull moose fighting.
If you’ve never checked out Whitetail Woods blog you should go over and checked it out. Rick has some great info and stories over there as well as some great recipes.

I had a great trip and have some more photos and stories to share with you but right now I got to get some rest because Monday morning will be here before we know.

Parker River National Wildlife Refuge in Massachusetts is a barrier island that I visited a number of times in my youth. I don’t recall it being called that we just knew it as Plum Island. I hadn’t been back there in close to 30 years but an encounter one wintery day back then has stuck in my mind and now calls me back. One winter day, I suspect it was a Sunday, my Dad took us for a ride down there and we saw a magnificent Snowy Owl. As a kid I recall how amazed I was looking at that large white snowy bird. Now years later as a photographer my dream is to capture some of those images that forever play in my mind when I think of Plum Island.

Having just a few hours to explore around I knew my chances were slim but I hoped to find a snowy owl. A hike down on to the beach proved productive with my first ever encounter with a wild seal in the Atlantic Ocean. The seal lying in the surf enjoying the balmy 30 degree weather seemed oblivious to the strong wind and the occasional wave that soaked him. He hung around for a few minutes so I could capture a few photos before he returned to the warm Atlantic Ocean.

As I made my way around the island it was obvious that there was a few other folks looking for the owl just like me. I hiked into a number of likely places and scanned the areas pretty good with my binoculars not really seeing much of anything out on the snowy fields and marshes. I met an older couple from New Hampshire that regularly come to the island to see the owls, they told me that it seemed that there was only one owl wintering there this year. They suggested a few other spots for me to check out but to no avail the owl was nowhere to be found.
I photographed a few other birds along the way but the quest for the snowy owl will have to wait for another day.

That’s what a few people said when they heard about my plans to head north for a few days to get away and relax. From some of the conversations I had it would seem a lot of folks would see a few days where it is warm and sunny as a place to relax. A trip to Northern Maine in February doesn’t fit that bill usually. I love cold weather and find large amounts of snow to be rather pleasant. I love the feel of icy daggers in your lungs when you breathe in deep on a cold icy morning a feeling that tells you are still alive.
The trip north proved more daring in the southern and mid Atlantic region where excessive amounts of snow made traveling a bit more of an adventure than usual. On the other hand most of Maine has far less snow then the Washington DC area with only the farthest parts of the state having ample amounts for snowmobiling ( snow sledding).
This is a solo journey for me but I will be seeing lots of family and friends on the way. I won’t be hunting on this trip or at least not in the traditional sense; I have my camera and will be looking for some things to photograph along the way.
Hopefully I can post a number of stories from the road but internet access may prevent me from posting regularly so you may get these stories in batches but we’ll see. I’m already a few days in having made it all the way to Aroostook County and I can see posting stories will be difficult. I suspect that Daytona may have better net coverage then Northern Maine but it doesn’t have the beauty of a New England winter and that is what I need to recharge my batteries. So I guess if that means I’m crazy so be it but I just love winter.

Last week I reported on a massive rockslide blocking I 40 a major travel route through the mountains of North Carolina. What was initially thought would take crews 2 months to clear now is estimated to be a 4 month project.

The rock slide more than a week ago will keep the interstate closed for at least four months. N.C. Transportation officials say the cleanup could cost $10 million, and Gov. Bev Perdue has declared the slide an emergency.

WRAL
Anyone planning travel through the mountains along I 40 corridor in and out of Tennessee should review travel routes to get around the slide.

A massive rock slide has blocked all four lanes of I 40 on the North Carolina Tennessee border at mile marker 2.6. The slide happened overnight being reported around 2am Sunday. Unknown is if there were any vehicles in the area when the slide happened and if they are buried under the massive amounts of rocks.
North Carolina Department of Transportation report that it could be a couple of months before the highway is cleared and reopened to traffic.
This is an important travel route for western NC and important to the local economy that depends on tourism. The detour around this slide is one hundred and forty miles!!! While there is never a good time for something like this to happen during the fall when people are traveling to see the fall colors and not to mention that Thanksgiving travel will be upon us soon.

UPDATE
A few new videos shot from the scene has been added that give you a pretty good idea how massive a slide this is. It would appear that the remoteness and the early morning hours kept anyone to be passing by at the time the slide took place.