Sunday, July 19, 2009

Sunday tours

Today was the day.

Three weeks ago, we drove up a little mountain road near us and discovered this nearly abandoned tower. It was very tall and begged to be climbed (really, it did). However, there was an ominous thunderstorm hanging overhead, so we decided that we needed to wait for a better day.



Last Sunday was also stormy and rainy which prevented us from trying again.

Today ... today was the day! Absolutely gorgeous day here in AL so we headed back to the tower this afternoon.

Here it is!


We even brought Mercy along - she was loving the pickup ride!


John went first and braved the missing steps, nearly worn-out wood stair treads and handrails that were non-existent in places. Here he is waving from the top.


Closer shot - he said "it looks like I'm in prison" :)


View from beneath the tower. If you look right in the middle of the picture, you'll see a missing stair tread.


But - oh, the view was worth it!


360 degrees of nice views.

After a lloooonnnngggg time and many "are you coming down?" followed by "soon" question and answer sessions ... I got a turn :) (I'm only teasing him because I know he might read this)


I normally like heights, but this one was a little unsettling for me. I loved it and would do it again, but I had to get over the wind tugging at my shirt and hair, and the lack of floor boards at the very top.


Here is a shot looking down (through said non-existent floor boards). If you look really closely at the red dot towards the upper middle of the picture, you will see Hadden on the ground below. Well, I guess there is one good reason that the floor boards were missing - I wouldn't have been able to get that shot otherwise :)

There are 139 steps to the top and it is really very cool once you are up there. Trust me!

8 comments:

  1. "it is really very cool once you are up there. Trust me!"

    I'll just take your word for it!!

    Beautiful views!

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  2. I would have stood at the bottom and said "You go ahead and take some pictures for me so I know what it's like!" I'm not afraid of heights at all, but now that I'm on oxygen I'm just not up to climbs like that!

    Beautiful scenery and pictures, Shirley!

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  3. so cool...my kids would love that!

    ~simply~

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  4. I think I'll just trust you. There is no way I would have climbed that thing!!

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  5. That looks terrifying. Really. I AM scared of heights. No amount of money could get me up that high.

    Thanks for posting the view for me, as I will NEVER see it myself from up that high.

    (You'd think they'd maintain that kind of tower better for liability reasons! Scary)

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  6. You and heights...oh, you're making me sea sick again. Okay...I have to admit the view was beautiful from above.....but not looking down! YIKES!!!!

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  7. I'm somewhat scared of heights. When I went half way up, I got a little unsure of myself and had to stop and think it through to convince myself to keep going. It was worth it. I would love to get a tower like this for on top of Bowlin Mountain! Anyone got one for sale?

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  8. Wow, you all are brave! I don't think there's any way I would have done that...but you're right, the views are gorgeous!

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