From Our Blog

Land Business: A Visit to Dream Ranch in Guntersville

Tuesdays with Kelly

Kelly and I had quite a time in North Alabama this past Monday night and into Tuesday.  We drove up to Huntsville Monday evening to attending a fundraising banquet for “60 Feet”.  60 feet is a Christian ministry that coordinates, staffs and funds efforts to save children in Uganda from abuse and in some cases from human sacrifice by local Witch Doctors.  My friends, the Ainsworth family who own Dream Ranch in Guntersville are very much involved with this worthwhile cause.

Hanging out at Dream Ranch with Austin Ainsworth

The Ainsworths and others brought in Bob Goff, Christian Attorney and Author as the main speaker for this fundraiser.  Bob and his family are right in the middle of this struggle to save  children from these satanic sacrifices.  In fact, Bob and his family are raising a young man who had been gruesomely mutilated by a Witch Doctor and left to die.  I would highly recommend Bob’s book, “Love Does” which goes into more detail about all of this.  You can check out all the good work that the volunteers with 60 feet are doing at sixtyfeet.org.

The Dream Ranch Lodge welcomes its visitors

Picturesque Dream Ranch Pond

Kelly and I stayed at Dream Ranch in Guntersville on Monday night and interviewed owner, Austin Ainsworth on Tuesday morning for The Land Show.  You can check out Austin’s interview on our podcast of the show.  Dream Ranch is the premier High fenced hunting facility in the South with amazing accommodations and beautiful views of Lake Guntersville and the surrounding mountains; check out all the amazing things going on at Dream Ranch at dreamranch.org.

After a great breakfast, Kelly and I took a scenic mountain drive from Dream Ranch to the Lodge at Lake Guntersville State Park.  The fall colors were amazing as we winded our way down Sand Mountain, into narrow mountain valleys and then back up Little Mountain to the State Park Lodge.  After exploring the park, we had a great lunch at the Lodge’s restaurant.  The restaurant at the Lodge  has one of the most stunning views in our state.  I’ll have to say that sometimes in the past, State Park food has not been the best.  But, the lunch we had at the Lodge’s restaurant was top notch.

Kelly and I enjoying the incredible view overlooking Lake Guntersville at Dream Ranch

After lunch, we traveled Northeast to Buck’s Pocket state park to explore more trails and take in more views.  Buck’s Pocket is a canyon area up on Sand Mountain which is really a giant plateau.  You drive through fields and Farms on top of the Mountain until you come to a steep rocky Wooded gorge which is what Buck’s Pocket primarily is.  After taking in the cliff views and hiking a bit, we dropped off down the mountain into a little scenic valley at Buck’s Pocket, where they have RV. Hook ups beside a swift Mountain stream.

From Buck’s Pocket we traveled due East and dropped off Sand Mountain into the big valley between Sand Mountain and Lookout Mountain.  We spent a little time in the thriving town of Fort Payne, home of Country supergroup, Alabama.  From Fort Payne, we traveled east up a steep winding mountain road that took us to the top of Lookout Mountain, another Mountain/Plateau famous for it’s views and Little River Canyon.  Lookout Mountain is one of the most unique place in the country.  You could drive north from Noccalula Falls, just north of Gadsden all the way up to Rock City in Tennessee, outside of Chattanooga and never get off this magical high plateau.  We only had a short afternoon left, so our goal was to find a nice trail to walk down off the mountain down into the canyon.

We happened upon a local business, True Adventure Sports which is just outside of Little River Canyon National Preserve.  The owner, Israel Partridge was able to direct us to a beautiful little trail, Powell trail that would lead us down into the canyon, right beside a clear, rocky feeder creek.  Israel’s company, TAS guides and/or coordinates: rappelling, rock climbing, kayaking, canoeing, cave tours, hiking, mountain biking, camping and zip lines; all in our around Little River canyon.  They also rent cabins on the canyon rim.  You can get in touch with these fine folks at: trueadventuresports.com.  After, hiking Powell trail down into canyon, we walked up the river a while taking in the sounds of multiple shoals and rapids, beautiful migratory birds and looking up beyond the tall timbered canopy to the jagged canyon walls that lead up to the top of the canyon.  We put off our ascent back up the trail to the truck as long as we could, but finally we had to make the steep trek back up to the top of the canyon.  I yearned for a pack mule as huffed and puffed my way up to the top; it was good to burn some calories in that I had taken in too many at lunch and breakfast and it was only through sheer pride that I was able to keep up with my wife, Kelly who is much lighter and in much better shape than her heavy husband.

Kelly and I take a selfie on the bank of The Little River

It was almost nightfall now and we drove down the scenic Cherokee County road 275 that runs south along the edge of the canyon, giving us many breathtaking views of the canyon as we traveled.  275 drops off the mountain into Canyon Mouth park, a national park right where the canyon meets the Coosa Valley and where the Little River becomes part of Weiss Lake.  This is a great place for a picnic in the hardwood flats around the river.  I have heard of more black bear sightings in this area, than at any time in the last eighty or so years.  All the trash cans in the park were the heavy duty bear proof kind.  This is really encouraging to see a species that had been gone from an area for almost one hundred years, now making a comeback.

If this all sounds like a jammed packed day, it was.  Kelly and I had a great day taking in all the fall colors in our Alabama Mountain land.  As we made the tired and happy nightime drive back to our home in East Central Alabama, I found myself replaying all our our day’s adventure in my mind and looking forward to our next Alabama adventure, Tuesdays with Kelly.