Birmingham Barons

Baron's Win!

5/28/26  To celebrate Carla's Birthday, we went to baseball game. The double A, Southern League,  Birmingham Barons defeated the Pensacola Blue Wahoos 7-4 on May 28, 2026, at Regions Field, downtown Birmingham. We arrived in plenty of time to visit the team store and concessions stands well before 1st pitch. We were seated on the first row behind the dugout, which is cool because you can use the top of the dugout to hold your popcorn and drinks. 

Already behind by 3 runs, the Baron's finally got on the board in the bottom of the 3rd with a HR off the bat of Left Fielder Drake Logan. PNS 3,BIR 1. Then the Baron's tied it up in the bottom of the forth after 2 walks and 2 wild pitches put runners on 3rd and 2nd. They scored on a ground ball fielder choice and catcher Jorge Corona's 2 out RBI single to center ,PNS 3,BIR 3.  The Blue Wahoos plated a run in the top of the 6th, PNS 4,BIR 3 and it stayed a 1 run game until Baron's DH Jeral Perez RBI double in the bottom of the 8th. PNS 4,BIR 4.  No score in the 9th, we went into extra innings. The Blue Wahoos failed to cross the plate in the top of the 10th.  After a pop up out, Shortstop Jordan Sprinkle, ghost runner at 2nd, steels 3rd, 90' away from a win. Pensacola intentionally walks Pinch Hitter Colby Martin to set up the double play, but instead of a ground ball, Baron's first baseman Anthony DePino ended it with a walk-off 3 run homer, way out to left.  The Baron's dugout empties to meet their hero a home as DePino rounds the bases.  PNS 4,BIR 7! A great win for the home town crowd. 

Photos Share

North Carolina, Virginia and Kentucky

Cumberland Gap from Tri-State peak

052226. First stop was Jackrabbit Campground in Nantahala National Forest, part of the Southern Appalachians in North Carolina.  The weather was warm with off and on rain throughout the day, discouraging weekend campers. There was a single geocache along the Jackrabbit Mountain trail system that meanders down by the lake before turning up hill to the ridge making a nice loop, I waited for a break in the rain, but decided to go for it anyway before it got dark. The trail was well maintained yet muddy, especially on the downward slope. I found the cache in good shape feeling like it was well earned. There were just enough daylight left to complete the hike. The camp host was very friendly and told me where I can dump my gray water and top off on fresh before heading north to Virginia in the morning. 

052326 - 052526 I camped at the Wilderness Road Campground just across the border in Virginia  Now I was really enjoying the history traveling through the Daniel Boon trail of 1776 from North Carolina to Kentucky. The Cumberland Mountains comprise borders in Virginia, Carolinas, Tennessee and Kentucky. Borders that were declared by Great Britain in 1665, but not surveyed until 1728, but were not settled until 1803. I often wondered how the states borders were established. Imagine all the border disputes that went on between the Virginians and Tennesseans back in the day.  There was a lot to do in the area, all the monuments and geocaches, but it rained most of one day so I packed what I could into the next. I hiked the Tri-State peak and visited the ‎⁨Cumberland Gap National Historical Park⁩. I would like to go back and spend more time in the area, but for now, I need to keep on with my route which takes me to the Mammoth Caves in Kentucky. 

052526 - 051726 I got an early start on Memorial Day because I wanted to spend some time at the Mill Springs Battle Field National Monument on the way to Mammoth Caves. The virtual cache at Mill Springs is no give away, it requires visiting several sites and a hiking tour through the mass graves of confederate soldiers. I spent 2 hours completing all the logging requirements, but had a wonderful time learning about. This victory broke the right section of the confederate forces allowing union advance into Tennessee and control of the upper Mississippi river. When I was finished, before driving away I sat and thought about the many Americans that lost their lives in the civil war. 

I arrived Mammoth Caves Campground about 1500. Before setting up I walked over to the visitor center. This place is big, they have a restaurant, a hotel, cabins and a large gift shop. At the information desk is when I found out there were no cave tours available, apparently you need to purchase them online well in advance. But they did have a limited self guided tour, so I got one of those for the next day.  I got settled in and had dinner. No cell service and too many trees for Starlink. But it was only a short walk to the ranger's booth for wifi to check my phone. In the morning I visited the cave at the Historic entrance and spend about 90 minutes on the self guided tour. It was like an underground museum with different exibits and information plaques detailing the cave's history. The rest of the day I drove to where some virtual caches were, one in a graveyard and another at a sinkhole pond with a nice trail.  I spend some time in the visitor center parking lot so I could get online through starlink. In the evening I took a nice walk on the campground trails, there were no geocaches, but I had a good walk. The next day I left the park and visited Russell Cave National Monument just across the Tennessee and Alabama border. Not much there but a small display and a short trail to the cave opening. No entry into the cave allowed. Later in Anniston AL,  

I visited the Freedom Riders National Monument  before arriving back at Camp Carla in Pell City for some birthday baseball. 

Here is a link to the weekends shared photos. 

Until next time, bye. 

Camp Carla - Pell City AL

 

Pell City Alabama

051926- 052226 My drive to Pell City would take me through Columbus Ga and I remembered there is a Museum there, specifically the National Civil War Naval Museum, about ½ way to Pell City so I took a break and visited. The main exhibit is the remains of the CSS Muscogee ( renamed CSS Jackson) a casemate ironclad that the Union Army captured, set adrift and set ablaze in 1865. I spent about an hour in the museum before setting off again to Pell City.  

Green water navies 

Railroad investors founded Pell City in 1890 and named it after George Pell of the Pell City Iron and Land Company, one of its financial backers. I arrived right at dinner time, I have a knack, Carla made a wonderful meal and we watched baseball on her great big TV.  For the next 3 days I was able to get laundry done and spend some quality time with Carla and the Thompsons.  Friday I was off again to camp in North Carolina, Virginia and Kentucky before returning to Pell City to celebrate Carla's Birthday. Shared Photos.

Vanning the gulf coast.

 

Perfect Spot

Fairview-Riverside State Park Campground - Madisonville, LA

Tchefuncte River 

051326 I left Humble with my eye on a dispersed camping area along the interstate in Louisiana, not sure what I was getting into my plan b was a State park above Lake Pontchartrain and New Orleans. I stopped for a break and a geocache at the Sabine River Rest Center just across the border of Texas. There was convenient parking and a nice park with a boardwalk that went over the river. While I was hunting the cache I saw my first alligator just swimming around near the bank. Back on the road, had already decided to try the state park so  passed the turn off to the dispersed camping area. I pulled into the park at 1815, the office was closed so I picked a small tent site and set up for an overnight. The park had a nice swamp trail, boardwalk, so I took a nice walk in the morning before pulling out. 

Meaher State Park Campground - Spanish Fort, AL

Great Egret & Alligator

051426  It was less than 3 hours from my next campground in Alabama, so I stopped and took a break at the Jackson County rest area. This place had designated spaces just for overnighters and one was right near Nana’s Perch geocache. I was not overnighting, but I did go find the cache and made lunch. I made it to the campground in Alabama before 1600 and found my space. I was in the new part of the campground, no trees, just asphalt pads. Brand new shower house built off the ground. The humidity was probably 75% but there was a nice ocean breeze off Ducker Bay. After getting parked I was ready for a walk and some geocaching. I strolled the boardwalks, saw Great Egret, Alligators, and found all the hides in the park. I felt much better about the place after my walk. In the morning I had a really nice shower and went to Waffle House for breakfast. Today I will travel the pan handle of Florida to a campground in Georgia. 

Eastbank Campground - Bainbridge GA

Space #50 Eastbank CG

051526 - 051726  I did not book a space online because they require a minimum of 2 days, so I thought I would just change it and have a drive through before I pick a space. But when I arrived I was informed that even in person, there is a 2 day minimum. The attendant let me drive through and pick my space and I got it for 2 days. Turns out it was a really nice spot so I ended up staying for both days and I was able to move the dates for my next reservation. I got the nearest geocache at the entrance to the park, the only other one was an Earthcache. I had a nice ride on my bike down by the dam. 

Jim Woodruff Dam

Lake Seminole was produced by the construction of the Jim Woodruff dam and is the result of the water flow coming in from the Chattahoochee and Flint Rivers. The Florida and Georgia state line runs north to south along the middle of the Chattahoochee River, then turns east just before the dam. North of the Dam is the Central Time Zone, south of the Dam is the Eastern Time Zone. So the water of Lake Seminole takes an hour to flow through the dam 😁. 

I ended up having a very nice stay before I moved to another campground on the other side of the lake.

Three Rivers State Campground - Snead FL

Gators

051726 - 051926 It was a short drive over to the campground in Florida. I stopped at Piggly Wiggly for groceries on the way. This space was not like my last, it was an accessible site right in the middle of the park. This is why I like picking my site after arriving. I got set up and went for a walk along the lake. No geocaches allowed on Florida State Parks but they did have nice walking and riding trails. I walked about 4 mikes on the first day and rode about 7 miles on the 2nd day. I did not see any Gators here. The three rivers referenced in the name are Chattahoochee River, Flint River and Apalachicola River below the dam. I updated the stickers on my water bottle to include Alabama, Florida and Georgia. I will be nice to stay at Camp Carla for the rest of the week. My Photos of Vanning the gulf coast