It's not far...

My older brother moved around a lot in his almost thirty year military career, and while this offered me the opportunity to enjoy a few low cost trips to some cool cities, we really didn't see each other much. When he ended up a few hours away in Opelika Alabama the entire family was ecstatic! I don’t mind air travel, but it’s complicated and expensive; just being able to get in the car and visit for the weekend was a huge bonus.

But one of the first things I realized when I struck out on my first visit there was that the trip from Milledgeville to Opelika was also complicated. Turn here…drive a few miles on this two lane…look for this turn…there is no sign, but there’s a big tree…It wasn't that bad, but it wasn't like taking the interstate to Atlanta either. When I mentioned the trip to a friend he explained it to me in true Southern fashion, “it’s not that far, but there really is no good way to get there”. Exactly!

This was a more than a few years ago now and I will say that with the addition of the Fall Line Freeway the trip is certainly much easier. The new highway is four lanes, divided by a grassy median, with speed limits in some sections of sixty five miles per hour!  Progress, finished just in time for my brother to move away!

I ended up on a short section of this beautiful highway yesterday as I ventured from Milledgeville to Gordon. I understand that the ultimate goal of connecting two of Georgia’s larger cites (Columbus with Augusta) is not yet realized, but I have to confess that I didn't pass a single car on this highway coming or going. It’s somewhat of a joke to a few area residents, and a sore spot to several others. It chopped a few surface streets in half and blazed through some of the most beautiful property in Georgia. One of the affected areas was a property I hunted for many years.

Construction on this leg of the new road lasted for several years. I must confess that while the work was going on the hunting, if not improved, was a little more enjoyable. The big machines opened up areas where you could see farther than you could shoot and I often watched animals of all kinds cross the newly graded roadbed. But each morning as I sat perched in a tree high above the ground watching the sunrise, I knew that my days here were numbered. Did I think the new highway was a good idea? I guess after my years of traveling the ‘pig paths’ to Columbus I would be a hypocrite to say no, but why did it have to blaze through my favorite hunting spot? The answer is simple…it’s not far, but there is really no good way to get there!