we once thought of putting up a sign like this, but word of mouth is enough, folks call and ask if they can hike in the Tidwell forest, folks come to take pictures by the falls or camp out, neighbors ride horses on the trails, geocachers still seek the hidden cache, kids young and old come to slide down the falls - we tell them all to enjoy - it is a good thing to use the land, enjoy the trails and trees and water and wildlife
unlike the 'gated community' next door, there are no fences here, there is but a single chain strung between two trees where the dirt road narrows to trail - put there many years ago mainly to discourage trash dumping (an idea that has more merit now since the county charges us to bring them our trash) - the chain goes unnoticed, either stepped over or ducked under, the kids with 4-wheelers have made their own path around it
after all, is this really our land? sure, our names are on the deeds and we pay the taxes, but we are not so much owners as caretakers*, not even that if you think about it, maybe the land is allowing us to stay here a while and as long as we don't do too much damage - bulldozers, fire, chainsaws - we can stay here during the short time we have here on earth
and it is a very short time if you think about it, just how old is this place, how long has this water flowed over these solid rocks? according to some, these mountains have been here 480 million years... so our being here is just a small pixel in the big picture
we are just passing through, join us
hikers
4-wheel trail riders
picture takers
creek walkers
horse riders
falls sliders
geocachers
picnickers
campfire sitters
s'more makers
campers
wildflower seekers
spring lizard hunters
rock collectors
4-legged stick chasers
recently the setting for prom pictures and most notably a marriage proposal!
so stop by and enjoy the peace and quiet, bring a picnic or a book, just remember:
leave only footprints
kill only time
*I wonder if the tax assessor would buy this theory?
