Tri-Circle-D

I continue to be astounded at the decisions being made "over there." Speaking for myself, I have no desire to be hostile to anyone. The success of our site is entirely independent of the success of theirs, so I do not need to feel any sort of hostility to people who post links to their site.

But if they want to continue driving people our way while also reducing their own population, well, I certainly can't complain about that. In fact, I thank them for the extra traffic. It's like it says in my sig:

Agreed. Very astounding.

I have no ill will toward the place I quit. I enjoyed all of my time spent there, and I have no intention of doing anything to harm that site.

It is a great site, with lots of good information.

And, there are some very nice people who are still active on the camping board there.

Frank and Denise and Ed from Alabama, I'm talking about you! (I'm sure y'all must at least take a peek over here from time to time).

But, it is no longer the place for me.

I got in trouble there a few weeks ago for posting a cryptic message in a private message that told someone where to find us. Apparently, they were an undercover spy. The funny thing is, I lost my private message priveledges, so they can't tell me because I can't received private messages!

Every time I go there these days, my computer takes waaay too long to download the site so i give up. I think God is trying to tell me to just stay where I am. :heart:

I say stay where you are too.

Lucky!

I never got to ride the train.

And, I love the little story about the train arriving with you and your brother missing.

That was before cell phones.

What did your dad do when the train arrived without you?

TCD

Oh we never got off the train, we kept looping around the campground. Dad waited at the station till the train came back around and pulled us off! We told him that we could not remember where to get off! Dad was not amused! I think we were leaving for home that morning. :rofl2:

I love that story!

This is the kind of thing that happened routinely in my family growing up, too.

When I think about some of the things my parents had to deal with, it makes me appreciate them all the more.

Ya know Marty, it is sometimes difficult to know for sure what God's wishes for us are. I'm not going to begin to guess. But I'm going to make this real easy for you. THIS IS YOUR HOME! :heart:

There, was that clear? :rofl2:

And speaking of clear messages, I have another one for Andrew.....GET POSTING!!! It's after noon in your time zone and you are overdue for an update. :siren:

Yes, sir!

Don't go to bed yet, I am working on an installment right now.

It should be up within the hour.

TCD

Awesome updates! I tried logging on at work today - but they have blocked pretty much everything, including pics and avatars and smileys... so not much fun. Got to catch up tonight. I was so excited when I got to the pics of the double-rails - how cool!!! Love the can collection. Remember that Country Time jingle... "Tastes like that good old fashioned lemonaaaaaaade" Yes you can still get it in cans. You can actually get Country Time Light in cans, believe it or not. Strangely enough, it feels funny drinking lemonade out of a can now, though. I guess I'm too used to bottles.

I'm with you on the litterers. Where do they think it goes? It's not like pitching an apple core. An animal will eat that.

Really cool rail spikes. Good idea saving them for the future grands - they will SO love that!

Thanks.

And, FYI, the Spike Fairy visits cabins, too.

You never know.

Once again TCD you have out did your self, in your trip report and your story telling abilities.

Awesome.

On a side note I am now banned forever for "Linking to a hostile site":popo:. I was just trying to tell ever one that TCD is alive and will, their loss.

Great find on the rails.:dance:

Really?

Hostile?

That is so ridiculous!

I'm sorry that happened to you.

Thanks for spreading the word!

WOW !!!

Not sure how I missed seeing this thread earlier, but it just took over 2 hours (more or less) to read through all 11 pages!

Can't wait for the next 11!

Two Hours/

Boy, is this report getting long-winded or what?

Thank you for your dedication!

Ouch.

You provided a link to RV.net, huh?? :rofl2:

Now, that is a hostile site!

Join the fun, Halloween 2011 will be great!! We haven't been back to the fort since Halloween '08. Looking forward to meeting so many fiends!! Meeting up with TCD too would be wonderful.

It was because of one of you TR long ago that my girls and I woke very early one morning to make it to the stables. The girls went in their PJs. We got to see so much of the prep and care for the horses. We had a great morning!

Thanks for the video link of the train. Brought back wonderful memories of camping at the Fort when I was a kid.

So enjoying your TR!! :heart:

Thanks for letting me know that.

It means a lot to me when I hear that someone was inspired by one of my reports and had a great experience as a result.

TCD

Hello TCD ........ As always, I am loving your trip report!

'WOW' ........... Sharing a part of Fort Wilderness history with other folks / fiends that also love the Fort! It doesn't get much better than that!

Many of us have known this for a while and now I am sure the newer 'fort fiends' see it as well ..........."You are a real class guy"!

Thanks for all you do to share your love of the Fort with all of us!

Thanks for the kind words.

And be sure to keep reading.

This was a three day trip to the Fort, and we are still on day one!

Andrew, as I was reading along, I was thinking to myself, man, I have a nice big prybar, I would be snagging me a couple of those spikes!!! Then I see you got them all LOL. WAY COOL, I love it! I may bring a machete and my prybar and see if you missed any next time I am there.

You asked about my health stuff. . .

So glad to see your reports, you really need to write books, you are very good at it. Keep it up!

John- I had no idea that you have gone through so much medical treatment. I'm glad to hear that you have made so much progress.

Should we find ourselves at the Fort together in the future, you've got a deal on the spike hunting excursion!

TCD, only you can make tons of pictures of weeds really, really cool. Of course it is because you go that extra mile and look under the surface of what most of us see. I love to see the Fort through your eyes!

Thanks, VCL.

You are too kind!

Very cool TR and amazingly cool of you to share your treasure with fellow Fiends! :waycool:

Even if you're out of nails by then, I hope we'll get to see you at Halloween this year. We're on the 2nd year of our annual pass cycle so will be there a little earlier this year than usual. I'll be looking forward to seeing what Rocky will be dressed up like this year!

It's actually looking like quite the gang of Fiends will be gathering at the Fort for Halloween. There's a thread around here somewhere with a list of everyone planning to be there... and it's pretty lengthy. As if Halloween wasn't scary enough...

Monique- I will make sure to set aside a spike for you. It will be great to see you at the Fort again.

Watching the video brings back memories of my brother and I riding the train. Of course there was the time we never got off and our dad was waiting at the station for us! Fun times! :dance:

Lucky!

I never got to ride the train.

And, I love the little story about the train arriving with you and your brother missing.

That was before cell phones.

What did your dad do when the train arrived without you?

TCD

NORTHERN PIONEERS

Hi TCD! I'll step forward and admit that my DH and I are members of the Northern Pioneers. Most of us, but not all are northern snowbirds. Our group was formed out of our love to stay at the fort and desperation to be able to afford it. In 2011 our group had 77 sites reserved for a minimum stay of 30 nights...with a maximum stay of 90 nights from January 2 through April 1, 2011. Most of our members do prefer the quietness of the full hookup sites but there are some of us that like being in the preferred & premium loops. We have a great "leader" who negotiates with Disney so that we can stay at our second "home".

Susan

Hello Susan.

Good to see you on here.

You started one of my favorite threads back in the day (In case anyone doesn't remember it was drafthorsecrazy who started the great "Something is Happening at the Pool" thread).

Thanks for the info on the Northern Pioneers.

It sounds like the ringleader of this group is a smart man.

Maybe someday I can be a Northern Pioneer too.

And NOW we see how to get to 5,000 in a few months... double posts, lots of em!

TCD, I am blown away that you have given away so many spikes! I thought I was hot stuff crawling through a wall of brambles to find two, and here you're giving them out like cookies and milk! Serious props, my friend!

Shannon- You of all people know that it is better to give than to receive. What am I going to do with a bunch of giant rusty nails, anyway? I'm happy to recycle them!

Love the spikes me and my Dad have always loved trains. How long did it take you to go through all that brush?

Good question. I didn't time myself, but it was less than an hour. It isn't that great of a distance, but it is slow going.

I think it's great thing the spike fairy I love it just wish we were not so far away that I could get one. I liked your refrence about Take Me to EPCOT at first he seemed harsh but I got to like his style quickly and aslo enjoyed his TR at the other place, will he be joing us here or has he already under another alias. Love your trip report as always.

As far as I know Mr. and Mrs. Troll have not yet joined this site.

But, I would be wiling to bet that Norm is reading along.

And, if you are, Norm, thanks for reading, and I hope to see you around the Fort soon.

And, if you want, why don't we have dueling trip reports?

You do a great job.

Maybe you can set the new readership mark!

I usually don't ask for anything but ME ME ME PLEASE PLEASE :banana:

Lorna-

Please.

You are already on my special list.

In fact, I'll give you a couple of spikes.

You and Richie did me a big favor at the Fort last Thanksgiving, and I haven't forgotten that.

So, no begging required.

TCD

does the infamous TCD and clan visit the Fort at Halloween? :popcorn:

It has been known to happen.

Like in 2008, 2009 and 2010 for example.

There may be a pattern developing here.

And, for what it is worth, the TCD dog, Rocky, won best in show at the Pet Costume Contest on Halloween 2010.

So chances are good for a return visit in 2011.

But, with TCD you never know.

TCD

Before moving past the topic of the FWRR, I wanted to share this video, which I am sure many of you have seen before:

http://youtu.be/d3wshRnX0lY

This video starts with the train at the Settlement station.

You then see the train travel out toward the 400 and 500 loops, and past the 300 loop playground.

At 1:35 on the video, we see the train traveling along the canal, and then at 1:50, it makes a gentle turn to the right.

That place with the right curve is the area of tracks shown in my photos above!

Pretty cool!

TCD

WBI-

First and foremost, congratulations to you and the Camping Princess.

What great news!

And, how cool is it that you are going to get married in a place that you first heard about in a TCD trip report?

Awesome.

Great Job on this find.

This news kind of gets buried on this board, but this is huge.

I found this drawing on page 103 of the 145 page report, and I find it to be the most helpful in helping to understand the scope of this project.

I have screen-capped some of it.

First, this view shows the old pavilion as well as the location of the new one.

One thing that I didn't understand at first was that this Pavilion is going to be a little bit bigger than the existing one. That makes it pretty huge.

The area of this project is bigger than the area of the entire 100 loop, which you can see on the map.

From this zoom, it looks like there will be a lot of paved areas to the West of the building.

Also, I think this shows pretty clearly how big the new golf cart parking area will be in comparison to the existing playground area.

There are a lot of trees here that are going to have to go:

I will not like seeing those trees go.

The other thing I found interesting is all of the detail around the 700 loop. There have been lots of survey markers and such out this way. It is interesting to me that it looks like they show the old railroad tracks on this drawing:

It looks like the current pedestrian path adjacent to the Settlement Trading Post is going to become a service road for the Pavilion. That means food will be delivered through here, and trash will be removed through here. That, plus the noise from the Backyard Barbecue event itself will make the 100 and 200 loops a lot noisier.

This is a big project, and definitely indicates that something big will be going in at the old River Country site.

TCD

Until May 23rd but we're in the process of trying to extend to June 1st 'cuz we love it here so much!! :heart:

We'll be back in the fall.

You might be in luck on this trip!

Keep that sign out!

You never know!

If the Spike Fairy doesn't find you now, I'm sure he will in the fall.

TCD

Oh Spike Fairy....we're here now and our sign is out!

We were also here at the same time as you in February and although we didn't have our "formal" sign we did have a Fiendmingo posted in the window. :dance:

Now that is a spike-worthy display!

Unfortunately, the Spike Fairy will not be flying around the Fort for a few more weeks.

Maybe the Spike Fairy needs and assistant Fairy?

I will work on that.

How much longer will y'all be there?

TCD

Why yes it did! And while I loved my FWRR spike, I was more excited about the actual Spike Fairy that left it for me!

Aw Shucks!

That is exactly the point I was focusing in on.

My investigative skills are lacking :)

I guess that is why I never noticed it while fishing.

Tom- No worries- I can see how that kind of looks like a bridge back there.

Kind of.

So, you haven't missed anything.

But maybe it's time for an eye exam?

TCD

Rails!!! That is way cool. Cooler than RC, cooler than finding old signs and stuff. Actual rails from the FWRR!!! :banana:

You've made my evening. I've never been to the Fort during late winter when weeds have died back. Maybe never will. So thank you for posting this. Also it is VERY cool that you found those spikes...I mean "nails". I happen to do a bit of steel recycling now and then, if you are still looking to unload any of them around Thanksgiving time. :rofl2:

Dave-

The Good Lord willing, I will be at the Fort for at least part of Thanksgiving week this year.

I will set aside a special giant nail just for you.

And, if I get a chance, I'll take a look around for your old soccer ball, too.

I had the same question. It looks from the map that there should be another one near the back of the 1500 loop too?

Yes, there used to be footbridges where the map indicates.

The old concrete supports are still there, and easy to see.

I have no photos of these supports from this trip, but I did snap some on my spring break trip this year, and I will share those when we get there.

I agree, very cool, I was told that there were no rails left at all and here is an entire stretch of track that looks like they just walked away from....

Like others, I love walking behind the 700 loop where there are still ties and a recognizable rail bed and have often wished I had the time to follow it around the entire Fort.

On this part it almost looks like you could almost cut back the brush and run a train back there again. well, maybe not

:) :) :) :) :)

I tried to venture back to this area when I returned to the Fort in March, and found that the weeds and vines were in overdrive.

Everything that was brown is now green and thick.

So thick that you cannot see where you are walking.

I would not venture back in that area again before winter rolls around again.

But, when it does, I intend to walk the entire length of the railroad.

The part I walked on this trip is undoubtedly the biggest challenge.

The rest of it is pretty easy to follow.

TCD

Very cool. I'm glad you made it out alive. I was starting to get worried there for a second :rofl2: I wish I had been there too. I understand the wanting rusty junk thing :banana:

Keep it coming, if you hadn't noticed, I am here all day. I don't watch soaps, I do FF :dance:

You know, I just happened to notice that you are closing in on 5000 posts.

That is remarkable.

I used to belong to another Discussion Board, and I think it took me 7 years to make it to 5000 posts.

Overachiever!

and I'm always lurking FF is my happy place when I get close to a melt down at work.. whooo saaaaaaaaaa...

I'm happy to help with your meltdowns.

Aren't those railway spikes? Cool!

What?

Railway spikes?

I thought they were giant rusty nails.

Why yes, Yes they are!

Ah ha.

Now I understand why the Mayor was so excited!

J/K

Of course they are railroad spikes.

From the FWRR!

That is a BFD! (Big Fort Deal).

I have looked high and low for years for one FWRR spike.

And I found 12 in one outing!

More Pixie Dust for TCD!

But, I am not going to hold onto them.

As you know, I already gave one to the Mayor and one to the Otter Spotter.

I also gave one to Dave (The Grumpy of Grumpy and Grandma).

And one to Judy/Fiesty.

And one to my very dear friend Hilda (of 700 loop fame).

And, I also gave one to the guy that most of you know as The Troll (he was TakeMeToEpcot back in the day a/k/a Scruff a/k/a Mrs. Troll). I know he rubbed some folks the wrong way, but I like him. His real name is Norm, and I met him at the Fort last Thanksgiving. He and his wife were camping on the 300 loop this weekend, and he is a true Fort Fiend, so he got a spike, too.

I gave another one to Stefa70 during my Spring Break trip.

And, I should have given one to MagicBus then too, but I thought I was running low, and I wanted to keep a few to give to my daughters and grandchildren (when I get some).

But, not to worry, I did some more public service on my Spring Break trip, and picked up some more of those rusty nails, so my plan now is to distribute a spike to every Fiend I see at the Fort until they are all gone.

I am saving one for Magicbus, and a few for some other folks I have already met, but there should be plenty to go around for a while.

Here's how it will work:

Put out your FortFiends sign when you are the Fort. If the Spike Fairy sees it, you may find a genuine FWRR spike at your site. It happened to Stefa70, and it could happen to you!

Ok, I know I'm very late in asking this question, but I am seeing the footbridge in this photo that is on the map right?

If so, did you walk over and check it out? It looks like it is in pretty good condition. And I'm wondering how I have never noticed this before as I have fished that area multiple times.

Sorry to interrupt the flow, but it has been bugging me since I saw the photos early on.

Tom-

Yes, there used to be two footbridges out by Chickasaw Creek, as shown on the map.

But, they are long gone.

I am not sure what part of the photos you were referring to, but I zoomed in on the areas I think you might be talking about.

Here you go:

What looks like it might be a footbridge is just a horizontal branch.

Unless you are talking about something else?

TCD

Have you all had enough photos of weeds and rails?

Well, I sure have.

But, that won't stop me from posting a few more.

As some of you have figured out, I did make it out of there alive.

Sorry to spoil the surprise for those of you who were still wondering.

So, let's wrap up the story of this little adventure, so we can move on to something different, and perhaps, a little more interesting.

But, first, we are still here in the weeds, following these rails:

It doesn't look so bad when you are looking down at it, but this is what it looked like from eye-level:

(You can just barely make out a piece of rail on the ground at the bottom left of the photo above)

I can't walk along the tracks here because of all the obstructions, but I am able to walk off to the side, and weave my way through all the brush and vines. I really like this photo:

Here are more weeds and brush:

Here, we can see some type of brace/separator attached to the tracks. I heard somewhere how the rails used to constantly get out of line, and that they required a lot of adjustments. I imagine this is how those adjustments used to be made. It must have been a real pain:

Here is another wall of brush. You can barely see a bit of track at the bottom of the photo:

There just is no walking through that.

This is a photo of the railway, you can barely see a bit of the rail in the small opening in the vines toward the right bottom of this photo:

You can't see any rail here, but you can see the ballast on the ground:

This is what I had to try to walk through here:

It was at this point where I seriously considered turning back.

The brush kept getting thicker and thicker.

But, I knew that I had to be somewhere near the place where the tracks would curve back toward the main part of camp and run along the canal adjacent to the 1500 loop. And, I had pushed through so much brush to get here, I really didn't look forward to having to try to pick my way back through all the vines and tangled mess. So, I kept on going.

I walked to the side of the rails where I had to:

I knew that I was getting close to a tent camping loop when I saw this Old Milwaukee Light can:

I picked it up, too.

And, I found some more litter, too.

I kept on finding pointy pieces of rusty metal.

Like big nails.

I put those in my pockets.

I would hate for someone to step on one of those.

But, they were heavy, and my pockets were getting full.

So, I couldn't pick them all up.

Look at how the rails are up off of the ground here. I guess the ground must have subsided here. You can see the canal in the background of this photo. I think that means we are getting near the turn:

There is still a lot of rough going here:

There is a bit of a clearing here, which allowed for this pretty cool photo showing how the rails curved here to allow the train to turn away from the big canal and back toward the main part of the campground:

Those last two photos are kind of sad.

Look how nature has reclaimed this land from the railroad.

As I already mentioned, it is amazing to think that this area used to be cleared and viewed by all who traveled the rails. Now, it is isolated and decaying. At some point, even what we see here will be gone or at least so overgrown that no one would even be able to tell that trains actually used to run through here.

From where I took the last two photos, I can look across the canal ,and I see the 1500 loop. The sites are all empty here because a group will be checking in here later today:

It sure must have been neat for campers in the 1500 loop when the train used to come by here.

From this same spot, I took this photo, looking down the canal toward the Meadow area. You cannot see it, but one of the main camp roads is just past all of this brush:

There are still rails along this stretch:

You can't see rails here, but you can see the ballast from the old tracks:

You can see some ballast, and the canal to the left in this photo:

The rails come to a stop before I reach the main road. There is a small hill here. It is from here that the tracks curved off to the left, and crossed the canal via another trestle. This photo is taken from this small hill. The trestle would have gone to the opposite side of the canal, and the tracks then ran near the entrance to the 1500 loop, and crossed the main road just beyond:

I emerged from the woods here.

Here I am looking back to where I had just exited:

There is absolutely nothing you can see from the road to suggest that there are train tracks back there.

I have some good news for you.

That was my last photo of weeds or train tracks.

For this trip report at least.

From here, I went to the nearest recycling bin and deposited my cans.

I also had all of those big nails in my pockets.

I could tell that they weren't aluminum, so I knew I would have to recycle them somewhere else.

I walked back to my cart, which I left at where I had entered the woods, and then did a bit of looping.

On the 1700 loop, I noticed a familiar golf cart.

it was white, with a big Musket Mickey on it.

I would know that cart anywhere.

It was Stacktester's cart.

The Mayor of Fort Wilderness.

I stopped to see if he was around.

I saw him sitting in a motorhome.

He waved me in.

I walked on in.

And, found Stacktester talking to the Otter Spotter!

So, I enjoyed a little visit with Deb and Donnie.

They both told me that I needed to join the new FortFiends Board.

I told them I would.

When I was ready.

That was February 12.

I joined May 5.

I guess it took me a while to get ready.

Anyway, while I was talking to Donnie and Deb, I showed Donnie one of the big nails I picked up along the tracks.

His eyes bugged out.

He asked where I got it.

I told him.

He liked it so much, I told him he could keep it.

I gave one to Deb, too.

After all, my pockets were full of them.

She really liked hers, too.

Weird.

But, I guess this was a good way to recycle this litter.

When I got back to my site, I emptied my pockets, and lined up the big nails.

I had ten left.

Here they are:

Look at this rusty junk.

Why would the Mayor want one of these?

TCD

I agree, the set of rails is really cool!!! I too remember pop tops and opening a soda can with a can opener. Great trip report as usual and I can't wait to read more. This makes me even more anxious for my trip in September. Keep up the good work.

Thanks. You won't have to wait much longer to read more.

How about that can-top they tried for a little while that had 2 circles you had to press down on. One to drink from and the other smaller one to let air in....

IIRC the metal circles would sometimes break off and drop into the soda which wasn't good if you drank them!

It didn't last very long, maybe a year or two before they all went to the kind we have now.

:) :) :) :) :)

I don't remember those at all.

Sounds like a bad plan.

But, thank goodness someone invented pull tops.

I sure would hate to have to carry a church key around everywhere.

I still have a church key on a magnet on my fridge. My children even call it that! LOL

I think we have one in our house somewhere, too.

But, I doubt if any of my kids would have a clue on how to use it.

YEAH! TCD trip reports will help me make it until our trip next year!!!

THANK YOU!

Kim aka Gabby's Mom

Thanks for posting.

I see you are new around here, too.

Were you a member of another Fort Wilderness Discussion Board, or are you a new newbie?

TCD

Cliffhanger and loving it! I started the TR this evening, between patient calls, and I have read all 8 pages!! My DH would have been right there with you. He was away for 36 hours with the boys this weekend to Charleston SC and took 325 photos! Looking forward to the next set.

Thanks.

And what is this about reading in between patient calls?

Do you know about that thing called the hold button?

Get your priorities straight!

You could get your Fiend card revoked for that kind of mental slip.

Welcome back TCD. missed your tr's.

Now that's what I'm talking about.

A new member!

Actually, I remember you from another place and time.

Glad to see you here!

If I am thinking of the right person, I believe you and the Fort go way, way, back.

I think you once told me about a deer kept in a fenced in area by the Meadow Trading Post.

That was you, right?

Add one more to the reader count. Mighty good to see you back and posting, Andrew. I've been pretty absent, too, but will certainly be checking in more now that the legend is back on board! That is, of course, assuming you made it out alive... but, if not, how did this all get posted... oops, didn't mean to post a spoiler!

Wow!

So glad to "see" another familiar face here!

I'm glad to hear that you are doing well, and I love your avatar photo!

But, you did spoil the outcome of my little adventure, didn't you?

The next time you need to post "Spoiler Alert!"

Not only do i remember pop tops, I stepped on one at the beach once. Owww!! :argh:

Thanks for the Sunday (early Monday) update. It made a gerat start to my Monday morning. :popcorn:

Did you cut your heel and have to limp on back home?

Were you looking for your lost shaker of salt?

Was there booze in the blender?

We used to make chains out of those pop tops.

And rings.

Ah, the good old days!

Thanks for the great pictures of the old railroad, I wish I could have seen it in it's prime, I like trains and did the Behind the Steam Tour and learned alot about all of the trains invoved with Disney. I would recommend this tour as it tells all and even Walt's railroad at his home.

I to remember pop tops and also having to open cans with an opener, we used to call them church keys( I don't know why) and even told my son to hand me the church key on the side of the fridge( magnectic) and he just gave me the deer in the headlight look , anyway, as Bob Hope would sing, thanks for the memories.

Yep, I remember calling those kind of can openers church keys, too.

I wonder why?

TCD

Great update :banana: And sadly I too remember when you had to use a can opener in order to drink your beverage of choice. :-\ The one good thing about having to pay a bottle deposit in Michigan is you never see cans or bottles laying around anywhere.

Well, I'm glad to know that I'm not the only Old Fort on these boards!

Weekend installments of a TCD trip report - now that IS a treat!

Will TCD make it out alive???

I'm on the edge of my seat....

Thanks, Monique.

i can't promise weekend updates all the time.

But, I am very behind on my trip reporting, so. like Lonestar says, you never know.

:bravo:

Way cool!!!

Thanks, VCL!

Country Time Lemonade!

The pictures of the double track are very cool indeed.

Great report!

Can you still get Country Time Lemonade in a can?

I'm not sure with all the sports drinks and stuff that now fill convenience store shelves.

I'm glad that you appreciate the double rails. It was a cool thing to see in person.

Great update! Love the double rails.

Any chance you're going to be back in the World around Memorial Day? I know you've already "been there" and "done that", but I'd love to buy you a drink at the TOTWL if you want another shot at the view (or a free beer...). :cheers:

Thanks, Leslie.

As hard as it is for me to turn down a free beer, I will not be around WDW on Memorial Day weekend.

I may be there the weekend before, or perhaps the weekend after.

I do want to try to make it for a Star Wars Weekend.

TCD

Time for another update.

It's still Saturday morning, February 12, and TCD is still following the train tracks through the woods.

So far, I haven't seen anything more than you can easily see right behind the 700 loop.

Just some rotten ties and a lot of ballast.

Plus vines and weeds.

Weeds, like this:

You can see some ties lines up near the center of this photo:

Here, you can see the ties lined up, and to the left, the water from the canal, through the weeds:

Again, more weeds, but you can see the ties continuing on:

It is getting old having to push through all of the weeds and brush.

I decide to take a detour through the swampy area off to the right:

It is not much easier to travel through this tangled mess:

I decide to crawl under this branch, and head back out to follow the tracks:

Here, I stumble upon my first sign that another human has been here recently:

But, upon closer study, this can is old.

Look, it has a pop-top!

When is the last time you saw one of those?

I didn't realize how long it had been since cans were made with the pull-tops that pulled off until a conversation I had with my almost 20 year old daughter last summer. We were discussing, of all things, the Jimmy Buffett song Margaritaville. She asked me about the verse where Jimmy says he blew out his flip-flop and stepped on a pop-top. She asked me what a pop-top was. Can you imagine? Boy, I am old. Not only do I remember pop-tops, but I remember having to open soda cans with a can opener. Remember?

While we are discussing litter-

What is wrong with some people?

This can might be 20 years old.

Why do people throw trash on the ground?

Who do they think will pick it up?

I'll tell you who.

Me.

That's right.

I took that can with me.

I was going to put it in the recycling bin.

And, wouldn't you know it, as soon as I picked up that can, I found another:

Also an oldie:

And, then another:

I crawled through the tangle, with my three antique cans, and found myself back along the old tracks.

Where I found . . .

RAIL!!!!:

Take a look:

Maybe you don't think this is cool, but I did.

I knew that there was some rail over closer to the 1500 loop, but I didn't know it continued all of the way out here.

You are now looking at an intact portion of the old Fort Wilderness Rail Road- note the ballast, ties and rail:

You can see the rails continuing off into the weeds here:

In order to continue on my mission, I must travel through this:

Here we can see a complete double set of rail:

I pressed on.

But, the brush and weeds got thicker and thicker.

I thought about turning back.

But, I had come so far, so I pressed on.

At one point, I ran into what was almost a complete wall of vines and brush.

Will I complete my objective of following the track all the way to the 1500 loop?

You will find out in the next update!

TCD

TCD, I have not introduced myself yet. I'm rita, runner is my brother. We are st the fort now. I am going to wait until I get home to read your report. I'm glad you decided to join us. I was a lurker on the other place.

Well, howdy!

Thanks for introducing yourself.

I read the trip report you and your brother are working on.

Very nice job.

If anyone reading this one hasn't read PureTcrazy's, take a look.

Great photos on there!

So, PureTcrazy, what's with your screen name? Are you really Pure? Are you really Crazy?

TCD

I keep looking off in the direction TCD went. Is that a good thing or a bad thing?

It's a bad thing this time of year.

Do not try to go in there now.

Who knows what might be crawling around in there?

I wish the railroad was still there. That must have been a cool way to get around the campground. Busses are so boring (Sorry Lou... The drivers are great though!!). The train was already gone on our first trip there as a kid, so I never got to experience it. Even if it was a "fake" railroad, I bet that if would be a big hit if they brought it back.

Agreed.

I never got to ride the train either.

It's hard to imagine that this area I was walking in was once visited and viewed by anyone who rode the FWRR.

I take exception to that statement, a lot of drivers are jerks.

No railroad ever again. Trains are expensive to purchase, operate, maintain, and they would need more than one to do what the boring buses do. And who would pay for those cute little railroads that ride on those cute little tracks with the cute little whistles, you. Snarky, snark, snark.

I have never met a bus driver at WDW who was a jerk. I'm sure you are right, Magicbus, but that has not been my experience.

I enjoy all of the transportation at WDW.

I also agree with you that the railroad is gone for good.

That thing had to be quite dangerous, not to mention a huge drain financially.

Lots of pics, creative narratives, and the Feb 2011 Real man of genius. It's like an intellectual smorgishboard (sp?).

Now some new folks understand why TCD has attained TR Rockstar status.

Thanks.

It's nice to know that I'm back to my Rock Star status so quickly.

TCD

Love the report! Hope I don't have to wait till monday for the next installment. I feel like at the end of each installment I hear "same bat time...same bat station!" hahahaha. Just wondering TCD...with all the backwoods places you manage to get into, have you ever run across some of the more dangerous creatures famous in Florida?

Well, your wish has come true, because I will be posting an update in just a bit.

And, to answer your question, I have seen a few snakes and a gator once. But, I have lived in Florida for over 30 years, and that type of thing isn't very remarkable to me. I have seen more snakes and gators on some pretty well manicured golf courses than I have at the Fort.

Well, I have to say that's pretty darn impressive that you remember that. Yes, we have a trip to BLT in 20 days. :banana: I'm very excited about it but miss planning a trip to the Fort. I'm sure we'll have to visit, and then we'll be back at FW again in March. I'm sure I'll be doing reports for both trips. Till then, I'm looking forward to more of your report! Will we get to see the TCD twins in any pics??

I remembered because I was going to try to figure out a way to get you to invite me to come over an watch the MK fireworks from the roof.

But, I have already been there and done that!

Have a great trip!

And, as mentioned, some TCD twin photos will be coming up in a bit.

As soon as I finish following the tracks!

(If I make it, that is.)

Wake up Andrew! This is no time to sleep...you've got another installment to write. I need to know if you found the soccer ball I lost in the Horseshoe Bend area in December 1977. It has "DaveInNY" written on it in Sharpie. I didn't move to TN until 2003, afterall. :rofl2:

Sorry, buddy, but that is a no on that one.

But, I am posting a late night update just for you!

Are you carrying a machete with you? Or at least a great big stick? Well, a stick is no good with snakes. A stick with a knife tied on the end? :rofl2:

No worries.

It was too cold for the snakes.

And even the bears!

And what about the bugs. I realize compared to snakes and gators bugs are small potatoes, but they had to be awful in there :o

Lonestar answered this one correctly!

I did not see a single insect on this walk!

Hard to believe, but true.

TCD

Well I said you never know and I guess you don't . Nice update.

Thank you, sir.

And, because there has been so much interest in this trip report, there will be a special Sunday installment as well.

This trip report is the first on fortfiends.net to hit 1000 views, and has now surpassed 2000!

Way to go fiends!

I remember hearing something about all good writers being a little wacky (think Dean Koontz, Stephen King) TCD, this report proves it! No way would I go stomping through that stuff. Don't you ever worry about snakes, gators, yetis, or even trolls? Every B rated horror movie I've watched in my life would be playing in my head, and I just might :wetpants:

Is that a "wet my pants" smiley?

Now I have seen everything!

There is no doubt that where I was walking is the habitat of all those things you mentioned. But, this little adventure took place on February 12. It was too cold for the cold blooded critters.

And, add to that the fact that I am fearless.

Okay TCD, you just made my weekend and of course the cliffhanger.."will he make it back" type of trip report is something that will ensure my coming back to read till the end of your installments. Missing pics of the twins though, hope they are included soon, they are definitely photographic!

Nancy

Well, thanks.

Not to worry- the TCD twins will most definitely be making an appearance.

Remember, at this point in our story, we are still on our first morning. While I was tromping through the woods, they were in the comfort station getting ready for our next adventure. They would kill me if I took or posted photos of them from right after they woke up.

And one from England!! I too was a lurker at the other site but loved reading your trip reports, its been quite a wait but this one certainly does not disappoint, loving the pics what more could a girl want from a Saturday night than an episode of Dr Who and a photo of turkey butts? :rofl2:

Well, Cheerio and Welcome!

Nice to have you along.

And, happy Mother's Day to you and all the other "mums" reading along!

And we are all friends not just fiends who enjoy getting together with each other when ever we can. We are so lucky to have to site and all the great fiends :heart:

Amen, sister.

Make that two in Texas...

Nice to see the real TCD is back and the amateur TCD'ers can get a refresher course.

Check.

And, there are plenty of folks who can and have written great trip reports.

And I enjoy reading every one of them!

Dude!

What are you doing online on a Saturday?

Not that I'm complaining, I just remember your posting style and this IS a treat for sure.

Can't wait for more.

I know.

I promise you it would never happen during football season.

I am signing out now.

Maybe I can squeeze in another installment before Monday.

But, if not, I will be back then to pick up where we left off.

TCD

Now, where were we?

Ah, yes . . .

We were at the support for the old FWRR trestle.

About to begin our journey through the wilderness in search of the old tracks.

Here we are, in that very spot, looking across the creek toward the dog park. In these two photos, you can clearly see the dog park fence:

Here's a look at the creek in this area. You can see that the creek curves off to the right here:

Remember those rocks we saw around the sidewalk that was poured over the railbed on the way to the Meadow Trading Post?

It is called ballast?

Well, look here.

Here we can clearly see an old railroad tie- and if you look toward the bottom of the photo, you can see the ballast:

Here at the edge of the concrete support, we can see the remnants of an old vertical pole:

From here, we are going to walk into the woods to follow the tracks. We have to go through this:

You can see the ballast all around here:

Here is an old tie:

And more ballast:

You can see a lot of ties in this photo:

Still more ties:

You can see the old rail bed here. All along here, all that is left is the ties and ballast. No rails:

To the left of the railbed is the canal. To the right is this swamp:

To follow the railway path, we have to walk through this brush:

In some places, all evidence of the old railroad is almost completely buried under debris:

It is tough going through here. But this is nothing compared to what we will encounter down the line:

You can see in this photo how the old line is almost completely obliterated by vines. These have died back considerably because of all the cold weather. Once spring arrives, this area will be impossible to travel through:

This tie tells us that we are still on the right path:

You can see a tie and ballast here:

We have arrived to the area of Horseshoe Bend.

The trees clear out a bit here, and it is a little more open.

We can see the canal over to our left, through the weeds:

Here, the path of the railroad takes a definite turn. We will not have any fallen trees to contend with here. But we will have plenty of tall weeds:

These weeds are taller than me, and I am going to walk through them. You can see a very narrow path through them. I figure this must be a trail used by the deer that live in this area:

From here, we are now walking parallel to the big canal, heading toward the 1500 loop.

The brush is thick here.

Will we be able to make it through?

What will we find here?

All will be revealed in the next post!

TCD

Man - I was off the boards due to waaaay too much work to do, and look what happens - TCD appears! And, a 6 page (so far) report too! ;D

Really, TCD, I'm so glad to see you here! I've really missed your reports. They make it just like being back at the Fort.

So, keep it up! Can't wait for more of this report and the next one too!

Leslie

Hi Leslie!

I am glad to see you over here!

I have always enjoyed your trip reports, too.

If I remember right, you were planning a visit to BLT.

Has that happened yet?

If so, we could use a report over here.

If not, I would love to hear about it when you get back.

TCD

Andrew, now look here. I am sitting in a hotel room in freakin Sombertown, watching it rain outside, my wife and daughter are sleeping, and the only thing I have to entertain myself is your trip report. If you don't post something again soon you are going to be VERY LUCKY that I am in St Petersburg Russia and not St Petersburg, FL, cause I'd hunt you down, steal your SD card and post the damn report for you! :argh:

Ok, just kidding, sort of. But get with it, man! :rofl2:

Sorry, Dave.

But, I am about to post an installment for you to read tonight.

Have you been eating a lot of cabbage pie on this trip?

Andrew I'm glad you finally came over. I was at a wedding at the Grand Thursday and got back last night to find you were here and catch up. I'm caught up so on with the report. I hear Lonestar is having a TCD party at his place to celebrate. Probably just him the wife and Tinkerbell watching a Disney movie but no doubt a celebration.

Hello Mr. Mayor!

Your powers of persuasion finally paid off.

I made it.

You will be getting a shout out in just a bit.

I saw you on this trip.

No surprise there, eh?

Hey, he SAID to go ahead and hijack the thread....!

Yes, I did.

And, I am loving it!

What fun!

Can I just say how cool it is that we can embed video on this board (way to go Chris!!)

...oh, and I love that movie. :heart:

That is awesome!

Our Webmasters absolutely rock!

I am going to use the heck out of that feature.

BTW- I still need that video of the arrows that lop off turkeys heads if anyone can find it.

I'm so Glad you made it here! Great TR can't wait for more! :banana:

Man, everybody is here!

Thanks.

TCD