Category: St. Clair Outdoors

Classroom in the Forest

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Story by Carol Pappas
Photography by Wallace Bromberg Jr.

It’s not your typical classroom – no desks, no books, no windows to gaze out of and daydream. And that’s precisely the point.

After all, this classroom is outdoors in the middle of nature, where students are schooled by seeing, touching and learning about all that surrounds them. It’s called Classroom in the Forest, and the St. Clair County Soil and Water Conservation District partnered with the Forestry Service and 4-H to create it.

In the fall, students were in real classrooms in Springville, Ashville and Steele learning about wildlife, trees and the other treasures of the forest. By late spring, they were able to see it for themselves in a classroom of a different sort.

Lyman Lovejoy opened his 360-acre property in Ashville to the project, hoping to encourage youngsters to develop an appreciation for the great outdoors.

About 250 students rotated ‘stations,’ learning essentials about wildlife and tree identification and “what you find in the forest,” said Charity Mitcham, district administrative and project coordinator. “Our purpose was to get them out on the land and teach them about trees, wildlife, soil and water.”

She credited Lovejoy with giving students the ability to reach that goal. “It would not have been possible without Lyman. It is gorgeous property with acres of trees and wildlife.”

“I grew up working at Camp Cosby where my father was caretaker,” said Lovejoy. “Kids today have their thumbs on a keyboard. We want to get kids in the middle of the woods, out on the grass or in a field. It is so invigorating to see them in the woods, enjoying the outdoors and being active.”

Without this kind of program, “we are losing a generation,” he said. “Fishing and hunting are a lost art.” He wants to reverse that trend with Classroom in the Forest. “I get so excited to see their eyes light up when they ask, ‘What kind of tree is this? What kind of fish is this? Where does food come from?’ ”

With children spending so much time indoors with computers, video games and television, they tend to miss out on the allure of the outdoors. With this program, they are able to appreciate the scenery around them. They learn the value in it. And, Mitcham noted, they are really impressed when they see an Extension Service agent actually catch a fish in Lovejoy’s nearby pond.

It’s those memorable lessons that Mitcham and Lovejoy hope will stick with them the rest of their lives. And it’s why they’ll do it again next year – bigger and better than ever.

Features

Chasing their passion

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Riding the rapids on Kelly Creek

Story by Carol Pappas
Photography by Wallace Bromberg Jr.

Days of heavy rainfall gave way to an overcast sky, a brief clearing that signaled the go-ahead to a band of adventurous kayakers from points all around St. Clair County and beyond.

Their destination? Kelly Creek, home of Class 3 rapids that beckon them whenever the water is just right.

On this day, the rain-swollen rapids created the perfect run for these seasoned kayakers and in a moment’s notice, they answered the call to meet at a makeshift, roadside launch at a bridge on U.S. 78 near Brompton. It’s their “put in” spot, where kayaks are unloaded and hoisted to the edge, readying for the run. Designated drivers are part of a shuttle team that heads to the “take out” spot at the run’s watery finish line.

What happens in between is nothing short of kayaker against nature, a quest to master the elements.

Ben Bellah, who lives about 10 minutes away on the outer reaches of Leeds, describes Kelly Creek as a “micro gorge” with Kelly Creek Falls, a 30 to 35 foot cascading waterfall located miles downstream. After the falls, the next take out is another few miles of flat water chocked full of log jams and private land.

“On the east coast, these Class 5 rapids may stand up to a standard Class 3 or 4. However, Kelly Creek Falls looks like a drop straight out of Yellowstone,” Bellah said. “Imagine cliff walls taller than a three-story house.”

One by one, members of the group put in, skillfully launching their kayaks like a seal would slide down the smooth hollow of a muddy bank.

First encounter is a three-drop rapid. “Once you’re in it, you don’t want to hike out,” warns Bellah.

None of the points along the way have names, so Bellah just describes them. There is an S run after the entrance rapid. You go through a slot of foam, and the water swirls.

Here, the banks are very steep and overgrown. “There are giant boulders not too many climbers know about.” But some do, and it isn’t unusual to see them take advantage of their find.

Up ahead are the railroad tracks. “When you see the tracks, the current flip-flops left to right.” Next, you’ll find play holes, where kayakers can “surf, spin around and get wet,” he says. “You can hike down there.”

There is what he calls an “egg dropper” right above the first gorge drop. At the cliff rapid, you must go right or left to reach one of the best playholes. Left takes you to the best one, he adds.

Left or right, split second decision-making is all a part of the run. “It’s like chess. You have to make the right move to connect the dots. You drop into a hole and then you drop into the best hole,” he said. Head right, and it’s “one small drop, then another, and the water is pushing you.”

The next cliff rapid goes left or right as well. The water is curling and boiling as you slide between the rocks. The second cliff rapid is an experience. “The cliff wall curves, and the water pushes you against the wall and pushes you out.”

Go .10 miles, and it drops 75 feet. It’s 300 yards to the cliff rapids, where it drops another 80-90 feet. “It’s really, really good whitewater.”

In all, it’s about 17 minutes from top to top, meaning from put in to take out and back to put in. The run itself is five to 10 minutes.

“I love to go fast,” he says. But not always. The scenery along the way is something to behold, worth slowing down to catch a glimpse. “Rhododendron is everywhere.” The rock face is smooth and imposing. And the flight of a heron is a thing of beauty.

Bellah said he enjoys a solo trip down Kelly Creek rapids, giving him a chance to experience it all – the beauty, the adventure, the thrill. “I feel a sense of home because there is so much in that creek that nobody knows about. It replenishes my soul.”

At 23, he has found his calling in the outdoors and wants to share with others the exhilaration he has experienced. He is moving to Colorado, where he will be teaching folks — children and adults — how to roll a kayak. He hopes one day to be a guide at the Grand Canyon.

For him, whether it’s Kelly Creek or somewhere out west, he is just “chasing a passion.”

From amercianwhitewater.org

Kelly Creek is short, small, fun, and very close to Birmingham. The good part begins in Kerr Gap just off I20 exit 147, east of Birmingham not far from Moody. It is somewhat similar to Chitwood, but runs longer due to an upstream swamp. The swamp acts like a sponge, making flow peaks less severe. I agonized over whether to list this as a III or a IV. The vast majority of the run consists of class III’s, but there are a couple rapids that are at least III+’s and may be solid IV’s at some levels

There is a short warmup after the Hwy 78 bridge, then the class II and III begins. You pass under a railroad bridge, and the drops get gradually bigger. There are a couple easily avoided undercuts. The rapids are all drop/pool. Two of the rapids towards the end are fairly large and might be IV or IV-. It’s hard to characterize the boundary between III and IV on micro creeks.

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Zeke Gossett

Fishing phenom continues winning ways

Story by Carol Pappas
Photos by Wallace Bromberg Jr.
Submitted photos

When Curtis Gossett took his six year-old son Zeke to fish in a local tournament, he noticed something a bit different about his boy and his prowess with a rod and reel.

“I told his mom there was something different about him. Even if she believed me, I don’t think she took it in,” he recalls. “He could do things with a rod and reel at that age that men couldn’t do.”

Curtis was right. At 11, Zeke won his first BASS Junior State Championship and then, another. “His mother came home and said, ‘I understand what you’re talking about now,’” Curtis says with a smile.

From there, Zeke won nine more state championships. All together, he has more than 30 major wins to his credit. In November 2013, the 17-year old junior at Pell City High School and his partner, Hayden Bartee, won the B.A.S.S High School state championship and placed third in the national High School BASSMasters Classic, the Super Bowl of fishing.

His drive to win is evident. He is on the water six days a week. “Sometimes we have to make him stop so his body can rest,” Curtis says. In 2013, he fished 43 out of 52 weekends — 32 were tournaments. And his attitude seems to match his winning ways. “He expects to catch a big fish every time he casts a rod,” his father says.

He is a student of the sport. He studies the internet for insight about lakes he will fish. He looks for varying degrees of water clarity, how deep, how shallow and where. He studies the routes in which they move and their behavior.

“Every fish is different,” Curtis says. They react differently in shallow, deep, cold or warm water. “Like people.”

To illustrate Zeke’s know-how, Curtis recounts a recent fishing trip when Zeke was site fishing and flipped for a fish for more than 30 minutes with a number of baits that was guarding her nest. He finally flipped a jig on her and “You could see her get excited and react to that bait.” The fish hit the jig immediately. Another fish took five flips because their behaviors were different. But, in typical Zeke Gossett style, he patiently figured out the behavior patterns and caught them both.

He listens to mentors, like Randy Howell, another St. Clair Countian who just captured the BASSMasters Classic championship for 2014. When he talks of Howell’s win, the passion in his voice is unmistakable. Perhaps it is because of their friendship that has strengthened since 2008 when he first met him. They go to speaking engagements together at high schools and at Bass Pro Shops.

Or perhaps he sees himself in Howell — the deep religious faith coupled with the heart of a winner.

When Zeke talks about his own love of fishing it is with a quiet confidence that comes with winning. And the winning has brought him a boat load of sponsors on board. He sports sunglasses by Maui Jim. His shirt and boat are filled with big name logos in the fishing world like Pro-Staffs-Strike King Lure Co., Elite Tungsten, Power-Pole and Moment Sportswear.

Fascinated by swim bait, Zeke now has a hand-carved Woodrow Rat Bait Co. lure — about the size and look of its namesake. His father got him for his birthday. Curtis called the San Diego, Cal., company to order it, and when the owner learned who it was for, he shipped it overnight to Zeke to use in a tournament and became a sponsor.

Vicious Fishing may not be Zeke’s biggest sponsor, but it is dear to him because it was his first one — owned by fellow Pell Citians Jeff Martin and his mother, Sylvia Martin.

Sylvia had read about Zeke’s early fishing successes in a local lake magazine, and Vicious became his inaugural sponsor, followed by a litany of others as the trophies mounted.

But the notoriety hasn’t seemed to faze Zeke as he prepares for yet another tournament. There will be plenty of those up ahead, but college will be his next stop after high school. And then, his quest for a spot on the pro circuit will begin.

He credits his even temperament with helping him get so far so fast, he says. He calls it a “waste of time” to get angry when fishing isn’t going his way. “You’ve got to get another bite and make up for it,” he says. “You get even.”

He prepares himself mentally for each round with prayer and determination. “I pray a lot,” he says. “It’s the easiest thing to do, but it’s the most powerful thing to do. You never give up. Even when things are going badly, it’s just another day on the water.”

For more on Zeke and Vicious Fishing, read the April & March 2014 online or printed edition of Discover The Essence of St. Clair.

Rodeo Business

County pins hopes on new arena

Story by Mike Bolton
Photos by Mike Callahan

Hoping to cash in on a trend that is paying big dividends for cities and counties across Alabama and other southern states, St. Clair County is ready to begin a venture into the rodeo business.

The $1 million St. Clair County Rodeo Arena located in Odenville on Blair Farm Road is open for business. Officials cut the ribbon in early March, and a kids rodeo and a professional rodeo were a week later.

County officials are hoping the 125,000-square-foot, multi-use facility will attract everything from rodeos to horse shows, church revivals, weddings, antique car shows and massive yard sales.

The arena and surrounding 25 acres, which the county purchased from an individual three years ago for approximately $350,000, underwent an additional $650,000 in improvements last year. It now includes covered bleachers capable of seating 750 people, a covered picnic area, a concession stand, restrooms and showers and other improvements.

The dream is to eventually enclose the facility and add additional parking for horse trailers, running water to horse stalls, and water, electricity and sewage for those who camp when they go to rodeos, said County Commission Chairman Stan Batemon.

Lude Mashburn, an agriculture teacher at Odenville High School and a member of the county’s recreation committee, pushed for the county to purchase the facility as soon as he heard it might be for sale. He notes the county is full of rural kids who do not play sports but have agricultural interests. But it is also important to introduce kids who aren’t from rural backgrounds to rural lifestyles, he says, adding that children with knowledge of the rural life are disappearing every year.

St. Clair County’s entry into the rodeo arena business is not an unproven venture. Looking to draw tourism to a city that had none, the city of Andalusia in south Alabama turned to a virtually untapped tourist market in 2000. Andalusia built a $5 million, state-of-the art, enclosed rodeo facility. It provided an economic boon to that city with hotels and fast-food restaurants springing up nearby. The multi-purpose facility draws horsemen for rodeos and horse shows and visitors for a wide array of other endeavors. It has seen years when the facility was rented 50 of 52 weeks a year, a spokesperson said.

Batemon says the county did not go into its rodeo arena project blindly. Part of the commission’s homework involved visiting other arenas in Alabama and neighboring states.

“Several of us went to Andalusia to see that facility and to Shelbyville, Tenn., to see that facility,” he said. “The one in Shelbyville was a $14 million facility and, of course, we needed something more reasonable. Other people on our committee visited arenas in Cullman and Shelby County.

“These arenas are great for bringing tourists into your area. Our goal is to make ours self-sustaining.”

Batemon says the county is finally hanging a “for rent” sign on the facility, and the county’s immediate plans are to begin searching for events.

“We are looking for ideas right now,” he said. “There are so many possibilities other than rodeo-related events. We can bring in a roller and pack down the dirt and have amphitheater events. We can have car shows and motorcycle shows. We are limited only by what people can’t dream up.”

Herschel Phillips, a member of the St. Clair County recreation committee, says a lot of planning has gone into the project since the existing area was purchased three years ago. It was immediately obvious that improvements had to be made to turn the facility from one used by private individuals to one that could handle crowds.

“When you get crowds, you have to have seating, restrooms and food,” he said.

Engineer Kelley Taft received the bid to design the improvements to the facility. A horse and cattle owner herself and no stranger to rodeos, she was familiar with what the facility needed.

“We added roofing, bleachers and sidewalks,” she said. “We expanded the north end for cover for bleachers and poured an additional concrete pad so the bleachers wouldn’t be in the dirt. We basically did the same thing on the opposite side and made it into a picnic area.

“We built an octagon-shaped building with a 1,200-square-foot concession stand facing the bleachers and restrooms and showers in the back.

“I’ve seen a lot of facilities as I have traveled all over the Southeast. This is definitely an asset to St. Clair County. I’ve seen what these arenas can do for other communities and this one has the potential to do that for this area.”

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Fifteen and Fast

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Pell City’s ‘Coyote’ Cole Daffron
a force to contend with on the race track

Story by Graham Hadley
Photos by Michael Callahan
Track photos courtesy of
Kelly’s Racing Photography

Though Pell City’s William Cole Daffron can’t legally drive on the road without an adult in the car with him, he already has one national championship under his belt on the track and has his sights set on ARCA and eventually NASCAR.

With help from his family, friends, supporters and sponsors, “Coyote” Cole has been working his way up the racing ladder, starting out on the go-kart circuit and moving up to Pro Challenge 3/4-size trucks in the past year. They have a dirt track car ready and are putting together a pro late-model racecar — possibly the last step before moving on to ARCA and similar competitions.

“Cole has his eyes locked in to the ARCA series as the next step to NASCAR. He is currently running a dirt crate late-model on a limited basis to get that much-needed experience,” his father, Scott Daffron, said.

The Pell City High School student is only 15 years old — he has his learner’s permit thanks to his mother Tracy Partain mailing him the paperwork when he was at the beach. While he is learning to drive responsibly on public streets, Cole has hit speeds of well over 100 mph on the track.

Cole started racing go-karts in 2007 when he was 9 years old. His father had been racing cars off and on for years and helping other racers, with Cole often following Scott to the track to watch.

Cole said he tried out baseball, but did not like it much — he knew he wanted to get behind the wheel. The decision to start racing was mutual. Cole wanted to race and Scott wanted him to do it too, but did not want to push him.

“It was his decision. He had to want to do it. I wanted to be sure he was living his dream and not mine,” Scott said.

For Cole, the choice was simple — he wanted to race. In fact, that is his core goal, to make a career on the track.

So Scott bought a racing go-kart. These are not your run-through-the-yard domestic karts many children have. They are miniature racecars and are almost as complicated as the larger vehicles, costing in the thousands of dollars. Scott started out with a used one in case Cole decided he did not want to keep racing.

But he took to the sport like a natural — and has a room full of trophies and winner’s checks, not to mention a national-championship ring, to prove it.

Cole started racing at the Talladega Short Track in 2007, pulling a respectable third place track championship that year. The following year, he earned a track championship, and by 2009, he won both the Alabama-Mississippi Series championship, champ kart, and the Maxxis Tire national championship, flat kart.

“That first race, it was exciting, different from anything I had ever done. It was the best time I ever had,” Cole said, though he did note the national championship race was the most exciting time he has ever had.

Scott said it was during those early racing days Cole earned the nickname “Coyote” — based on the coyote character from the Roadrunner cartoons. He was racing more experienced drivers who had already made names for themselves, “and I told him if he beats those guys, he would be the Coyote. … and then he started beating them.”

As the wins kept coming, with success across the Southeast in Alabama, Mississippi, Florida, Georgia and other states, Cole stepped up to the next level with the 3/4-scale Pro Challenge trucks, graduating at the same time from dirt to asphalt, once again proving himself a natural behind the wheel.

To date, Scott said Cole has not had a Pro Challenge finish lower than fifth. Just this September, he set a new track record during qualifying at Sunny South Raceway in Grand Bay, Alabama, and went on to win the race there for the sixth time in a row.

Even before that race, the PCHS teen had already been tapped as the 2013 rookie of the year for that series and is in a “three-way battle” for second place in the national championship, he said.

Scott and Cole say they fully expect him to be in an ARCA race by 2015.

Dedication, hard work
and more than a little help

Though Cole is the one driving the car, there is a whole network of support behind him making his racing career possible.

“A lot of people don’t understand this is a full-fledged racing program,” Scott said. The go-karts cost thousands of dollars, the Pro Challenge car costs thousands more, and the dirt-track car and the pro late model cars cost in the tens of thousands — and that is just to purchase the vehicle and get it race ready. That does not include maintenance and parts — especially tires, and the transportation to and from the tracks and other expenses.

Luckily for Cole, help is in no short supply.

His grandparents, Bill and Patricia Daffron, “are probably Cole’s biggest sponsors and his biggest fans. They make sure we have what we need to race. They are very supportive,” Scott said.

In fact, it is partially because of Bill that the family got into the racing business. He left the car dealership he had been working at to start a salvage yard and body shop. It was that car-filled environment that Scott grew up in that he credits with getting him hooked on racing (and restoring vintage vehicles, but that’s another story). Though his father still runs the salvage yard, Scott handles the body shop.

It is this family-run business and its resources that form the backbone of Cole’s racing operation.

Because of his quick success at the track, Cole has already landed one sponsor — Amsoil D&S Lubrication through Dennis Crowe, which has brought in some much-needed financial support.

Then there is Carl Dieas, who helps out around the shop and can always be counted on to track down parts — sometimes from very far away and on very short notice.

“I just help out a little here and there,” Carl said, but Scott was quick to clarify exactly how important a role Carl really plays.

“He has done a round trip in 13 hours for parts that had been ordered but did not come in time. If he had not done that, we would not have been racing that weekend. It’s hard to do this without Carl,” Scott said.

Cole and his Dad also throw credit to Scott Honeycutt — Cole’s spotter during races and his “right-hand man.”

“He is the best spotter I have seen. He can talk Cole through any thing, a wreck, whatever, on the track. … But he does not try to tell Cole how to drive,” Scott said.

For all the help he receives, Cole does his part, too — aside from just driving.

Between training and maintaining his vehicles, Cole says he does not have much free time. “I come in from school and start working in the garage. We take a break around 5 and eat dinner, then come back out and work some more,” he said, adding that the races take up “just about all my weekends.”

And though he is only 15 and can’t legally drive on public streets without an adult, he is preparing for the day he gets his driver’s license, too, by building his own truck in one of the family’s garages. He has already made solid progress on putting his 2009 Chevrolet together.

The thrill of racing

For Cole, all the hard work is more than worth it when he gets out on the track and it’s all about the racing.

“The first time I won a truck race, we had been working so hard. It was the last few laps and I was in front. The spotter was telling me where the other guy was behind me on the last lap. You pray you don’t mess up, and then you win,” Cole said, emphasizing that the excitement of those moments is almost beyond description.

Scott shares the thrill from afar, but gets equally excited. He remembers the national championship race in fine detail. “It was my most exciting moment. Watching him come around the corners in front. Cole was breathing so hard, his mask would fog up and he would fall back. The kids kept trading the lead, then we came out ahead.”

Along with the excitement of the race, Scott admits that, as a parent, there is also concern that something could go wrong.

“My heart feels like it is going to beat out of my chest every time somebody gets close to Cole on the track or something happens,” he said.

Luckily, Cole has not had any serious accidents to date, though he did flip a go-kart off a berm one time.

“We were coming out of a turn three wide,” Cole said. The karts got tangled up, and “I hit a berm and flipped in the air, landed on all four tires. It was pretty intense.”

“Thank God he landed on all four — there is no roll cage on those,” Scott said.

“And no seat belts,” Cole added.

Given his track record and continued winning streak, Cole said he thinks he has a solid chance of one day racing NASCAR.

His Dad agrees, but says they still have a ways to go, both as a team and Cole as a driver.

“I want to make sure he is mature enough. So far, everything has worked because we have been taking it in steps,” Scott said, pointing out that time behind the wheel is really the key to being a good driver. Right now, he wants Cole to race cars on the dirt track because, even though they can top 100 mph, the slick dirt will help prepare him for the day he races stock cars on asphalt and the tires heat up and become slick.

And, as Cole builds up his driving skills, Scott hopes to attract more attention to what they are doing, possibly even finding more sponsors and supporters.

“We are still in development. We are learning as we go along,” he said.

You can Follow “Coyote” Cole on Facebook here.

Features

Ride the Ridge

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OHV park exceeds creators’ wildest dreams

Story by Graham Hadley
Photos by Michael Callahan

Like many other teens in St. Clair County, Jason White and his friends loved riding motorcycles and ATVs through the abundant trails and woods in this region of Alabama.

But after they finished up school, places to ride became harder and harder to find. As often as not, they would pack up their bikes and four-wheelers and head out to a designated riding area, only to find it wasn’t open. The other option was to find places to ride that were not necessarily designated for off-highway-vehicles or open to the public.

“We would drive all the way out there just to find the place closed. We could not find places to ride where we would not get into trouble,” he said.

That’s when he got the idea to create an area dedicated to OHV riding that would always be open. He discussed the idea with the other people who rode, and they started an effort to make it a reality.

The process took about a year.

“We were looking for a place, trying to make it happen. People would drop in and out of it. Then this property came up for sale behind my grandfather’s land — it’s actually some property we rode on growing up,” Jason said.

The land was purchased, and the outdoor park, The Ridge, was born along the mountain ridge overlooking Springville. Originally opening with just a few miles of trails and some practice tracks, the park has grown beyond Jason’s greatest expectations.

And true to his original idea, The Ridge is always open, barring severe weather.

“We wanted a place that was guaranteed to be open,” he said.

Jason, his brother Josh White, and their dad, Greg, run The Ridge. After they purchased the land, they spent six months getting it ready to open, with 15 miles of trails and one track. Josh also put a website together for the new park.

“We had around 200 people show up opening day,” Jason said.

That was seven years ago. “We started off in an RV up by the road, just nice and simple. Then we got a singlewide donated for us to use. We were getting around 100 riders a day.”

Jason admits that, since the economy slowed, so has the volume of riders, down to about half what they were seeing then, but that has not kept them from expanding The Ridge, not only with new places to ride and different riding experiences, but with other features as well.

Today, The Ridge boasts around 40 miles of trails, everything from absolute beginner to expert, trails specifically for single-track riding on bikes to paths wide enough to accommodate side-by-sides. They have multiple tracks, each one tailored to different riding needs. There is a track for young riders just learning and other tracks, like Area 51, a triangle with different jumps and different faces so riders can practice a variety of competitive skills.

Jason says about 60 percent of their visitors are single-track motorcycle riders, and they have a dedicated 14-mile single-track loop that starts out easy and works its way up to an area called The Beast that is expert level.

More than it was

As much as OHV riding is still the focus of The Ridge, the dream of an OHV park that was always open for riders has become a dream of a weekend getaway retreat for families and groups, with a little something for everyone.

Jason and his Dad run a custom insulation installation contracting business, White Urethane, as their regular job, but they have brought that construction know-how and work ethic to the park. It now has primitive and RV camping with hookups, cabins and hotel rooms, and meeting facilities for visitors and groups to use. They built most of it themselves, with some help from other family members.

During the peak seasons, usually when the weather is cooler in the fall and spring, a restaurant is open, as is a gear store where people can buy everything from used motorcycles to riding equipment and rent ATVs and helmets. Helmets are required for anyone riding in the park unless the vehicle they are in has a roll-cage and the manufacturer requirements don’t include helmets.

Jason points out the helmet rule is an absolute, as are the other park rules, mostly about riding safely and respecting other park visitors who are there to enjoy themselves, too. “We want this to be a family-oriented place where people can come and spend a weekend and get away,” he said. And so far, that has usually been the case. Jason said they have only had to have two people removed from the park for misbehaving since they opened. “Generally, we have a nice group of folks out here.”

While people still mostly come to ride, The Ridge also boasts zip-line tours — a mix of the more sedate tours and the faster rides that are growing in popularity. There are five lines in all, culminating in the most exciting run at the end.

They also have two stocked fishing ponds and a specially designed competition-level 18-hole disc golf course.

Jason and his brother had set up a basic course to just play around with and give visitors something more to do at the park.

“Some guys from the Birmingham Disc Golf Club came out and looked at things.” They changed the course around to more official specifications and then held a two-day competition there.

They also have some rock-climbing areas and one section where they can do rappelling instruction.

In the early days of The Ridge, visitors could come out and enjoy free concerts. Like the riding, when the economy tightened up, the free concerts faded. But the stage and performing areas are still in place, and Jason wants music to one day again be a regular part of their venue. “We just did a three-day concert here,” he said, noting he is working on bringing more of the same to the area in the near future.

A new focus

“Resort” is the word Jason uses to describe where he sees the park heading. With the hotel rooms, cabins, meeting rooms and multi-use recreational facilities, The Ridge is not only attracting individual riders and families, but also organizations, churches and youth groups looking for a place to hold retreats.

“We are starting to look at more online and reservation bookings. That always makes things easier for us, knowing exactly what groups and how many people are coming to the park,” he said. “We did a wedding rehearsal, they stayed the night; and two youth groups; and an adult group, just in the past six months.”

He recently got his ropes-course certification at Shocco Springs Baptist Conference Center in Talladega and plans to add a cooperative ropes course to The Ridge soon.

The Ridge has also hosted Panther Runs, described on the www.pantherrun.net website as: “Mud, ropes, barrels, tires, rocks, wood, water, logs, sand and dirt mixed with a big bowl of adrenalin and spread out into a 5K (Unleashed version is longer) mud run/obstacle challenge.”

Even as he looks to find new ways for people to enjoy themselves at The Ridge, their core focus is riding — and a big part of that are OHV events that draw hundreds of enthusiasts here for several days at a time.

Whether it is the Southeast Cross Country Association Buddy Hare Scramble or some other competition, The Ridge generally holds six or more major riding events a year, which in part help support the park all year long.

And all of it goes to maintaining Jason’s original vision: To have a park where riders have a guaranteed place to ride.

For upcoming events and to check on space availability at The Ridge, visit their website at www.ridgeriding.com.