Exploring the Atlanta area
My sister just moved to Atlanta, so the last couple of times in Tennessee, I went to visit her. These photos are taken during a visit fall 2006 and spring 2007. She and her fiance take me out to explore the city and surrounding areas. They live really close to the Chattahoocee River National Recreation area - Cochran Shoals. There are a couple of different park locations, but they all have hiking/walking trails along the river. Shoals refer to the shallow rocks protruding from the river, creating rapids. It is a very beautiful river that gives you the impression of being lost in the wilderness, even though you are in the Atlanta city limits. Its amazing.
This last trip down there, we decided to surprise her fiance with skydiving! None of them had gone before, and all were scared and excited.
We also explored the downtown area. We shopped at the Atlanta Underground - basically a bunch of shops underground, and stopped by the Coke Museum. The highlight (of course) was all the free samples! They had one room of flavors available in the US and another room with flavors from around the world. Some were pretty good, while others were not. Some flavors were interesting and not favorable to the palate, at least not mine.
We strolled through Olympic Park - Atlanta was the site of the 1996 Summer Olympics. There is a fountain in the center by the 5 rings that shoots bursts of water out randomly. It was a hot day, so there were lots of kids (and some adults!) running through the water trying to cool off. It was fun to watch. Another popular park is Piedmont Park. It has lots of trails for biking or walking, a swimming pool, a pond, and sports fields. We walked through quickly, but they go there alot for recreation.
One morning we went to Stone Mountain in the northern Atlanta area. It is a large (granite) exfoliation dome. It is also the world's largest exposed piece of granite. We hiked up the dome - some parts of the trail were pretty steep. We didn't get much time at the top, because a thunderstorm was coming and I did not want to be exposed on top of a large rock that sticks up (825 ft) above the surrounding area. It rained on us on the way down and that rock is very SLIPPERY WHEN WET! The front of the dome has a bas-relief carving - the largest in the world . The Confederate Memorial Carving depicts three Conferedate heroes from the Civial War.
The hike is a nice one right up the hill side, fairly steep in some places. The trail is 1.3 miles to the top and is 1683 ft above sea level. The top is 825 feet above the surrounding areas and on clear days you can see up to 60 miles! The view is terrific. The rocks are very slippery when wet, so avoid rainy days. The top is also accessible by the Summit Skyride (for a fee) and has bathrooms. The park also has 15 miles of hiking trails including the one to the top.
The bas-relief carving is of three Confederate heros of the Civil War. See more photos in my "exploring the Atlanta area" entry of my Southeast US blog.
