Tallulah Gorge, GA...

What does one do when you wake up early and stare at the sunrise with a cup of tea warming your hands and the day is just full of a promise of the fleeting Georgia spring?  One gets in the truck (yes, we have a truck now...long story), opens the sunroof and drives to the place they've never fully explored - Tullulah Gorge.

The rim of the canyon didn't get above high 60's in temperature *happy dance* but the gorge floor was much warmer due to the rocks soaking up the sun.  And when you spend 45 minutes climbing over boulders that are slick as glass you work up a sweat.  Luckily there are some freezing cold, and I do mean COLD, swimming holes that you can brave.  In your underwear.  Because you're classy like that.  And alone.

I'm honestly astounded that we hiked the gorge floor (and skimpy dipped, as I've started calling our stripped-down-but-still-somewhat-clothed shenanigans) because you have to have a permit to do so and they are usually gone within a few minutes after the park opens.  Seems that today no one but us chickens were willing to brave the trails or take a dip.

And I must admit that I'm so, so, so sore right now thanks to this 6 hour adventure.  Brady and I have a tendency to take a chance on hiking particular trails that inevitably lead us to cool places BUT they come with unexpected hours added to the trip or a weird rainstorm or a shit ton of climbing to do or something like that.  We actually laugh about it but it still catches us off guard every single time.  We never learn and today was no exception.

If you're thinking of visiting Sliding Rock and Bridal Veil Falls at the Gorge then be prepared!  It's a strenuous hike to-and-from the area and it's very slippery on the rocks.  Do not bring anything you don't want to get splashed (my camera barely made it out and only did because I crawled on my knees with it held above my head to cross the streams) and be sure to bring lots of water.  I also do not recommend this with younger kids or anyone with any medical issues.  It's actually a bit dangerous if you're not diligent.  They'll tell you it's a 2 hour hike round trip.  THEY LIE.  It's at least 5 hours to complete the floor and the rim.  But it's all worth it to slide down the Sliding Rock into a cold pool of water while hawks circle overhead...

Athens Life - Shaking Rock Park...

My first day back in the bakery since the spring semester ended was a slow one.  I took a small coffee break at the bar and began chit-chatting with one of our regular customers only to find out about a small, now virtually unknown park just outside of Athens.  Well, I'm a sucker for the obscure so I immediately finished up my work, called Brady and we hopped in the car to drive the short distance (20 minutes) to Shaking Rock Park in Lexington, GA. 

A few website entries and newspaper articles talk about how Shaking Rock no longer shakes due to the Charleston earthquake of the late 1800's but the local legend is that the area is home to a vortex and that Gilmer found numerous Native American artifacts, including a secret underground room and statues and the like, but gave them away or inadvertently destroyed them.  Lots of history and rumors swirl around the place.  Now the area is a bit overgrown, full of seed ticks and is very, very, very secluded.  The directions are it's off of highway 78 near Lexington and the sign on the road is actually a small granite block with tiny lettering.  In other words, it's not easy to find and I don't think people hunt it out very often except for local teenagers and climbing enthusiasts.  During the 2 hours we were there we didn't see another person or hear anything other than wildlife.  It was just lovely!

Beware!  I, uh, took lots of pictures.  Lots.

It's hard to take pictures of huge rocks and make it look cool.  I still don't have the hang of it but I had fun trying!

Shaking Rock!

Do you see the person in the lichens?

Side view of Shaking Rock and some lovely *sarcasm* graffiti...

We couldn't get there because the recent rain flooded out the footbridge.  Maybe next time...

Crane Fly or, as they are known around here, Mosquito Hawk.

This cutie was having some difficulty navigating around a recently fallen tree so I picked him up, took a few quick photos and then placed him back in the direction he was going.  He trundled on his way no worse for wear.  Promise.

Smiley face caterpillar!

Such a beautiful day for an adventure!  I can't wait to go back to Lexington and take photos of some of the houses and sites/sights there.  It was such a quaint small town but quirky too...

Athens Life - Sandy Creek Nature Center...

It's been 'window open' weather here in Athens this week and I've been giddy with the prospect of hiking without risk of a heatstroke and loss of blood from hungry mosquito ladies.  Plus I've been wanting to try some new things with the camera in terms of natural lighting, angles and manual adjustments.  The two desires - outdoors and photography - came together beautifully the other morning during our trip to the Sandy Creek Nature Center!

We hiked for almost 2 hours with me stopping often along the way...

 

 

 

The nature center is full of shady and damp places where mushrooms take root, and there are bugs and flowers (spider lilies are one of my favorite) and fruit and more galore.  Wild crabapples and wild ginger and the scent of cedar is found everywhere.  And  there are the remains of the original brick factory on site but it crumbled to the ground years ago and is now just a few pieces of masonry covered by thick vines.  On a Monday morning the place was so quiet that the drone of insects seemed almost deafening!  I can't wait to go back to hike the 8 mile trail soon...

And I have to say that I'm pretty pleased at how my pictures turned out considering that I still have little-to-no experience with the manual settings on my camera.  I did, however, find some great tips on how to photograph outdoors that really helped me during this adventure and I'll be back to share them soon!