James H. Floyd State Park All about Water

Like to fish? James H. Floyd Georgia State Park is a beautiful background for lake activities. We stopped at the park on the way home (to Atlanta) from Cloudland Canyon. My GPS wasn't exactly sure how to get in the park through the front or back gate, but I figured it out.

This was a really beautiful tree in the park. Notice all the bark is white. Do you know why? I will have to research.

Photography assignment... don't take your photographs at noon. This is when I happen to be at this park and took my photos. They are pretty, but they would be better later or earlier in the day. As an assignment -- take a photograph in the middle of the day outside and take the same subject in the same spot much later in the day. Which do you like better?

Below is the upper lake at Floyd. Click here for a park map. I include the paddle boats in my photograph because that was my companion's real interest here.

To the right is an image of the lower lake. Notice the people fishing on the right and the boat in the foreground.

James H. (Sloppy) Floyd State Park

2800 Sloppy Floyd Lake Rd
Summerville , GA 30747

(I am visiting, photographing, and blogging all of the GA state parks in one year. This is park 4/48)

National Public Lands Day is Tomorrow!

Enjoy free entrance to many public parks on Saturday, September 25, 2010. Georgia State Parks are participating. There are many clean up projects you can participate in. Click the link below to find a project near you.

http://www.publiclandsday.org/

On your way, please stop by the Sandy Springs Festival and view my art! I would love to say hello. Please post a comment here if you help clean up a park. What was it like?

Cloudland Canyon is an Amazing Part of Georgia State Park System

I loved the trip to Cloudland Canyon State Park. My companion looked up from his game of Life on his iPod to say, "This is a pretty drive" on the way there. It really was. We don't have a lot of hills/mountains in the Atlanta area, so the beautiful rolling countryside on Highway 136 was kind of shocking! We stayed in the state park for two nights at site #65. The campground host was so nice to greet us after hours. The gift shop has an amazing collection of books and gifts.

During the middle of the trip we drove on the Lookout Mountain Scenic Highway. It was really a gorgeous drive too. We sneaked in the back way to Chattanooga. It was about 20 minutes from Cloudland. Ruby Falls and the Incline Railroad both looked worth the trip and worthy of exploration, but we arrived too late in the day for the side trips. On the way there, we began listening to Sign of the Beaver, which is a great children's book on tape. Click on my culturedkid blog link to read my review of the story, which I will post shortly.

We took several short hikes from this campground. The first was to check out the canyon. I reminded my son that canyon was like in the word Grand Canyon and we were so lucky to have one in Georgia. The trip down to the two waterfalls is much like the hike in Amicalola Falls State Park. These stairs are grated at cloudland and it took a little coaxing to get the dog to descend. But it was so pretty even without the water flowing. Here is an image from the base of waterfall #1, which is about a mile hike total from the cottages in the east rim campground.

Cloudland Canyon State Park
122 Cloudland Canyon Park Rd.
Rising Fawn , GA 30738

(I am blogging the Georgia state parks in one year. This is park 3/48.)

Roses for a Rosy New Year

The Jewish New Year is here. Like January 1, it is a time of reflection. Jews add the step of apologizing for slip-ups during the past year during this time, which makes it sweet.

Our family tradition has been to write down 3-5 goals for the next year on 4"x6" cards. This has been especially helpful for reflecting with children. Here are two roses I shot this week near my home.

Sweetwater Georgia State Park Short Drive from Atlanta

My second park to visit, Sweetwater State Park was a pleasant surprise because it is so close to Atlanta just a few minutes from Six Flags Over Georgia. It reminded me a of a park we used to visit when I was a child in Minnesota. We showed up ate our picnic and left.

This is what my family did in Sweetwater because of lack of time, but we had fun while we were there. I forgot the spatula. This was a difficult item to replace at the grill. So we grilled the hamburgers on tin foil, which didn't really work either. But we all had hamburger meat on our bun. And, will always laugh about this.

The lake was beautiful and the picnic tables all spread out around it. We found a peaceful place.

Sweetwater Creek State Park
1750 Mt. Vernon Road
Lithia Springs , GA 30122

(I am blogging the Georgia state parks in one year. This is park 2/48)  

Skidaway is a Great Camping Getaway

I chose to stay in Georgia's Skidaway State Park over the Labor Day weekend to kick off my year of parks. Skidaway was perfect for camping with lots of privacy, hot showers and nature to explore. There was a tent pad for my tent, which worked great. (See a photo in the post before this one.) My view was peaceful. Every night I camp out I wonder how it can be so quiet. The scenery changes quite a bit from Atlanta to the coast as you see above in Summer Snow.

Here are several pictures within the park. I didn't realize that the crabs' shells were all the colors of the rainbow. I enjoyed the Big Ferry Trail. I took my road bike on the trail, which was okay. I got to practice steering around tree roots. But it really is a nice beginning mountain bike trail. The park clocks the path at 3 miles. I stopped at the observation tower with my camera. I spotted a great white heron from a distance.

Skidaway Island State Park

52 Diamond Cswy

Savannah , GA 31411

(I am blogging the Georgia state parks in one year. This is park 1/48) 

My New Adventure through the Georgia State Parks

Thank you Julie Powell author of Julie and Julia. I am inspired to a challenge myself. I have decided to visit all of the Georgia State Parks in the next year and photograph and blog about them. There are 48 state parks, and I work on the weekends, but I can do it! I began last weekend 9/4/2010 with three overnights in Skidaway Island State Park. That same weekend I visited Wormsloe Historic Site. Wormsloe is an amazing estate and an incredible visual of how wonderful it really is to have a child. Mr. Wormsloe planted 400 oak trees lining his "driveway" in honor of the birth of his son. Here are my images of the drive. (I am awaiting the park's permission before selling these works.)

My children are amazing to me ♥ I love how they are just like me in many ways and completely different than me in other ways ♥ They all have a wonderful stubborn streak ♥ My oldest I love to joke with ♥ My youngest is my fix it, install it, do it kid ♥ And my middle child, exactly that easy-going everything's good, "blow it off, mom" child ♥ There are many days when I see them and say I'm done ♥ I did exactly what I was here for... and then I go shoot a few more photographs ♥ Yes, Mr. Wormsloe we should all go plant that amazing row of trees in honor of those cherubs ♥ I am off to share these beautiful georgia parks with you ♥

Wormsloe Historic Site
7601 Skidaway Rd
Savannah , GA 31406

Savannah Georgia Riverstreet Festival Busy

There was a diverse crowd in Savannah, Georgia for Labor Day. My art is now on the way to new homes in Virginia, Texas, North Carolina, Kansas, Michigan and of course, Georgia.  I stayed at Skidaway Island State Park and was able to setup my REI Base Camp 6 (pictured on the left) by myself for the first time. (I usually have help.) It took 45 minutes to completely set up and store my stuff. We would buy a kingdom 6 today because it is lighter.

When I bought the base camp 6 in 2005, I had just spent the night in a tent that leaked and I wanted to be very dry. Because of my paranoia, the REI staff recommended adding a liquid waterproofer to the seams. I set up the tent in my house in the middle of the night and began waterproofing. Unfortunately, this needed to be applied with plastic gloves, and I could not get the stuff off my hands. I desperately drove from store to store without touching the steering wheel!?! looking for a solution remover. I did find one, but everytime I see that goop on those tent seams it makes me chuckle. The tent has been wonderful and kept us very dry. The ground cloth is one of the keys to keeping the tent dry. It is often wet, but the tent dry.

Thanks everyone who came out to check out my art at the show. I am looking forward to the Sandy Springs Festival the last weekend in August. Of course I took lots of photographs and will post later.