Turkey Waddle among the events set for Georgia's State Parks this November!

Here's a list of events planned for Georgia State Parks and Historic Sites this November. Quite a few of them are really fun.  My personal award for best name goes to High Falls State Park for the High Falls Turkey Waddle!

 

Show Thanks for Nature's Bounty
Georgia’s State Parks Offer Ways to Appreciate Nature

 

ATLANTA, November 8, 2012  --  Thanksgiving is a time to reflect on all the blessings we have in our lives.  For many, that includes an appreciation for nature’s bounty and the beauty around us.  Georgians are fortunate to have a wide variety of scenic wonder nearby, from waterfalls and lakes, to mountains and marshes.  This November, take time to appreciate all that nature brings to our lives with a getaway to one of Georgia’s State Parks.  Throughout November and around Thanksgiving, park rangers have planned a bounty of events that will get you into the great outdoors and encourage quiet reflection.  

To plan a nature-filled getaway, stay overnight in one of the parks’ varied accommodations.  Curl up next to a roaring fire inside a cabin, or make gooey campfire s’mores with your kids.  Those who appreciate more traditional getaways can reserve hotel-style lodge rooms.  The lodge restaurants even have special Thanksgiving buffets for overnight guests (reservations required).

Below is a sampling of Thanksgiving-themed events offered by Georgia’s State Parks and Historic Sites.  For a full calendar, visit GeorgiaStateParks.org/events.

 

 

“Thanks for Nature’s Bounty” Events in November

Saturday, November 17, 2012

Sugar Cane Festival
9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
George L. Smith State Park, Twin City, GA
This annual festival highlights why we are thankful for nature's plants like sugar cane. Watch us grind sugar cane and make cane syrup. Enjoy Civil War cannon and musket demonstrations, live bluegrass, a snake program, crafts and a canoe race. Cane syrup will be for sale. Stay the weekend in cabins or the lakeside campground.  $1 plus $5 parking.  478-763-2759.

Come & Take It! -- Thankful for the American Revolution
11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Fort Morris Historic Site, Midway, GA
Show appreciate for our country by joining this annual American Revolution encampment.  It commemorates Colonel John McIntosh's defiant reply to a British demand for surrender: "Come & Take It!" Watch colonial demonstrations, musket and cannon drills, 18th century music and more. Interpreters in historical attire will teach about colonial life.  (912) 884-5999.

Meteors and More: Appreciating the Night Sky
7 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Red Top Mountain State Park, Cartersville, GA
Appreciate the beautiful skies above. Start the evening with a presentation by the Atlanta Astronomy Club, then search the night sky for stars and more. Georgia Astronomy in State Parks members will bring telescopes and answer questions.  Stay overnight in the park’s cabins or campground.  $5 parking.  770-975-0055.

Fall Harvest Candlelight Hike to the Mill
7 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Sweetwater Creek State Park, Lithia Springs, GA
Join us for this mile-long, moderately difficult night hike down to the rapids of Sweetwater Creek. We will go inside the Civil War-era textile mill ruins where we will enjoy hot cider and hot chocolate. Candle lanterns will be provided. No children under 6 years or dogs permitted. Space is limited. Register in the Visitor's Center parking lot. Sturdy, closed-toe shoes are required. $5 plus $5 parking.  770-732-5871.


Thursday, November 22, 2012

Appalachian Thanksgiving at Amicalola
10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Amicalola Falls State Park and Lodge, Dawsonville, GA
Enjoy living history demonstrations in the lower lodge lobby or hike off Thanksgiving dinner on the waterfall trail. Explore the magic of handmade folk toys, and try your hand at churning butter. Reservations for the lodge's very popular Thanksgiving Buffet are already filled, but cancellations are possible. Stay overnight in the park’s lodge, cabins or campground.  $5 parking.  (706) 344-1505.


Friday, November 23, 2012

Turkey Trot
9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
F.D. Roosevelt State Park, Pine Mountain, GA
Join a naturalist to walk off some of that bountiful Thanksgiving dinner. Discover natural history of the piedmont region and search for the turkeys that got away. Meet next to the Trading Post. This easy hike is 3.2 miles along Mountain Creek Trail. Ages 8 and older. Stay overnight in the park’s cabins or campground.  $5 parking.  706-663-4858.

Walk Off That Turkey Hike
10 a.m. to 2:30 pm
Tallulah Gorge State Park, Tallulah Falls, GA
Take a guided hike through the gorge floor to work off those extra pounds you acquired over Thanksgiving. This hike is strenuous and involves climbing over and under rocks and logs, jumping from rock to rock, and possibly getting your feet wet. Participants must be 10 or older. Register in advance. $5 plus $5 parking.  706-754-7981.

Thanksgiving Leftovers Kayak Trip
11 a.m. to 2 pm
Crooked River State Park, St. Marys, GA
Explore this unique and important marsh ecosystem. Work off your Thanksgiving meal and bring leftovers for a sandbar picnic during this three hour marsh kayak adventure. No experience necessary. Gear provided. Reservations required.  $35-$85 plus $5 parking. Stay overnight in the park’s cabins or campground.   912-882-5256.

Thank Goodness for the Moon
6 p.m. to 8 pm
Stephen C. Foster State Park, Fargo, GA
Meet at the cul-de-sac near the Trading Post where we'll have high powered telescopes set-up, focused on the moon. You'll be able to see the craters in the moon which were created by meteorites and learn fun facts about the moon. Registration required.  Stay overnight in the park’s cabins or campground.  $5 Refuge Parking. $3.  912-637-5274.


Saturday, November 24, 2012

High Falls Turkey Waddle
9 a.m. to 11 am
High Falls State Park, Jackson, GA
Hike off that extra slice of pumpkin pie with this exhilarating 3.5-mile hike. Enjoy the outdoors in the crisp fall air. Bring water and wear comfortable walking shoes. Meet at the Park Office. Stay overnight in the park’s campground or yurts.  $5 parking.  478-993-3053.

Turkey Stroll at Buck Shoals
9 a.m. to 11:30 pm
Smithgall Woods State Park, Helen, GA
Burn a few calories and share this beautiful park with holiday guests. This is not a "turkey trot" fun run; instead this is a leisurely 1.5-mile stroll around Crean Lake at Buck Shoals, a future state park in White County. Hikers will meet at the Buck Shoals entrance at 9 AM and drive to the trailhead. Register in advance. Stay overnight in the park’s beautiful cabins.  Donations welcome. $5 parking.  706-878-3087.

Historic New Manchester History Hike
1 p.m. to 2:30 pm
Sweetwater Creek State Park, Lithia Springs, GA
This mile-long hike (easy to moderate) will lead to the five story ruins of the Civil War-era New Manchester textile mill and focus on the history of the Sweetwater Creek Valley. This historian or ranger-led hike will include going inside the ruins and seeing the lovely whitewater rapids which provide great photo opportunities. $5 plus $5 parking.  770-732-5871.

Hayrides and Campfires
2 p.m. to 6 pm
Cloudland Canyon State Park, Rising Fawn, GA 
Enjoy wildlife, fall colors and the beauty of the park while riding on our tractor-pulled hay wagon, then sit around the campfire and roast marshmallows and hot dogs while sipping hot apple cider. What better way to enjoy fall in the mountains? Stay overnight in the park’s cabins or campground.  $5 per adult $3 per child 4 -12. $5 parking.  (706) 657-4050. 

Gold in Them There Hills! - Gold Mines of the North Georgia Mountains

Panning for Gold in Georgia
USFS Photo

America's first major gold rush took place not in California in 1849, but in Georgia twenty years earlier!
The great Georgia Gold Rush was sparked in 1829 (although some say the actual discovery was made the previous year) when news spread that gold had been found in the mountains about thirty miles north of Gainesville, Georgia. This is in the area of the present-day town of Dahlonega.

Men hoping to "strike it rich" flooded into North Georgia from all over the fledgling United States, much to the chagrin of the Cherokee Indians who owned much of the gold territory. The Cherokee, however, were forced west at bayonet point on the Trail of Tears in 1836-1838 and the entire gold country was opened to the whites once and for all.

Gold Stream in North Georgia

A Congressional report indicates that by the summer of 1829 - even before the forced removal of the Cherokee - as many as 3,000 men were prospecting for gold in the mountains. They primarily used pans or sluices to extract the precious yellow metal from stream and creek beds and the amount the found was impressive. By 1830, hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of gold had been found (in 19th century dollars).

The wealth of the Georgia gold fields led towns such as Dahlonega and Auraria to spring up almost overnight. The U.S. Government even built a branch U.S. Mint in Dahlonega and turned out over $6,000,000 in coins there in just 23 years.

Old Lumpkin County Courthouse
Today's Dahlonega Gold Museum

The gold fever in Georgia was already wavering by 1849 when a new strike in California sent miners flooding west, but gold was still coming out of the hills. In an effort to encourage miners to stick it out and dig deeper, the assayer for the Dahlonega branch mint took to the steps of the old Lumpkin County courthouse, pointed to the surrounding ridges and exclaimed, "There's gold in them there hills!"  The phrase became an important part of American culture.

There was still gold in the hills and millions more would be extracted. People still find it there today, in fact, and the U.S. Forest Service even allows the public to pan for a little of their own in the Chattahoochee National Forest!

To learn more, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/georgiagold.

DeSoto Falls Recreation Area - Chattahoochee National Forest, Georgia

DeSoto Falls in Summer

The mountains of North Georgia are known for their scenic vistas, mountain streams and beautiful waterfalls. You can find all three at DeSoto Falls Recreation area in the Chattahoochee National Forest.
Actually a series of waterfalls along small streams that feed Frogtown Creek, DeSoto Falls gained their name after what was said to be a piece of Spanish armor was found there during the 1880s. The waterfalls were on the traditional route of the Hernando de Soto expedition of 1540 and it was logically assumed that the iron had been left behind by the Spanish conquistador.

While modern archaeologists don't put much stock in the claim, they also have never discredited it. In fact, no one really knows where the expedition crossed the mountains. A theory advanced during the 1980s by an anthropologist from the University of Georgia holds that the crossing took place far to the north in North Carolina. Recent archaeological discoveries in South Georgia, however, raise serious questions about his proposed route. Those discoveries have included 16th century Spanish artifacts like those found along known sections of the De Soto route, but far away from the path suggested in the 1980s.

In other words, Hernando de Soto might well have crossed west through Georgia and not hundreds of miles to the north. Or perhaps the crossing was somewhere in between.  No one knows.

The story of the armor aside, DeSoto Falls is an absolutely beautiful place.  Anglers fish for both native and stocked trout in Frogtown Creek as it flows through the recreation area and short hiking trails lead to observation platforms at two of the most picturesque falls.

To learn more about DeSoto Falls, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/gadesotofalls.

Fantasy in Lights underway at Callaway Gardens



Fantasy in Lights at Callaway Gardens
Photo Courtesy of Callaway Gardens

The South's premier festival of Christmas lights is now underway at Callaway Gardens.

Fantasy in Lights features more than 8 million lights. That's enough to light up 26,666 six-foot Christmas trees. Stretched end to end, the lights would reach from Callaway Gardens all the way to Baltimore, Maryland (731 miles).

The drive through the extravaganza is seven miles long and can be done either in your own vehicle or on special Jolley Trolleys which feature singing and other holiday fun.

Enchanted Forest Display
Photo Courtesy of Callaway Gardens

Many of the lighting displays are animated and two are operated by Broadway-like control systems. They feature music and quite spectacular light shows with themes that include March of the Toy Soldiers, Magical Christmas Gardens, Firefly Cove, Twelve Days of Christmas, 'Twas the Night Before Christmas, Santa's Workship and more.

In addition, an impressive 10-minute light show at Robin Lake Beach tells the Nativity Story with orchestrated lights and a moving narration.

The light tours begin and end at Callaway's special Christmas Village, a heated 22,000 square foot area of holiday cheer that offers shopping, food and entertainment.

This year's Fantasy in Lights opened on November 18th and will be open nightly through December 30th. Please click here to view pricing information, etc., for this year's event.

To learn more about Callaway Gardens and Fantasy in Lights, please visit their official website: http://www.callawaygardens.com/gardens/events/winter-fantasy-in-lights.aspx

Other points of interest in the area include:

• Warm Springs, Georgia
• Little White House Historic Site
• Dowdell's Knob
• Franklin D. Roosevelt State Park
• Red Oak Covered Bridge

Halloween 2011: Ghost of the St. Simons Lighthouse

St. Simons Lighthouse

One of the most popular landmarks of the Golden Isles of the Georgia coast, the historic St. Simons Lighthouse stands on the waterfront and its light still shines out to warn ships of dangerous waters ahead.

Running the lighthouse was a serious and important job and, if the stories told about the historic old tower are true, at least one former keeper remains determined to keep the light shining....long after he passed from this earth.

Frederick Osborne was the keeper of the St. Simons light in 1880. His job was to keep the beacon operating 24-hours per day, seven days a week. He and his assistant, John Stephens, shared quarters in the adjacent lighthouse keeper's house. Osborne lived on the ground floor, while Stephens lived with his wife on the second floor.

Trouble began when Osborne supposedly spoke to Mrs. Stephens in an "inappropriate" manner. An argument broke out and John Stephens got a gun and shot the keeper. Osborne died from his wounds and Stephens was arrested and charged with murder. A jury, however, acquitted him of all charges after hearing the details of the case.
Since that time, however, a mysterious figure that some say is the ghost of Frederick Osborne has lurked in the darkness of the St. Simons Lighthouse.

Sightings of the ghost have been documented as far back as 1908 and some say they continue to this day! To learn more, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/gastsimons2.

Ghost of Allatoona Pass - A Georgia Ghost Story

Railroad near Allatoona Pass

With October here and Halloween approaching, I thought you might enjoy an interesting little Georgia ghost story. It developed along the railroad between Atlanta and Chattanooga in the latter half of the 19th century.
The story first surfaced in 1872, when Georgia newspapers wrote of a mysterious "rider" on trains making their way between Allatoona Pass (near Cartersville) and the crossing at Tilton (near Dalton). Employees on the Western & Atlantic (W&A) Railroad would look back along the tops of the trains and see a strange man sitting up there:

Deep Cut in the 19th Century

...This individual appears suddenly on top of the freight cars, takes a seat and remains there for many miles, then the unknown brakesman disappears. Conductors, seeing him, have often gone out to collect his fare, but on nearing him, he would vanish like mist. - Atlanta Journal, December 1872.

The spectre was often spotted as the train made its way through the "Deep Cut" at Allatoona Pass. Other times he would disappear when then trains reached that point.  This prompted some speculation that he was the ghost of a soldier killed there during the Civil War.

The Deep Cut Today

The "Deep Cut" was the scene of the Battle of Allatoona Pass, fought for control of the vital railroad choke point on October 5, 1864. Confederate forces under General Samuel G. French tried to storm the Union forts built to protect the pass. The Federal troops could not be dislodged, despite a bloody battle that left more than 1,600 men killed, wounded or captured.  The fight inspired the famed Christian hymn, "Hold the Fort."

The connection between the ghost and Allatoona Pass prompted much speculation that he might have been killed there during the battle.

So common did his appearance on the trains become for a time, that a bold engineer decided to get to the bottom of the mystery. To read what happened in his 19th century "Ghostbusting" effort, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/allatoonaghost.

You can read more about the Battle of Allatoona Pass at www.exploresouthernhistory.com/allatoonapass.

Amicalola Falls State Park - Dawsonville, Georgia

Amicalola Falls

One of the most spectacular sights in the nation, the tallest waterfall in the eastern United States plunges down a mountainside at Amicalola Falls State Park near Dawsonville, Georgia.

From top to bottom, the waterfall measures 729 feet and is more than four times the height of Niagra Falls. The name "Amicalola" is thought to be a corruption of the Cherokee word for "tumbling waters." This is appropriate as the fall on Little Amicalola Creek was known to the Cherokee and their ancestors for hundreds if not thousands of years before the first European explorers pushed into their lands.

Amicalola Falls

The earliest known written description of the waterfall was penned by a Georgia surveyor in 1832 who wrote of its stunning beauty, but also noted - as have many modern visitors - that he was "completely exhausted by the time I reached half-way." He saw it before the Cherokee were forcefully removed from the area and marched west at bayonet point on the Trail of Tears in 1838. Their departure opened the area around Amicalola Falls to settlement and by the Civil War there was a small settlement there that included a water-powered mill and a Methodist campground.

The Crane family, owners of the mill, held the land surrounding the waterfall until 1940 when they sold it to the State of Georgia. It is now the centerpiece of Amicalola Falls State Park, a stunning park area that features hiking trails, overlooks, cabins, campgrounds a 56-room lodge and the southern jumping-off point for the Appalachian Trail.

To learn more, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/amicalolafalls.

Tallulah Gorge & Waterfalls - Tallulah Falls, Georgia

Tallulah Gorge from the North Rim

One of the most spectacular and historic sites in Georgia is the beautiful Tallulah Gorge in the mountains north of Atlanta.
Up to 1,000 feet deep in places, the gorge is one of the Seven Natural Wonders of Georgia. Roughly two miles long, it has seven waterfalls at the bottom, several of which can be seen from the overlooks along the rim. Trails lead to the bottom from the visitor center at Tallulah Gorge State Park, the entrance to which is off U.S. 441 in Tallulah Falls.

An interesting footnote is that the trail system is named for Helen Dortch Longstreet, wife of Confederate General James Longstreet. She was a pioneer in the effort to preserve the canyon.

One of the more interesting legends surrounding the canyon is that it is haunted by the ghost of a Cherokee warrior. As early as 1876, stories of the apparition appeared in newspapers across the country, including the Chicago Herald:

Waterfall at Tallulah Gorge

...Suddenly I saw a man rise to his feet with a very serious look, presenting his deadly rifle at me. As I turned I shouted, 'take care of yourself, Joe!' I struck a bee line for the hotel. The sharp report of a pistol followed my good legs. I cried, I felt the ball hit; I felt the blood run down my back; but I had no time to tarry. I met Mr. Young in the yard, and after a hearty laugh he told me it was the ghost of the Indian that Bailey had killed, and I was not the first one that flown from there.

Other legends surround the canyon as well and it has a rich history, both natural and cultural. The area was one of the great resorts of the late 19th century, when trains brought visitors up from Atlanta.

If you would like to learn more about Tallulah Gorge, its waterfalls and its history, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/tallulah.