I had an awesome day. I visited Georgia’s George L. Smith State Park – and I hiked more than 5.5 miles of trails. (Hiking might be a bit of an overstatement – but I did walk the more than 5.5 miles of trails and I had an awesome, awesome time.) I’ve uploaded a few pictures. The park offers two trails – a 3 mile trail that starts near the old mill house and a 2.5 mile trail that starts near the boat dock. I preferred the 3 mile trail, which looked a little more natural and felt a little more “woodsy”. All in all, today was a great day. I took a big bottle of water and I had strawberries and organic peanuts. I feel great and I can’t wait to go back. Now, some photos:
This is the old mill house. It is situated so that when water flows from the left-side (as we are facing it) to the right-side a series of paddles turn and power a turbine. The turbine is connected to the mill – and the mill can be used to grind corn.
This is a view of the mill from the other side. The water was trickling through today – so I didn’t get to see the mill “in action”.
Here’s the map of the trail – 3 miles of awesomeness!
As you can see, the trail is wide – probably wide enough for a family of four to walk side-by-side – though it does narrow in certain places.
I think that this pine tree looks amazing. Why do you think it turned like that?
World famous hanging moss.
This is a view from inside the mill house,
This is from the boat dock which is located near the start of the second, newer trail. I liked both trails, but I preferred the older, longer trail.
This tree has been injured – and is oozing sap.
A small section of the trail is covered with knee-deep grass – a little spooky in rattlesnake land!
This is my favorite picture – I took it just as the fog lifted and the sun popped out from behind the clouds.
I had a really good day. I felt like a kid on an adventure. I’ve decided to try to visit all of Georgia’s state parks. (As for riding a bike on these trails – I felt much better walking slowly and enjoying my surroundings.)
Wow! Those are great picture! And what an awesome way to kick of you health and well-being plan!
NCN, those photos are just amazing! Great job! I like the great tree shape in #6 and the reflection in the last shot. Just beautiful. I would totally love to walk here but its a bit far from Texas. 🙂
About the tree…
The initial turn was probably caused by damage due to disease, bugs or lightning. Even a young child ripping off the leader branch of a small tree can set into motion some interesting tree shapes. The rest of the funky shape is all about getting sunlight. Trees never fail to amaze me.
While out hiking at a roadside park a few weekends ago, I took some cool shots of cedar trees growing on top of a huge rock. Their roots expanded down the side of the rock to get to the soil.
I’ve also recently started hiking in some of New Jersey’s state parks. It’s been a lot of fun.
Glad to see you hanging in there, NCN!
Hi! I promote Georgia’s state park system and wanted to thank you for talking about George L. Smith. This is a beautiful park that is never crowded. Even though I live in the northern part of the state, I try to get away to the south as often as I can. I also like Reed Bingham (canoe rental) and Magnolia Springs state parks because of their cypress trees and Spanish moss. For budget-minded families, the rental cottages can be a good deal if you make all your meals. Camping is even less expensive.