Another Mile Another Destination Blog: Stone Mountain Park, Georgia

“Out of the mountain of despair, a stone of hope.”

Martin Luther

Today the rain is supposed to arrive here from hurricane Florence that landed just near Wilmington, NC and is a big enough storm to cover all of South Carolina and North Carolina. It is supposed to come south to Augusta before heading back to the north. We decided to go west to get further away from the storm on today's adventure. After doing some research we chose Stone Mountain as today's journey. Joe had never been to Stone Mountain before but I had many years ago with my friend, Sandi who flew in from Idaho and wanted to see it. Our friend Rose was with us as an evacuee from Charlestons mandatory evacuation. We decided to go since it was only a two hour drive and loved that the further west we went, the more blue skies we saw. This is an easy drive from Augusta as we just head downI-20 west and got off before we got into Atlanta near Lithonia and continued on back roads to Stone Mountain. That was a pretty area and we enjoyed the drive. We paid for our parking which is a little steep at $20 a car, and walked to the Skyride. We were told you could park in the town of Stone Mountain and walk in for free. It was a good hike in from town and we were not familiar with the area so we chose to drive into the park.

The last time I was here was about 15 years before and we walked up to the top. That is a strenuous 2.30 mile hike that takes about two hours to complete. Today, the Summit Skyride which is Swiss made cable car, looked really good as it was hot and we wanted the to get there the easy way. We paid for our ticket and rode it up. The conductor of the Skyride gave us some of the history on the way up and had a good sense of humor. The views of the carving with Jefferson Davis(the only American politician who served as the only President of the Confederate States from 1861 to 1865, Robert E. Lee and Confederate soldier and commander of the Confederate States Army, and Stonewall Jackson, who served as a Confederate general from 1861 to 1863 during the Civil War, were amazing from the Skyride. The entire curved surface was once thought to be three acres but really measures 1.57 acres. This is the highest relief sculpture in the world with the carvings 400 feet above the ground. The sculpture is much larger than it appears from the park. When the workers wanted to escaped a shower they could get inside the horses mouth or stand on the horses ear to work. It really didn’t look that large but if you look at some of the historic photos of the workers you will see the enormity of the carving.

Three sculptors did the work on the carving. One was Gutzon Borglum who started the carving of Lee but then had a dispute with the managing association. He left with all his sketches and took went to Mount Rushmore to do the famous sculpture. Then Augustus Lukeman worked on the project followed by Roy Faulkner. The carving was finished after fifty years in the making in 1972.

The elevation of stone mountain is 1,686 feet above sea level and 825 feet above the surrounding area. The rock is made of quartz monzonite. It was formed during the formation of the Blue Ridge Mountains and was formed as a result of magnum pushing up within the earths crust. It continues for 9 miles underground. It is more than five miles circumference at its base. Many have said it is the largest exposed granite rock in the world.

When we got out of the Skyride and walked around the top of the mountain, it looked like we had gone to the moon. The top of the mountain was all rock with little vegetation. There were some trees that seemed to be growing right out of the rock. It was a wonder to see.

There are rock pools with freshwater and have unusual clam shrimp and fairy shrimp. The shrimp only show up during the rainy season. The tiny shrimp eggs can remain dormant for years in the dried out depressions just waiting for the right conditions. It was fascinating looking in these puddles and seeing life.

We enjoyed walking on the rocky terrain and speaking to people who had hiked up to the top. Many of them do this regularly for exercise. The views were amazing of the Appalachians Mountains and Atlanta and we were fortunate to have a clear day.

This was a fabulous place to see and so interesting. We spent a good hour at the top enjoying the views and the people. Inside the building, they had good information on the vegetation and wildlife in the area. There was also a gift shop and snack bar. When we were ready to leave, we all joined up and rode back down. This time I made sure to be on the side of the Skyride closest to the mountain. It was absolutely stunning.

After we came down we walked to the viewing area of the mountain from below. There is a great view section just under the carving. We were told they have Laser shows here throughout the year that are said to be fabulous.

We then drove to the covered bridge that is in the park. We parked and walked to the covered bridge and what a beautiful bridge it is and such a lovely setting. The bridge is dating from 1892 and was originally in Athens, Georgia and used to span the Oconee River. Now is crosses the Stone Mountain Lake. What a pretty covered bridge. We walked across it and looked at all the intricate details. After getting back to our car we drove over the bridge. See more: www.stonemountainpark.com.

It was a nice day. On our way home we stopped at Foggy Bottom BBQ and had a fantastic meal. I got the red beans and rice with Andouille sausage that was so big I could only eat about a quarter of it. Joe got their brisket and really loved it. Rose got their burger and said it was heavenly. We highly recommend it if you are in Loganville, Georgia. Check them out: www.foggybottomebbq.com.