We took some time to ourselves in early June to visit our favorite state park, Fort Mountain State Park in Chatsworth, GA.
We were afraid of rain (AGAIN)...and on the drive up on Friday it rained, and it rained Friday night...but Saturday dawned a wonderful - if not humid - morning!
We had a leisurely breakfast of oatmeal and prepared for our hike while waiting for some of the humidity to burn off. We decided hiking in 65 degrees but 95% humidity is much worse than 75 degrees and 70% humidity, so the couple hour delay was no big deal.
Fort Mountain is one of our favorite places for a couple reasons - but one is the hiking trails. Our very favorite trail is the Gold Rush trail where you literally hike up a running creek bed, dodging in and out of the magnolias in bloom. It is tricky, and uphill, but it's so beautiful and fun - like you're playing in the water - that the work doesn't seem like work at all!
Once we got to the end of that trail, we made the decision to carry on to the backcountry trail. It's a trail with beautiful vistas and waterfalls, and a really cool boulder field to traverse. As we approached the boulder field this time, we saw maybe 75 people dressed in pioneer costumes, hauling wagons (like old timey wagons), and gear, and themselves, all while hooting and hollering. It was QUITE the sight in the middle of nowhere and I'm certain we won't see anything in the backcountry like that again! (When we got back to the main area we asked a ranger who they were. They were a local LDS church group who make the trek every year to honor their families who settled in the area.)
After almost 6 miles of hiking, we got back to camp..and it was HOT. So we put on our suits and headed to the BEACH!!! After having a quick hot dog of course (we were starving!! A Clif bar on the trail is not enough sustenance).
The water was COLD but felt good on the nice hot day. We have so much fun bobbing around together, and I play this game where I swim away and then swim towards Jeff as fast as I can. Then we bob around some more, and people watch the parents on the beach. My favorite people watching moment this time was this kid who backed all the way up to the stone wall, and then seriously WENT FOR IT running into the water and tried to body surf. In a lake. It was hilarious, the reckless abandon he showed!
Back to the camper for a quick dinner outside, then a great campfire and smores! It was just what we needed to reconnect, forget our grief for awhile, and relax.
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