Closing out three of our busiest months ever has not given us a lot of time for pause and reflection. However, recently, we took advantage of some great weather and explored the Georgia mountains which flaunted amazing fall foliage.
It started with a hike up Pigeon Hill, which is part of Kennesaw National Battlefield Park. This a fairly challenging rock climbing trail and Cherise, her dog Greta, and I took a three-mile hike for some beautiful views.
Cherise and her dog, Greta
Next on our list was Cloudland Canyon State Park, which sits on the western edge of Lookout Mountain. Among its attractions are a 1000-ft deep canyon, waterfalls and caves and over 3,500 acres of woodlands.
We did a spur-of-the moment day trip, along with an invitation to Glenna Shaddix (Doug’s Mom) who was able to join us.
However, we were not the only ones with that great idea. When we arrived at the Canyon, the line to get in was so long that when we finally got to the entrance, they were turning cars away as they regulated the capacity. They said to come back in about an hour so undaunted, Doug turned around and found a scenic parkway as an alternative route.
We stumbled upon a clearing and were rewarded with some great views of the valley below. A little further up the road Doug spotted something and pulled the car over. It was a launch point for hang gliders! We watched what looked like human butterflies launch off a high cliff and float lazily to the valley below
It was there we met Michael, who has launched over 100 times, and has been an instructor as well. His passion for this hobby comes naturally, as his parents were both gliders and his brother operates a hang gliding school in Kitty Hawk. He explained all the things he needs to take into consideration: how the wind needs to be a certain speed and direction, and how other variables such as a freshly mown field of hay will increase the thermal drafts and affect his flight.
Mom enjoyed chatting with him and we took a photo of them both. Doug promptly sent it to his sister and family asking them if Mom should jump? This scared his sister half to death, and he got a good laugh out of that. (She’s not fond of heights, so it wasn’t even a remote possibility!)
Mom with Michael, the hang glider.
It was a fun way to pass the time, and as we wound our way back to the park, we passed these interesting vacation rentals called WanderChatt.
These tiny homes are so creatively designed and sit on a bluff with wonderful sunset views over the valley. This would make for a memorable weekend stay!
We were able to get into Cloudland Canyon after that detour, and were impressed with the size and scope of the park. A short walk took us around the rim of the canyon to a beautiful overlook. Further down was another overlook area. Not knowing how far of a walk it was, we asked one of the returning visitors about the distance and if he would he take his 88-year-old mother on the trail? He said, “She looks like she’s got some hop to her, so I think she could do it.” We laughed about that, and she said she’d give it a try. And not only did she walk the half-mile to the trail, she also navigated the 30 steps down (and back up) to this amazing view. We were so proud of her, and she was rewarded with some stunning panoramic scenery.
Cloudland has plenty of trails to hike and several great waterfalls to see, but we will do that on our next trip. We ended the day with a beautiful sunset which highlighted the vibrant fall leaves. In fact, we stopped to capture some permanent reminders of our day by getting samples of the most beautiful leaves to press a reminder of the beauty in our own back yard.
Good For you! (Print Version of The Compass)
If you didn’t get to see the October print version of The Compass, you can click here and read about our adventures to the Corvette Museum and the two new-car owners we met there, You will also get to read about Susan Pickren, who is featured in Tales from Our Sails and talks about her and experiences as a solo traveler.
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