Yesterday was week two of my “mini- uno- day-cation” idea (a local vacation of the super short one day kind) with my three kiddos. My 14 year old son did some research and chose our location for this week, Tallulah Gorge State Park. Although we’ve done State Park camping in the past (which consists of us renting a cabin, lol) we’ve never been to Tallulah Gorge. It’s a 2 mile long, 1,000 foot canyon in Northeast Georgia. It was … wait for it … GORGEous!
From above the Gorge.
I took this photo from the overlook where my boys are standing in the photo below.
My two baby boys.
We saw a lot of lizards which we think are cool. My youngest son also found something he was so happy to point out as another lizard find…until I told him that was a legless lizard, otherwise known as a snake. UGH! It was right below where he is standing in this photo.
What?! A legless lizard? Ssssseeemmms like it.
I have a terrific habit of finding snakes whether I want to or not. When I was pregnant with my middle child (standing in the distance in a blue shirt…now way more than a foot taller than me) I actually SAT ON A SNAKE and killed it. I didn’t even notice the thing. Soooo gross. It was just a baby snake but still. I was sitting crossed legged weeding our little flower garden. I actually killed it with the side of my leg but either way…that’s really, really gross. Enough sharing about that…and snakes…moving on…
Gorge from the other side of my platform view.
Since living in Georgia, I’ve really enjoyed their State Park system. If you haven’t been to any of them some of my favorites are (this one), Fort Mountain, Vogel, Amicalola and FDR. FDR is near Callaway Gardens which is a very nice place to visit. That’s the main reason I like the FDR location. I still have many parks on my list that I need to get myself to. 😉
Any chance there's a hidden escalator I can take?
We were so lucky to have mild temperatures for our day, especially considering all the stairs we had to take. Here’s what the park says about the hike we embarked on: “This is considered a strenuous hike, consisting of approximately 1.5 miles and 1,099 steps.”
Me and my youngest on a swaying suspension bridge 80 feet above the Gorge.
I’ve been spending the past few years getting over my fear of heights. It’s working. I had Psychology 101 back in college so I feel fully able to prescribe immersion therapy to myself. LOL! Well, part of that is true, I did decide to just start doing the thing I feared. First, I stayed near the top floors of tall hotels, then took a few airplane trips, then I went to the top of Pike’s Peak in Colorado and stood as close to the edge as I thought safe. Now, I’m walking across swinging bridges. This is much better than when I was so scared that I was making the kids nervous wrecks about heights.
Bridge, you're so cool. So are you Super Kid at the end of the bridge.
The bridge was my favorite part! I’m so glad I’m getting over my fear of heights. I did have a woozy moment but I worked through it and no one could even tell. That’s so much better than my previous death grips and crawls to safety. LOL!
Brother & Sister
The best thing about the day was the same thing that was the best thing last week…just having an adventure…together.
P.S. We also heard deep growling (as if from a bear) while we were in a dense area of thickets near a stream. I told the kids NOT to run but we quickly walked out of that area. Black bears are common in this part of the state and where we were at the time was one of their natural habitats. Am considering next week’s mini-uno-day-cation…a trip to the MALL! LOL!
P.P.S. This week’s trip cost $5 for parking at the Gorge. Other costs were gas, water bottles, a few things from the gift shop (we always buy a magnet from our trips) and fast food. I’ve got to get more disciplined about taking food with us!
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