Historical Macon GA and the Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park

Macon is another town we had yet to visit so we planned to spend a few nights there at the Al Sihah Shriners' RV Park. While the sites aren’t anything to write home about the park was really nice and very quiet.

We hadn’t done a lot of research on Macon so we were surprised to learn of its history. Macon was one of the few southern cities that wasn’t burned to the ground during the Civil War. As a result it has more historic structures listed on the National Register of Historic Places than any other city in Georgia. It was founded in 1823 and it is home to the oldest private university in Georgia, Mercer University, founded in 1873.

We were touring the Mercer Law School, a beautiful building modeled after Independence Hall, when we met a fellow and his kids. He began telling us all about the history of Macon and was a wealth of knowledge. Turns out he was a historian who used to live in Macon, now Atlanta, and was showing his kids the history of Macon.

He told us to make sure to see the Hay House Lovingly nicknamed "The Palace of the South," a 7-level Italian Renaissance Revival mansion built in the mid-1800s. This 18,000-square-foot mansion is four stories and is crowned by a two-story cupola. Construction began in 1855 and lasted four years.

What’s fascinating is that it had hot and cold running water, central heat, gas lighting, a speaker-tube system, in-house kitchen, and an elaborate ventilation system. All of this was done in the mid 1800’s, unheard of at that time. Imagine having running water and air conditioning in the 1800’s!

Another interesting building is the St. Joseph Catholic Church which rises 200 ft. into the air. This church is not only huge but is quite elaborate as well. There are many other fascinating historical buildings in town but I’ll leave those for you to come see for yourselves.

Another day in Macon we decided to check out the Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park. With over 17,000 years of continuous human habitation, this prehistoric American Indian site has an Earth Lodge with original floors dates to 1015.

 

There are hiking trails throughout the park and that is how we decided to tour it. The trails took us through the whole park where we were able to see all the mounds that were built between 900 and 1100. They were crafted out of dirt and clay.

The largest mound is the 55-foot-tall Great Temple Mound where the societal leaders watched over the village and out across its forested-swamp surroundings. There are several other mounds that the trail took us by. In all there are eight earthen mounds there and the remains of a ceremonial earth lodge. It was certainly a worthwhile visit.We are both more than glad we decided to visit Macon.

Phinizy Swamp Nature Park in Augusta GA

Our next stop was at Diamond Lakes Regional Park Campground in  Hephzibah, Georgia just outside of Augusta. This park site was originally part of the former Augusta International Speedway which was purchased by the City of Augusta and later became the South Augusta Sports Complex. It is a huge park!

As many of you know Augusta is home to the Master’s Golf Tournament. While I used to play quite a bit of golf I rarely play anymore and I was never a fan of watching golf. However, since we were here we were hoping to go see the course. Well as some of you may know Augusta National is a private club accessible only to club members and their guests, neither of which included us. So no tour of the course for us! I can’t imagine how much money they lose by not opening at least the pro shop to the public.

The next day we found another swamp hike at the Phinizy Swamp Nature Park. When we arrived we thought it must be a very popular park however, the lot was full because scores of volunteers were at the park repairing the boardwalks. As a result the first 100 yards or so it was quite noisy with hammers banging nails and saws whining while cutting boards.

The Phinizy Swamp Nature Park is a 1,100-acre nature park close to Augusta, Georgia. The park is mostly wetlands and woodlands. It has a campus for water research and environmental education complete with a visitor center. Once we walked past the initial boardwalk and the campus we found it rather difficult to find the rest of the trail.

Persistence paid off and soon we were walking atop the berms of the retention ponds which made up much of the park. Alongside the berms were lots of  bald cypresses draped in Spanish moss along with forests of loblolly pine and various oaks. The signs posted along the trail warned to watch out for Alligators as well. After a mile or so we spotted a six footer swimming in the open water.

While it was still too early for the migratory waterfowl to be here it was still a pleasant walk of several miles around the swamp. We had planned a loop trail, that is, until a 6-7 foot Alligator laying across our trail changed our minds. As we reversed our course back the way we came we saw a female Black-bellied Whistling duck with several babies in tow, a somewhat rare sighting for this area.

While visiting the Augusta area we did enjoy our brief stay. We certainly didn’t have the time to properly explore its offerings..

Talladega Alabama and Fort Yargo State Park in Georgia…

With a weekend approaching we had to leave Deerlick Park and move on down the road. Since we are booking sites only a few weeks in advance prime locations like Deerlick Park are nearly impossible to score on a weekend. As a result our next planned stop was north of the Talladega Speedway. We found a nice Passport America park off the beaten path and spent the weekend at Talladega Pit Stop RV Park & Campground in Lincoln, AL.

There is not a lot to do or see in or around this park so we we used our time doing a little more future planning. We also drove over to the nearby town of Oxford to pick up some groceries. We shop for groceries frequently to take advantage of loss leaders and to ensure we always have fresh fruits and veggies.

  

The University of Georgia was not as impressive a campus as was the University of Alabama. However, unlike U of A, Georgia’s campus is more land locked by the city of Athens. Unfortunately for us it was raining a lot in the area so we only had time for a short stroll through campus and downtown Athens.

Afterward we had to stop by Terrapin Brewing for happy hour. What luck! They were running a 20-year anniversary special so we were able to try six beers for 10 bucks! This allowed us to try some exotic beers we would otherwise bypass and was a great way to end the day in Athens.

Back at Fort Yargo SP Sharon set up her outside gym in our spacious site for a long workout. While she was working out I unloaded my mountain bike and thought it would be fun to ride the 6 mile trail around the park. I hadn’t ridden any serious single track trails for a while so I figured 6 miles would be a good and fun ride.

Once the weekend ended we moved over to Fort Yargo State Park in the state of Georgia. This park is also off the beaten path but close enough to Athens GA for a day trip to explore the college town and University.

Well, unfortunately I wandered off trail multiple times and encountered such trail segments as Monster Mile and Heart Attack Hill. I bit off a bit more than I had expected but when I was finally done I felt great and really enjoyed the strenuous ride. I probably rode closer to 9 miles and was hopeful I would be sore the next day, luckily I wasn’t.

As we slowly make our way over to North Carolina to visit our daughter we have been carefully eyeing places posing the question, could we live here? So far we haven’t answered yes unanimously...

Back On the Beach in Florida…

We made the short 30 minute drive south and pulled into Walkabout RV Park for the weekend. It was nice to be able to stay at a Passport America park that allows half-priced weekend camping. With weekends becoming not only more expensive to camp they are also becoming quite scarce as more and more campers seem to be on the road.

The park is owned by a Kiwi couple (New Zealanders) and their children. We have stayed at their park several times over the years and it has been fun to watch how it has evolved into a really nice little park. We also love the chickens and ducks released most afternoons to roam the park and I even had one stay with me during happy hour outside the RV.

During our stay we decided to take a drive down to Fernandina Beach in Florida about an hour or so away. We haven't explored this area so with the weather a bit rainy we figured it would be a nice drive. We found that Fernandina Beach has some nice beaches and has a quaint little town for exploring. Luckily near the end of the day the sun came out so we stopped at the Sand Bar for happy hour on the beach.

Upon leaving Walkabout, our next stop on our road south was at one of our favorite state parks near Flagler Beach Florida, Gamble Rogers State Recreation Area. We will stay for five nights as we were lucky to pounce on someone's cancellation.As we were pulling into Flagler Beach there were some heavy rains off the coast so we hurried to set up.

After setting up we strolled through the park’s really nice and short nature trail on our way over to the beach. Usually the surf at Flagler Beach is  pretty strong but our first few days there was not much wave activity to speak of making the beach strolls quite pleasant.

As always we enjoyed looking though the tons of shells on this stretch of beach. We often walk the beach to the south from the park but occasionalyl will also head north. Few people are ever on this beautiful beach making the strolls quite peaceful. It sure was good to be back on the beach to hear the surf, the seagulls, smell the sea and watch the Ospreys and Brown Pelicans diving for food.

We even spotted numerous dolphins just offshore. I am not sure we have ever seen so many dolphins as we did one afternoon on the beach as there were hundreds of them. There must have been a plentiful supply of fish to feed on as there were many groups of them hunting the waters offshore. So happy are we that we decided to embrace this lifestyle where we can find a measure of peace in these tumultuous times.

NOTE:  We are currently in St Lucie South COE Park in Florida. 

We Walked Across Two States…

We sure enjoyed our three night stay near The Villages but it was time hit the road. We will be moving a bit faster than normal since we have reservations at Betty’s RV Park in Abbeville, Louisiana on March 16th. Therefore we drove over to Lamont Florida for just a one night stay.

We found a nice little hike in the nearby town of Monticello Florida. The Monticello Ecological Park was a gem especially since spring is nearing as there were lots of plants in bloom. The short loop trail had a boardwalk which took us to the height of the tree canopy offering glimpses of what mostly just the birds see. It was a nice hike to end the day’s travel.

The next day we drove to Eastbank Corps of Engineers Park just across the Georgia state line. This was a fabulous campground and we scored a beautiful site. We set up camp and took a stroll to the spillway a little over a mile away. Interestingly when we walked across the dam we crossed back into Florida meaning we walked from Georgia to Florida! Hah!

Spring was also emerging here as many early bloomers were on full display. It offered a sight of beauty in an otherwise woodland in total disarray after the hurricane blasted through last year. All around us there were many trees snapped in half  making the forest look as if it had been bombed from up above. The only reason we are camped this far north in the Florida panhandle was because our favorite campground in Mexico Beach was decimated by the hurricane as well.

It was cloudy and threatening rain on our second day. We did however sneak another walk over to the spillway where angler’s were working hard to catch an elusive striper. The Ospreys and cormorants at the base of the dam were having much better luck catching shad and other fish than the anglers.

Earlier in the morning the fog was thick and offered up some fun for the photographer in me as I snapped some photos of another angler trying his luck in the wee hours. I love how the grey of the fog melds with the greys in the lake to make things appear to float. Surreal….

NOTE: We are leaving Fontainebleau State Park today and will head west to Betty’s RV park for a month before continuing on towards Texas…

The Golden Isles of the Georgia Coast…

Leaving Savannah, we moved further south and pulled into a Georgia Visitor’s center for lunch. Upon walking into the lobby we were surprised to find Forrest Gump sitting on his park bench. How could we not seize the opportunity to take a candid photo with the man who said “life is like a box of chocolates.”  After lunch we moved on down the road and pulled into our next location, Golden Isles Vacation Park. which is yet another of our favorite Passport America parks not for its scenery but for its location.

From Brunswick, Georgia it is only a short 15 minute drive to scenic Jekyll Island. We have always enjoyed visiting Jekyll Island which is located off the coast of Georgia. It is one of the Golden Isles in the Georgia barrier islands. The island is owned by the State of Georgia and run by a self-sustaining, self-governing body who charges $6 to enter the park but once inside all parking is free.

I always wondered why this area was called the “Golden Isles” but can’t find a great answer. The tourism web site says: “One needs only to witness a gorgeous sunrise over the ocean or bask in the beauty of the sun setting westward beyond the mainland to know the namesake of this stretch of Georgia's coast.”

Another theory says that the area was known as a place of many riches drawing people hoping to make their fortune.. But the one I like the most is that the color gold prevails here. There is gold in the hues of the beaches, in the color of the setting sun and in the marsh grasses in winter time. We also love the glittering gold flecks often seen in the beach sand as the surf retreats.

Unfortunately the area was devastated by a hurricane last year and we visited shortly after its destruction.. The dead artistically arranged trees along the beach on Jekyll Island were used often as backdrops to many a wedding venue. Last year when we came it was sad to see that many of those beautiful trees we photographed in the past were toppled and destroyed leaving only a few behind.

This year a lot of rip-rap or rock on the beach has been placed to deter erosion and promote sand deposits to replenish the beach. There are still a few scenic spots that maybe could be used for a wedding but I am sure this area took quite a huge economic hit when the trees fell. As sad as it is, it is nature’s calling and there will be better days ahead for this otherwise scenic area.

We also drove over to scenic St .Simons Island as it is another place we like to visit along this coast. The iconic lighthouse and “wedding venue” grounds in the town historic area are fun to walk around. The architecture, gardens and Spanish moss draped live oaks lining the sidewalks are always pleasant to walk around.

In the evening the sunsets have been spectacular and we could often be found at another or our favorite little taverns, Tipsy McSways, for happy hour in Brunswick Georgia before we called our day complete…

NOTE: We are now in Gamble Rogers State Park in Flagler Beach Florida…