A Side Trip to Fort Mountain State Park

On our way to Chattanooga we took a side trip to Fort Mountain State Park. You know when see one of those signs on the interstate and it sounds interesting? Only when you get off and head in the direction you realize you have no idea how far it is? Well it was a good ways and we almost turned around but we persevered and I'm glad we did.

On the way up the mountain we stopped at a scenic pull off and ate lunch. PBJ and pretzels because we're saving money this year so we can travel more. While we were parked we realized there was a Geocache near by so of course we had to get out and find it.

(For info about Geocache check out this website Geocaching.)

The GPS coordinates will only get you close to a Geocache. 

You have to do a little searching to find it. Here's my man braving the cold!

Geocaches come in all sizes and types of containers. This is an extra small, magnetic Geocache container and only contains a small log to sign your name. 

COLD and WINDY!!!

Fort Mountain State Park is absolutely beautiful and well worth the extra miles. Even though it was freezing, cold and windy, we walked the trails. Once you get going it's not too bad.

The first trail we walked was the Stone Wall trail. This trails leads to the highest point on the mountain and believe me I was huffing and puffing to get up there! High altitude seems to suck the air right out of my lungs. Yes I'm a flatlander...

This rock wall is 855 feet long and somewhat of a mystery. It was probably built by early Native Americans as protection from hostile tribes. Pretty impressive.

On the way up to the stone wall

On top of the mountain. Path was very rocky...

From the  stone wall we continued on the Tower Trail. This leads to the fire tower that was built by the Civilian Conservation Corp.

We backtracked to the parking lot and then up again to the overlook. Gorgeous views of the valley and surrounding mountains.

Boardwalk to the lookout platform

Doesn't it look like God painted those clouds?

On this side trip we were able to add four miles to our log for the year. Our goal for 2015 is to walk 600 miles together. 

Get off the interstate and you might find an interesting place to walk!

A Rainy Day Walk in St Marys Ga

On this rainy Saturday we ventured north to St Marys, Georgia. St Marys is a small coastal town just over the Florida-Georgia line.

We weren't sure if anyone would show up for this walk because the weather was bleak. Overcast and
drizzling rain. It was a pleasant surprise that about 18 people came to walk.

Once the walk began it actually stopped raining. It did sprinkle on us a few times but over all it was a nice walk. The sun even appeared briefly.

There is always something interesting to see when we walk. This time we saw three things...

A new dad standing on his porch holding his new born baby (obviously a girl due to the pink ribbons tied on the mailbox), a wedding in the bandstand at the park and a funeral in the cemetery. The circle of life in one 2 hour walk!

The starting point. Everyone was together but eventually we all spread out. Some are super fast walkers and others like to stroll and see the sights. 

What ya see down there?

Christ Episcopal Church and one an example of the many large oak trees we saw on this walk.

Oak Grove Cemetery

A view across the marsh to the marina on the St Marys River. 

This walk is sponsored by the First Coast Trail Forgers Walking club. Today's walk was a group walk with the club but you can take this walk on your own. It's one of the many self guided walks set up by the club. Each self guided walk has a walk box that can easily be accessed for those who want to walk the trail. Once you locate the box you'll need to register on the sign in sheet and pick up the directions and the map. Most walks have a 5k and a 10k walk option. All walks are free unless you want IVV credit. 

 You can find a map and directions for this walk at the St Marys Welcome Center located at 400 Osborne Street, St. Marys, GA 31558. Ask for the walk box at the front desk.

Put your raincoat on and lace up and walk!