Finding Treasures on the Trail - Bill's Memorial Trail

We spent part of the weekend in Tallahassee and on Saturday morning (before the heat set in) we were up and out early to take a walk. A little exercise combined with bird and butterfly watching with a surprise thrown in for good measure.


Lafayette Heritage Trail Park is located at the east end of Heritage Park Blvd. in the Piney-Z subdivision. You'll find picnic tables, a playground, bathroom and drinking water at the small parking lot. Also lots of trails for walking and biking. You can even bring your pooch as long as he's on a leash and well behaved.

A New Trail for Us

As we ventured around Piney-Z lake we crossed the railroad tracks and found a trail we'd never walked before. 

In the summer of 2013 this trail was hand cut with a machete by Karen Harvey the running coach for Florida State University. She named the trail for her late father and marked it Bill's Trail on a hand painted Frisbee. Later the trail received a professional sign. 

"Bill's Memorial Trail: Designed and Maintained by a Loving Daughter"

The trail completes a 2.7 mile loop around Piney-Z lake. The loop includes a beautiful covered bridge and wooden walkway that winds through the woods. But it's on Bill's Trail that you'll find the art lab. A covered pavilion with a picnic table and all kinds of material for arts and crafts. You can paint rocks, pine cones and pictures. Leave your mark in one of the many journals or take a book from the little free library. A fun way for families to get out and enjoy nature. Even the adults in our group took time to paint a rock. 

There's a watering station at the art lab for thirsty dogs and you'll find boxes of dog bones in the little free library! 

The art lab is thanks to John Kalin, a long time trail maintenance volunteer with the City of Tallahassee. When Karen Harvey moved away from Tallahassee in 2015 she asked John if he would maintain the trail and he readily agreed. John's the one who added the art lab and stocks and maintains it. What a great way to encourage families to get out and enjoy nature. 

Part of the raised boardwalk. A nice shady walk under beautiful oak trees. 

There's always something new to find when you get outside and take a walk. Keep your eyes open and you might find a treasure or a surprise along the way! 

Finding treasures along the way.

Fun Things to do on a Walk - Finding Street Art

One of the neat things about walking is that you get an up close look at what's happening around you. While visiting Chattanooga's North Shore we scooted through an alley and I was delighted to see that the walls were covered with what some would call graffiti but I consider street art.

This one in particular caught my eye...

Street art by J.W. Butts (mute0n) found in Chattanooga, TN

There were three electrical boxes that were all covered but the one in the center looked more composed, not just a random splashing of color.  I like the lady with the big hair, she kind of spoke to me as I walked by. 

When I got home and did a little research I found that this painting was done by southern artist, J. W. Butts. He signed his creation mute0n. 

BTW - we never would have seen this if we'd been on the bus. Click here to check out a few other things we saw while walking.

It always amazes me how much there is to see in the big, beautiful world of ours.

So park your car, get off the bus 

and use your feet to see what you can find!

I'm sharing my find at Monday Mural

Walking Historic Oakland Cemetery in Atlanta

I know it may sound weird but I love to walk in cemeteries. Not just any cemetery though.  They must be old cemeteries hopefully with a few graves of famous or interesting people and big marble angels. Those are my favorite.

Nancy and I took a trip into downtown Atlanta to visit just such a cemetery. 

Historic Oakland Cemetery

Founded in 1850 on six acres of land on the outskirts of Atlanta, Oakland became the resting place for both the most prosperous and the poor. Soon forty eight additional acres were purchased in order to lay to rest 7,000 Civil War soldiers.

Today the cemetery is slap dab in the middle of downtown, just 5 blocks east of the state capitol. Not only interesting for the historical value, Oakland is also one of the largest green spaces in downtown Atlanta. A perfect place to take a walk alone or with friends, They even welcome well behaved dogs. 

There were so many lovely things to photograph in this cemetery. I'm sharing just of few of my favorites. 

The Lion of Atlanta (1894)

Modeled after the Lion of Lucerne in Switzerland this statue was erected by the Atlanta Ladies Memorial Association to honor the unknown Confederate dead. The lion which represents courage is mortally wounded by a broken spear as he clutches the Confederate battle flag. 

Georgia Harris (d. 1920)

The grave of Georgia Harris is one of only two documented cases of an African-American to be buried in the general section of Oakland. (In other words the white section) before Maynard Jackson (b.1938-d.2003) Atlanta's first African-American mayor.  

The Boyd family for whom Georgia Harris was with for many years obtained special permission to bury her in the family plot. 

Famous Golfer

Robert Tyre Jones (1902-1971)

Bobby Jones was the greatest amateur golfer of all times. He co-founded and co-designed the Augusta National Golf Club, site of the annual Masters Tournament. The area leading up to his grave marker is a putting green and many people leave golf balls here in his honor.


A Famous Author

Margaret Mitchell Marsh

b. Nov 8, 1900 d. Aug 16, 1949

Margaret Mitchell wrote  "Gone With the Wind" the Civil War era novel. . The novel won the National Book Award in 1936 and a Pulitzer Prize in 1937."Gone With the Wind" was the only novel published during her lifetime. She is buried beside her husband, John Robert Marsh.

Symbolism on a Grave Marker

As you walk around you'll see many symbols used on grave markers. This Neo-Classical monument is a good example. 

In the 1890's Thomas Neal erected this statue in memory of his wife and daughter. 

One woman holds an open bible that symbolizes knowledge, the other holds a closed book meaning a finished life. The laurel wreath is for eternity, a palm branch for victory over death and a Celtic cross for eternal life, faith and redemption. 

Too Many Children Died Young

It's always sad to see grave markers for children. 

Often times it's a reminder to be thankful for modern medicine.

Bloomfield

This marker honors four young sisters (2, 4, 6, and 8) who died within a 10 day period in 1863. They were the victims of diphtheria, one of the leading causes of death among children at that time. 

The ivy on the cross represents fidelity and friendship and the rose garland in the center is for love and beauty. 

Diphtheria is a serious bacterial infection. It can be treated with antibiotics and antitoxins neither of which was available in 1863. Penicillin wasn't discovered until 1928 and wasn't perfected for use until the 1940s. Diphtheria is now rare in the United States due to vaccinations against the disease. 

Seashell Marker

There were several examples of this type of marker for a child's grave. So popular it could be ordered from the Sears and Roebuck catalogue. The seashell is a symbol for resurrection.

The inscription on this marker

Maurine

Son of R.P. and Anna A. Robbins

b. Jan 7, 1896 d. April 1, 1896



I'll Leave You On a Happier Note

Oakland Cemetery, like many of the older historic cemeteries, is filled with beautiful old trees and flowers. Oakland is actually an arboretum and a botanical garden. Most of the trees are tagged and there are gorgeous flowers everywhere. 

If you find yourself in downtown Atlanta take a walk and enjoy this beautiful park. 

Lace up and take a walk through history!

Click here to see more about Oakland Cemetery.

Fun Things to do on a Walk - Pick a Color to Photograph

When our children were young we would take all three of them out in our canoe. The way I'd get them to sit still was to give them something to look for as we canoed down the river. One time it would be insects the next flowers another time birds and so on. If they spotted the assigned item they'd call it out and I'd keep track and pay them a quarter for each one they found. If they stood up, fought with a brother or wiggled too much they'd lose what they earned. 

OK it was bribery but it got them to sit still. And to get three little boys to sit still in a canoe is no mean feat. They learned the important skill of observation, earned a little spending money and we never tipped the canoe over!

Once in a while when I walk alone in my neighborhood I employ the same idea using color. I randomly pick a color and as I walk I photograph things of that color that catch my eye. 

On this day I picked the color yellow, grabbed my camera and set off in my neighborhood...

What's your favorite color? 

Fun Things to do on a Walk - Geocaching

We're Not Lost We're Geocaching!

John's sister introduced us to Geocaching and we've been hooked ever since. 

What is Geocaching? People hide things (caches) and you have to find the cache using GPS. The cache is usually a box of some type such as Tupperware or an ammo box that contains a log and a few trinkets that you can trade for. 

Example of a Cache

This was one of a series of caches at Kolomoki Mounds State Park in Georgia. Clues
for each cache were animal themed.

All you have to do is download the APP on your phone and you're ready to go. Just about anywhere you are there's probably a few geocaches hidden. Searching out these caches add an element of fun to our walks. 

Found It!

Yes, sometimes you have get off the path to find the cache. Geocaching on Jekyll Island, Georgia.

Family Friendly Game

The geocaching rules state that all caches should be kid friendly. No alcohol or adult material should be left in a cache. Inappropriate caches are reported to the administrator. We've never run across anything inappropriate but this was one of the creepier caches we found.

Imagine our surprise when we came across this in the woods!

Add Geocaching to your vacations and your daily walks. It's  hobby that will get you off the beaten track and add an element of adventure to your walks.

Of course rummaging around in the woods or on busy city streets can arouse suspicion from the muggles that may be near. That's part of the fun. 

BTW If you're not a Geocacher you're a muggle!

Check out the Geocaching website for more information. 

Geocaching.com

To see a few of our other Geocaching adventures:

Two New Trails and A Few Geocaches

A Three Mile Walk

Fort Mountain State Park

Don't be a muggle, lace up your sneakers and go Geocaching!



See all the posts in this series at 31 Days in October 2015