Monday, December 7, 2015

Amicalola Falls State Park, Dawsonville, GA.

As I expected, Gary spent WAY too much time at that big estate sale over the weekend. He never got around to taking any more pictures from our stay at Hard Labor Creek State Park. That's unlike him, but I guess he was having too much fun elsewhere to spend much time in the park. That's that. Sunday morning arrived, and it was time to move on to our next stop. We traveled 111 miles further north on back roads, which was slower but a whole lot more scenic, and arrived here at Amicalola Falls State Park near Dawsonville, GA. around 3PM. We checked in at the visitor's center, and headed up the lengthy road to the campground. It was a VERY steep road. Dodge is a great van on flat roads, but he doesn't do well on inclines. He strained his butt off pulling me up that hill. We rolled into the campground, and picked out campsite number 14 for our four night stay here. At the time of our arrival, there was only one occupied campsite. One other camper pulled in awhile later, so there was only the three of us plus the campground host occupying the 25 available campsites. Needless to say, it was SUPER quiet around here. Gary took his time getting me set up. He was cooking dinner at the same time. As you can see in the photos, we are in an elevated campsite that overlooks some of the lower campsites and the restroom. One of the only trees or plants that is still green here is the holly tree directly behind our campsite. Makes it feel a bit like Christmas, or maybe that's just the way it seems. There are plenty of squirrels here, and my favorite one (the one pictured) is obviously a very pregnant female. She seems sweet, and stayed still a lot while Gary snapped some decent pictures of her. We fed her well from the minute we arrived. Gary hasn't had the time to explore much yet, but I'm sure that he will. This is definitely a much prettier park than Hard Labor Creek was, and the things to photograph here appear to be endless. The only pictures he's taken so far of the park (besides the ones in the campground) are from the overlook from the top of the 729 foot waterfall, the tallest free-flowing waterfall in the southeastern United States, or so the park brochure says. The souvenir postcard photo shows the waterfall in all it's glory, and it was obviously taken at some other time of year besides winter. Look at how green everything is. As far as I know, Gary won't be distracted by any estate sales here, although he did notice a handful of antique stores nearby that he wants to check out. Since we're on the top of a mountain, TV reception with my little antenna is exceptional. I'll have plenty of things to keep me entertained if Gary decides to wander away for awhile. I think we're going to enjoy our visit here. So far, so good!

3 comments:

  1. it is a beautiful area and I'm glad you are getting to see some color! Pretty quiet around there unless there is something going on at the lodge, which is gorgeous. There is also a very large outlet mall in Dawsonville on 400. Same as all the rest but still a place to hang out. Head up north a bit more to (20 miles) Dahlonga- really cute main square, gold museum I think Gary would enjoy. GREAT restaurant-Smith House is open for lunch during the week- won't need anything else to eat all day!!
    http://smithhouse.com/dining/

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  2. it is a beautiful area and I'm glad you are getting to see some color! Pretty quiet around there unless there is something going on at the lodge, which is gorgeous. There is also a very large outlet mall in Dawsonville on 400. Same as all the rest but still a place to hang out. Head up north a bit more to (20 miles) Dahlonga- really cute main square, gold museum I think Gary would enjoy. GREAT restaurant-Smith House is open for lunch during the week- won't need anything else to eat all day!!
    http://smithhouse.com/dining/

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thanks for the information, Barb. Gary explored the park and visited the lodge today. He took a TON of pictures, some of which I will post on my blog very soon. He is going antique shopping tomorrow in Dawsonville, and might get over to Dahlonega too. There is also the Georgia Racing Hall Of Fame in Dawsonville, and since he's a NASCAR fan, he wants to go there while he's in the area. Due to his strict diet, he's eating all of his low carb, high protein meals here with me, so the restaurant is out. We will definitely come back here to Amicalola again. It's one of the prettiest Georgia State Parks we have been to. Thanks for your comment. Keep in touch!

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