April 3, 2012 Stone Mountain Park, Georgia

Today we braved the heat and went to Stone Mountain Park.   Stone Mountain  is a massive dome of granite, 1,683 feet tall, raising 825 feet above the surrounding region.  Carved into the stone is an enormous bas-relief sculpture of three major Civil war figures-Confederate president Jackson Davis, Gen. Thomas ‘Stonewall’ Jackson and Robert E Lee.  There is a large memorial park with gardens for each of the 14 states in the confederacy with signs telling war details about each state and a memorial / Carving museum. And an amusement park  packed this week with spring break activities. There is a trail to the top, only 1.3 miles- but we did not hike it-too hot- 85 degrees and in the sun. A road and rail road around the mountain, lakes, a grist mill and granite quarry exhibit.

Stone Mountain with the carving and memorial park. A fallen confederate soldier and the carvings. The figures are 76 feet tall. The largest bas relief sculpture in the world.

close up of the carvings, John in the horses mouth in a almost life-sized model from the carvings.

the original design for the mountain. It had to be downsized or it would never would have been finished. And Mr. April Fool in the amusement park.

Azaleas and dogwoods.

Covered bridge and grist mill

Flame azaleas and the Carillon. The 13 story spire rises above the lake and uses miniature bell-tone rods and amplification to create 732 bell sounds. It was part of the coke a cola display in the 1964 worlds fair and then was donated to Stone Mountain park. They have free concerts on the weekends. We heard a recorded concert.

Canada Geese and babies, one of the lakes

When the union army came thru the south destroying everything that supplied the confederates they tore up the rail road bed. Sherman had them heat up the rails and bend them so they could not be rebuilt. Many of them were wrapped around trees like this and they were called Sherman’s neckties.  John and his brother Pat walking the dogs on a trail through a neighbor's property.

walking the dogs, and the dogs, Mae and Dolce.

sunset