Day 2 - Saturday, October 30th, 2010
Photos are posted here:
http://outdoors.webshots.com/album/578919668vVTZNH
Click here for the first part of Day 2 from Amicalola State Park
When we entered into Georgia on Friday, we made a quick stop at the Visitors Center to pick up some maps and other information. The lady working the Visitor's center desk told us that we just had to visit Burt's Pumpkin Farm.
Now, I would not consider a Pumpkin Farm to be a must stop destination, but since it was less than a mile from the Amicalola State Park Entrance, we decide to pay Burt's a visit after we got through with the state park.
We had a fun little visit to Burt's Pumpkin Farm, and it was worth going the mile out of our way for, but I wouldn't say it would be worth a special trip to get to.
Amy at Burt's Pumpkin Farm
Since we had a nice filling breakfast at the Lily Creek Lodge Bed and Breakfast earlier in the morning, we decided to skip lunch and instead head for an early dinner, after which we did some more waterfall exploring.
DeSoto Falls is actually two separate waterfalls, known as Upper DeSoto and Lower DeSoto Falls. The names lead you to believe that they are on the same creek, however it turns out the Lower Falls is on a tributary stream.
We started out by heading towards the Lower Falls which is about a 0.3 mile hike one way. It's a nice little waterfall, but nothing really worth going out of your way for. Also unless you feel like disobeying the various sings, your viewing area is limited to the wooden platform.
Jack and Amy at Lower DeSoto Falls
Amy decided to skip the upper falls in favor of a nice bench and her book while I hiked to the Upper Falls. This one is much nicer, but still has the drawback of the wooden viewing areas. It is not easy shooting long exposure shots on a shaky wooden deck with herds of other tourists around!
Upper DeSoto Falls
Next up was Blood Mountain Creek Falls. This one is more my style as it is not likely to be swarming with tourists. Unless you have a vehicle with good ground clearance, you should probably not attempt to reach this one!
Crossing the Creek in the Tacoma
Based on what I have read and seen on the topo maps, I could spend a whole day exploring this creek! But since darkness was approaching we limited our visit to just one of many series of drops along Blood Mountain Creek.
Blood Mountain Creek
Last up was Dicks Creek Falls which is roadside and along the way to Blood Mountain Creek Falls. Another small waterfall that turned out to be much nicer than I was expecting.
Dicks Creek Falls
The whole dirt road to Dicks Creek Falls and Blood Mountain Creek Falls is part of the Chattahoochee National Forest and there are plenty of spots to camp along the road. I definitely hope to return to this area with some of my camping buddies sometime in the future.
Later in the evening after getting back to the Lodge, I made another attempt at night time photography before calling it a day.
Starry Sky - 20 minute exposure
Day 3 - Sunday, October 31st, 2010
There was one more waterfall about 5 minutes from the Lily Creek Lodge which I wanted to visit under good morning light. So I got up early to squeeze in a visit before breakfast.
Clay Creek Falls is located alongside Clay Creek Falls Road just outside of Dahlonega, GA. It is visible from the road, but I hoped to get a better vantage point. Unfortunately the entire section of creek is located on private property, clearly posted and barricaded with barbed wire fencing. Not wanting to end my trip being arrested for trespassing, I settled for the best through the trees roadside view I could find.
Clay Creek Falls
I arrived back at the Lily Creek Lodge Bed and Breakfast just in time for another nice breakfast!
The Lily Creek Lodge was a nice place to stay, but I would not consider it one of our favorite Bed and Breakfasts. The hosts were nice, the food was good, the place was clean, and overall it was a very nice stay. However, I would only give it about a 6 out of 10 rating which is not good enough for me to consider another stay there.
Overall, it was a great weekend getaway!
The full set of photos from Day 2 and 3 of our Georgia Weekend Getaway are located here:
http://outdoors.webshots.com/album/578919668vVTZNH
2 comments:
Great captures Jack. My favorite is you and Amy at the falls. Great picture. You two make a great looking couple.
Can't wait for your next journey.
Beautiful photos! I really like the first one with Amy & the pumpkins.
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