I'm most at home in the mountains, and this has been the truth of the matter for my entire life. Fortunately, this month, I had the privileged to attend a conference for work that was held in the North Georgia Mountains!
For those who don't know, my husband and I are avid hikers. We have hiked avidly for two years now, slowing down only when we bought the house! So far we've hiked in Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Tennessee, Virginia, South Carolina, and North Carolina. We have plans to hike in Colorado in the next few years. We were going this year before we bought the house.
I was in class for most of the days that I was in the mountains, which was really interesting and a great opportunity to meet people in the field of Parks and Recreation! However, my mother and I did manage to get a few adventures in after my classes were over for the day. Today I'll talk about my favorite two adventures from the trip!
Russell Cave Monument
I was so excited that this monument was less than an hour from our hotel. This hidden cave is actually named after my family, the Russell family. Colonel Thomas Russell was a Revolutionary War Vet who owned the land and the cave when the first maps of the territory were drawn. He and his wife lived there until their deaths. Later the National Geographic Society purchased the old Russell farm for the American People to enjoy! Currently it is an archaeological dig site to study the American Indians in the Archaic Period (before 1000 BC). There is a museum on site that talks about the history of the cave and also shows some of the artifacts that have thus far been discovered in the cave. The rangers are extremely friendly and are always willing to help.
My grandmother, Frances Russell always talked about this site and the family connection to Thomas Russell. AKA a great-great-great-and-so-on-grandfather. I was really happy to actually go and see the park myself!
Also, there is a sink hold on site that is awesome! I find sink holes strangely fascinating and I'm always excited to see one in person. This particular one has collapsed down into one of the 7 miles of cave tunnels that make up Russell Cave! Amazing!
Rock City
I've been here three times before. Twice as a child, once as an adult on my honeymoon. I didn't get to really enjoy my trip on my honeymoon because it was fall break and the entire area was PACKED!! Super annoying. This time, I was really happy this time because the gardens weren't crowded and the leaves were gorgeous!
If you have never gone to the Rock City Gardens, you need to go! It is a gorgeous mountain top garden straight out of a fantasy novel! It's so whimsical and magical. Different varieties of beautiful plants abound and are fascinating (the gardener in me lol). A series of caves, spectacular views, waterfalls, and underground chambers abound! Fairyland Caverns is gorgeous and the figurines inside have a lot of history dating back to the 1920s. The gnomes (and you know I'm a HUGE fan of gnomes!) are original and came from the founder's gardens. They have been in place since the park first began! They are looking pretty good for 100 year old gnomies!
I can't tell you enough how magical the Rock City Gardens are! It's like being in another world all of its own!
My mom and I LOVED getting to see the amazing fall foliage in the mountains! The colors are absolutely stunning up there!!
But we had a blast getting to see the colors and getting to explore the area! I would love to return here when I have a bit more time.
That's all I've got for today! I hope you enjoyed this post and I will talk at ya later!
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