Stone Mountain Park

---

Stone Mountain - 7th October

Arrived at Stone Mountain at about 5pm. Stone Mountain is situated just outside Atlanta and is park with its main focal point a massive granite hill (they like to call it a mountain) surrounded by lakes and woodland. The granite hill had a very impressive sculpture carved in it, in fact it it is the largest base relief sculpture in the world, and is a Confederate Memorial Carving that depicts three Confederate leaders of the Civil War, President Jefferson Davis and Generals Robert E. Lee and Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson (and their favorite horses, "Blackjack," "Traveller," and "Old Sorrel," respectively). (thank you C Gregory - tasha hound for your useful information.)

We set up camp in the middle of some deserted woods with a beautiful lake view. That eve we made a camp fire using the logs given by a friendly guy at a previous KOA campsite and cooked some yummy pasta carbanara and drank a few beers watching the ducks, geese and rowing team on the lake and watched the sun go to bed, we soon followed.

Next morning we checked out a bit of the national park and looked a little more at the giant carving that had taken over 100 years to do. We then walked the 1.3 miles to the top of the hill/mountain. Although it wasn’t the clearest of days the walk was really nice especially meeting the old couple at the top who the husband we were told was addicted to fast rides and they traveled the country looking for them. One of the hills focal points as you climbed was a telegraph pole which was covered in chewing gum, chewed chewing gum, which you could add to if you so wished. Disgusting. Only in America.

Back in the car and onward journey to Montgomery, home of Hank Williams and the place where Rosa Parks famously refused to give up her seat on the bus to a white man and helped bring equal opportunities and rights between whites and blacks.

Drive, drive, drive. Drive city central.

Stopped briefly at garage for fuel and to make sandwiches for lunch on the forecourt floor (received a few funny looks) before finding The Woods RV Park on the outskirt of Montgomery, our accommodation for that eve. The receptionist was ‘sure happy to help!’ After a couple of changes of pitch site due to an influx of ant hills we spent a couple of hours trying to keep cool and start a campfire to cook on in what was a really humid hot afternoon.

All was not lost as James was at hand, a friendly 55 year old Texan who came over to help get our fire going. Armed with 2 bottles of fire starter fluid he promptly drowned our charcoal in it, and then within two minutes told us his recent, well in fact, life story which consisted of being a millionaire, losing everything, going to Amsterdam, spending a night with a girl then ringing his girlfriend at 5 in the morning telling her everything then flying her out to Amsterdam so they could all be together, and so on and so on. In fact I couldn’t get a word in edgeways and that’s saying something! We had a guided tour of his caravan which was huge. We also met his girlfriend, Donna, aged 40, yeah right! Either she’d had a face lift (mind she’d definitely had a boob job) or she was telling fibs. Anyway that was the rest of our eve, being talked at by James, with his pearly white teeth and his quiet girlfriend.

The following day we visited the Rosa Parks museum, saw the Hank Williams statue, ate at Hanks favorite hotdog place and got in the car heading south to Mobile, on the Gulf Coast, East of New Orleans.

---

Photos

Top of the mountain
What a great view!

Comments

[rohan Williams]

World Travels
Mr Dodd and Miss Bowkes. It looks like your havin a great time. I hope all is going well? I hope to see updates in Vagas tomorrow! Take care! Just incase I cant log on on Friday Happy 30th Birthday!!

[Cgregory]

Stone mountain information
Dear Sir, After reading your travel blog, I thought you should know a couple of important pieces of information concerning Stone Mountain Park, Georga. First of all, Stone Mountain is not a national park. It is not even a state park in Georgia. It is privately managed. Secondly, the relief carving on the mountain does not depict Civil rights figures but is a memorial to 3 Confederate Civil War leaders. Please read the quote below from Wikipedia- "The largest base relief sculpture in the world, the Confederate Memorial Carving depicts three Confederate leaders of the Civil War, President Jefferson Davis and Generals Robert E. Lee and Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson (and their favorite horses, "Blackjack," "Traveller," and "Old Sorrel," respectively)." I feel it is important that a travel blog have the correct information. One never knows who may be reading it. Thank you for visiting Georgia.