Nate Shivar

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Hiking Kinnard Creek Trail in Oconee National Forest

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The Oconee National Forest has been part of the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest almost since its establishment.

But it’s much smaller, much different, much less well-known, and much more divided up than the Chattahoochee National Forest in North Georgia.

While open to all uses (like all National Forests), the Oconee National Forest is absolutely more focused on hunting, horses, and timber harvesting than hiking, camping, biking, or any other activity.

And yet, the Oconee National Forest is –

  • very close to Atlanta
  • has much, much less use than any other district of the Forest (outside of deer season)
  • has a unique, an increasingly endangered ecosystem
  • the historic heart of Georgia  – all the way back to before European Settlement

So I decided to start day hiking the Oconee National Forest. But I found that there is *very* little good information on the Internet.

The best resources I found were The Forest Service’s Interactive Visitor Guide and their PDF maps in addition to a good cached but basic topo layer map from Google Maps.

Either way, I wanted the Internet to have more “on the ground” information, hence, this detailed post.

Here’s an overview of my hike on the Kinnard Creek Trail in the Oconee National Forest.

[Read more…]

On Visiting Death Valley National Park

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I visited Death Valley National Park in January 2018 as a side trip on my business trip to Las Vegas. It was completely unplanned, and was time crunched between a 10am flight arrival in Las Vegas and a 7pm business event also back in Las Vegas.

My brother gave me the idea and the push to just rent the car and go, no matter how little time that I actually had in the Park.

[Read more…]

On Camping at Panola Mountain State Park

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Panola Mountain State Park is a Georgia State Park about 30 minutes east of Atlanta, GA.

Panola Mountain State Park focuses on programming, activities, and conservation. They have everything from archery to tree climbing to fishing to biking. Unlike Vogel and Fort Mountain, Panola Mountain does not have many overnight accommodations.

But – Panola Mountain does have 5 walk-in primitive campsites. They are a real hidden gem for Atlantans looking to get outdoors.

I had been looking for the right time and place to take my son on his first overnight camping trip. My brothers and I usually camp in the backcountry, especially along the Appalachian Trail.

And unlike my first overnight trip, I had zero desire to have a bear walk into my son’s first camping trip.

That brings me to Panola Mountain. [Read more…]

On Visiting Vogel State Park

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After an incredible long weekend at Fort Mountain State Park in October, my family decided to make staying at every Georgia State Park a goal. We opted to try Vogel State Park…in February.

Vogel State Park is one of Georgia’s oldest and most heavily used State Parks. It’s set in a beautiful valley with a creek feeding a lake. It was one of the State Parks that received upgrades from the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s.

It also has more cabins than almost any of the other State Parks in Georgia, especially given its size. Most of the cabins have been renovated post-2012 as part of Georgia State Park’s big renovation program.

Even though the weather wasn’t ideal, we decided to give Vogel a try in February. [Read more…]

On Visiting Las Vegas, Nevada

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In January 2017, I visited Las Vegas for the first time. I went there on business to attend a conference. I was only there for 3 nights, but tried to see as much of the city & region as I could outside of meetings & sessions.

I flew into McCarran Airport and stayed at the Paris Las Vegas right on the Strip. During my stay, I also had the chance to visit Hoover Dam, Lake Mead National Recreation Area, a few towns in the Las Vegas area and several other casinos including the Aria and Planet Hollywood. I went to a private party in the Cosmopolitan, had a business dinner at a hyped restaurant, and walked 6 to 8 miles around the Strip.

I also did not gamble once. And I was not able to visit Downtown Las Vegas. I also did not attend a show or play cards.

Either way – here’s what I observed visiting Las Vegas. [Read more…]

6 Pros and Cons of Commuting and Getting Around by Bike in Atlanta

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When I originally published this post in February 2013 – I had just moved to Atlanta, GA (metro area of 5.3 million) from Athens, GA (metro area of 0.19 million).

I had loved Athens’ bike-friendly culture (though not its very bike unfriendly hills). I used to bike nearly everywhere in Athens, and wanted to keep up the same biking habit in Atlanta.

I’ve had been a bit over 2 weeks, but had already started taking MARTA to work, and biking home – while also biking around the city for the sake of exploration and exercise.

So – for anyone who was curious about biking in Atlanta – a famously car-only, traffic clogged city  – I wrote up this pros / cons list.

[Read more…]

On Visiting India’s Big Tourist Attractions

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My trip to India was spent primarily at my sister’s wedding and on the train to Delhi – but since we had the last few days in Delhi free, we got to see some of India’s Big Tourist Attractions.

India is an enormous country with more history than you could see in your lifetime. But – most of their world-famous tourist sites are all located in and around the Delhi to Agra corridor.

On our first day, we did a grand tour of Delhi’s attractions. The next day, we drove down to Agra to see the Taj and Red Fort. [Read more…]

On Riding Indian Railways

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When I traveled to India, we flew into Bengaluru for my sister’s wedding. But we also wanted to make our way to Delhi to see their house and do some sightseeing.

We could have simply flown. But when you only have a week in a country – what better way to see the physical country than a train?

Plus – there are few, if any, rail systems as famous as Indian Railways. They were the crown jewel of the British and India has used them to physically and symbolically tie the country together since independence.

And not only is there the romance of train travel – but Indian Railways has even more romance as the setting for a section of The Great Railway Bazaar and trains such as the Maharaja Express.

Either way – I wasn’t going to visit India without riding a train. So here’s how the experience went down. [Read more…]

On Traveling To India

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In June 2016, I traveled to India with my parents and younger sister to attend my other younger sister’s wedding. Previously, my travels had been limited to Nicaragua, Guatemala, The Philippines plus a handful of US cities such as Chicago, Boston and New York.

So it was exciting to not only attend my sister’s wedding but also have a good excuse to visit the world’s second largest country – which also happens to be one of the world’s oldest civilizations and one of the most powerful countries in the 21st Century.

Our visit took us to Bengaluru (formerly Bangalore) then to Delhi before flying back to the US. This post will cover general lessons on traveling to India while another will cover traveling on Indian Railways and yet another will look at my visit to some of India’s most famous landmarks. [Read more…]