Chesser Island Homestead
The Okefenokee Swamp is a forbidding place and a place that I could not imagine living in.
Photos
-
-
Wildlife Clearing on an old Appalachian Bald
Appalachian Balds are a historical mystery. But they are very man-made now. This one is one of my favorites. I’ll gatekeep the exact location (it’s up an old logging road in a Georgia State Park donated by a dedicated conservationist near Cleveland, GA), but it’s maintained by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources as a wildlife clearing. There are views in the winter, but birds and wildlife year-round.
-
National Park Service Watching Out for You
One of my favorite aspects of the culture of the National Park Service is their commitment to the principle that every American is an owner of their National Parks. It’s a beautiful, democratic ideal.
However.
-
Overlook at Providence Canyon State Park
Providence Canyon in Georgia is one of the most curious little areas in Georgia.
-
The House at Hardman Farm State Historic Site
Hardman Farm State Historic Site is a very underrated Georgia State Historic Site. The house is this incredible bit of Italianate architecture built right around the Civil War. The entire property is lovely with well-preserved buildings that highlight the rapid economic succession of the Deep South from the antebellum era to the modern era.
-
Cohutta Wilderness Trail Crew Work on Hickory Creek Trail
The Cohutta Wilderness Trail Volunteers spent a good bit of time in 2025 working on the Hickory Creek Trail. It is one of my favorite trails, but has been hit hard by storms in the last couple of years.
-
Etowah River Looking Towards Cartersville
The Allatoona Dam on the Etowah River has some nice hikes with views across a small canyon. In the far distance, through the forest, you can see (ironically) the smokestacks of Plant Bowen, one of the largest coal-fired power plants in North America.
-
The Grant Park Hawk
The Red Tailed Hawk that lives in Atlanta’s Grant Park is an absolute Boss. He’s also used to humans and will land incredibly close. In this case, he’s at the basketball courts – themed for the Atlanta Hawks – so I guess he loves a good pun too.
-
Clear Conasauga River
I’m always amazed at how clear Georgia’s rivers run near their headwaters in the Chattahoochee National Forest. The combination of running across rocks and being filtered by forest instead of being silted with erosion is lovely to see.
-
Marsh at Fort Morris State Historic Site
Fort Morris was an old fort that stood guard in front of Sunbury, one of the oldest European settlements in Georgia. The site is on the Medway River with beautiful views of coastal marshes.
-
Ridiculously Perfect Eastern Hemlock
With so many Eastern Hemlocks dying, I’m always on the look out for a really good looking specimen. This one at Hardman Farm State Historic Site is one of the most symmetrical that I’ve ever seen.
-
South Georgia Pine Forest
Even though they aren’t all Longleaf anymore, I still love the expanse of Loblolly Pines in South Georgia.
-
Cloudland Canyon
Cloudland Canyon is one of Georgia’s most dramatic and interesting geological features.
-
Start of the Atlanta Marathon
Most years, I get to run either the full or the half marathon in Atlanta. It usually takes place early in the year, in late February or early March. It’s a great event with a great course, but it’s always funny just being part of such a giant crowd that is out to…run.
-
Waterfall in the Southern Appalachians
The Southern Appalachians are known for their waterfalls. There are tall, famous ones like Duke’s Creek, Amicalola, Ruby, Jack’s, etc but I also love finding smaller ones along an off-trail creek.
-
Makeshift Bridge over a Swollen Jacks River
In the Cohutta Wilderness, the Jacks and Conasauga Rivers can rise fast after a rain. Due to a bit of poor planning, I woke up one morning to an uncrossable Jacks. Thankfully, this tall and otherwise healthy pine tree had fallen at just the right spot across the river. It provided a useful bridge and a bit of adventure.
-
Lovely Madagascaran Flower at the Atlanta Botanical Gardens
I forgot to get the species name of this flower, but one of the most interesting things in the desert exhibit at the Atlanta Botanical Gardens is how colorful so many of the plants and flowers in the desert are.
-
Granite Outcrop in Chattahoochee Bend State Park
The Georgia Piedmont is filled with so many interesting outcrops. The most famous is Stone Mountain, but they are all up and down the middle part of Georgia.
-
Lake Conasauga Entrance
I’m not going to write too much about Lake Conasauga because I want it to be known enough to where it keeps getting maintenance, visits, and appropriate use without being overrun…because if you know…you know.
-
Overlook near Hogpen Gap in the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest of North Georgia
The Appalachian Trail in Georgia has a lot of granite overlooks in the mountains but especially on the Appalachian Trail. During winter, you can see a long ways off, and in the summer, they are often the only break in the green tunnel of vegetation.
