FDR State Park

our big pull through site

Our big pull through site at FDR State Park

I can’t put my finger on exactly why, but I loved camping at FDR better than I did at the more beautiful and spacious Amity Campground.  It’s odd because Amity had huge, expansive water views, while FDR’s lake is more like a large pond.

Lakeside tent sites

Lakeside tent sites

FDR is old, and maybe that’s why I like it so much.  It has a comfortably worn, down home feeling about it.  Our deeply shaded site suited us perfectly.  I felt so happy and relaxed there.

Yesterday afternoon the rain moved in, so we cocooned with games and internet until the thunderstorms started.  Then I got off the computer.

We had an '85 Scamp for a neighbor

We had an ’85 Scamp for a neighbor

Right after dinner, Sheba started whimpering like she had to go to the bathroom.  So I bundled up in rain jacket and flip flops and took her for a walk in the downpour, through the water running in the streets, while thunder boomed and lightning flashed all around us.

Sheba didn’t have to go.  She just wanted a walk.  She thoroughly enjoyed it.  And while I would never admit it to Ron, (lest I lose my martyr’s halo for walking Sheba in a storm) I also thoroughly enjoyed the walk.

The Scamp owners' son-in-law was there in an '86 Scotty.

The Scamp owners’ son-in-law was there in an ’86 Scotty.

It got cold overnight!  It went from the high 80’s on Wednesday to a damp, chilly morning in the high 50’s.  I even turned the furnace on to take the chill out of the Casita, and Ron and I both wore light jackets until around noon.

We got home around 3:00 to discover that the little veggies in my Earth Boxes are thriving.  When we drove up, Ron commented, “We can have salad for dinner!”

Blueberry flowers down by the campground bridge

Blueberry flowers down by the campground bridge

And we, of course, are already dreaming about our next trip!

Path around the lake on the cabin side

Path around the lake on the cabin side

Mountain laurel near the cabins

Mountain laurel near the cabins

Small island in the lake on the cabin side

Small island in the lake on the cabin side

Sheba watching another dog pass

Sheba watching another dog pass

 

 

 

FDR, the Famous TP Roll & More

The roll of toilet paper that was in service when FDR died in 1945 (right and inset).  A plastic cover was placed over it to stop visitors from taking a sheet as a souvenir.  The bathroom was mounted away from the wall so FDR could grasp the tub with both hands and swing himself into the tub.  The toilet was raised to be wheelchair accessible.  The lavatory (not shown) was also lowered.

The roll of toilet paper that was in service when FDR died in 1945 (right and inset). A plastic cover was placed over it to stop visitors from taking a sheet as a souvenir. The bathtub was mounted away from the wall so FDR could grasp it with both hands and swing himself into the tub. The toilet was raised to be wheelchair accessible. The lavatory (not shown) was also lowered.

I wasn’t going to do another Little White House post.  But two commenters mentioned the 69 year old toilet paper roll — and I must admit, it made an impression on me, too.  So here it is.  😀

Servants' quarters on left; guesthouse on right.

Servants’ quarters on left; guesthouse on right.

That also gives me an excuse to devote a post to the areas I didn’t cover yesterday — the servants’ quarters and the guesthouse, which were my favorites.  Probably because they remind me a bit of doll houses.

I’m also including a picture of the life size portrait Roosevelt was sitting for

Servants' bedroom #1

Servants’ bedroom #1

when he had a massive stroke and died later that day.  The portrait was never finished.  The artist, however, later copied the unfinished portrait, changed the tie from red to blue, and so finished the portrait she had promised him.

One final photo — of Graham Jackson, naval musician with tears streaming down his face as he played “Going Home” as Roosevelt’s body passed before the patients at Georgia Hall for a final goodbye on April 13, 1945.

Servants' bedroom #2

Servants’ bedroom #2

Servants' living room

Servants’ living room

Guesthouse sitting room

Guesthouse sitting room

Guesthouse bedroom (through glass)

Guesthouse bedroom (through glass)

Graham Jackson

Graham Jackson

The unfinished portrait

The unfinished portrait

 

 

Little White House

Guest house on left, Little White House in center, servants' quarters on right

Guest house on left, Little White House in center, servants’ quarters on right

I have edited out my political commentary on FDR and am just leaving photos I took of the Little White House in Warm Springs, GA today.

Roosevelt built the facilities so he could be near Warm Springs, where he swam and exercised in the 88 degree waters to treat his legs which had been paralyzed by polio. 

While having his portrait painted, he had a massive stroke and died in his Little White House at 63 years old. The unfinished portrait is displayed in one of the buildings in the memorial complex.

Inside the Little White House in Warm Springs, GA

The LWH dining room

The LWH dining room

I fell in love with the houses.  Oddly enough, I loved the servants’ quarters and the guest house best.  I could not get a photo of his secretary’s room because it is surrounded by glass and the reflections on the glass were too strong.

Eleanor's bedroom.  The extra bed was for a grandchild. When she brought more than one, they stayed in the guesthouse.

Eleanor’s bedroom. The extra bed was for a grandchild. When she brought more than one, they stayed in the guesthouse.

I took dozens of photos, but have tried to select photos of the Little White House that I thought you would most enjoy seeing.

After we finished the tour, it was back to LuBelle’s Ice Cream Parlor for another treat.  This time I chose the Birthday flavor.  It was vanilla ice cream with chunks of chocolate cake, icing and sprinkles.  Unfortunately, it was a little too sweet for my taste.  I think I’ll have a plain vanilla before we leave here!  🙂

FDR's bedroom

FDR’s bedroom

 

Butler's pantry

Butler’s pantry

 

The kitchen

The kitchen

 

 

Kitchen utility

Kitchen utility

Pine Mountain Gold Mine

The most interesting thing about touring the old mine was discovering that I live just a few miles from a fault.

The most interesting thing about touring the old mine was discovering that I live just a few miles from a fault.

This is about 10 miles from my house.

This is about 10 miles from my house.

Today my neighbor Cindy and I took her border collie and Sheba to the old Pine Mountain Gold Mine in Villa Rica, GA.

We took the 3-mile walking tour of the mining facility ruins, then left the dogs in the van with the air conditioner running while we visited the museum.  Then we retrieved the dogs and enjoyed a people/doggie picnic lunch.

Such a wonderful day!

We passed on the opportunity to pan for gold.

While I found the mining info fascinating, the two things that impacted me the most is that the Cherokee were run out of NW Georgia due to mining claims — and the fact that I am so close to a major fault line.mine3

If the New Madrid ever produces the Big One, we’ll probably get some action, too!

mine1

tank1

treatment tank

mine2

Ore stocking bins

Ore stocking bins

 

old buildings

koi pond and waterfall

My favorite part of the tour -- finding pink ladyslippers.  :)

My favorite part of the tour — finding pink ladyslippers. 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Watson’s Mill Bridge State Park

 

Watson's Mill Bridge

Watson’s Mill Bridge

We’re at Watson’s Mill Bridge State Park in Comer, GA this evening.  It’s out in the middle of nowhere — far from a town of any size, in beautiful, green, rolling hill country.  It’s a small, very pretty park with one loop of huge camp sites, most of which are pull thrus for smaller rigs.

Here’s a little about the bridge from the campground’s website:

Watson Mill Bridge contains the longest covered bridge in the state, spanning 229 feet across the South Fork River. Built in 1885 by Washington (W.W.) King, son of freed slave and famous covered-bridge builder Horace King, the bridge is supported by a town lattice truss system held firmly together with wooden pins.  At one time, Georgia had more than 200 covered bridges; today, less than 20 remain.

I took the bridge photo in a light rain.  Hopefully tomorrow will be better picture taking weather.

We missed our turn twice on the way here, which added an hour and a whole lot of stress to the trip.  Peggy showed up shortly after we arrived.  She also had missed a turn that added an hour to her trip — and she was stressed out, too.

Our campsites

Our campsites

But once we got set up and had time to get together and talk, the pain of getting here was forgotten.  We had a wonderful time visiting.

After dinner, Ron and I planned to walk the dogs along one of the trails.  But the signs did not say how long the trails were or whether they were loops or not, and I was afraid of being caught out in the woods after dark.  So we’ll explore them tomorrow.

There are no photos of Peggy and myself because we looked too rain frazzled.  But the rain cleared up late today and the sun came out.  The next two days are supposed to be sunshiny and beautiful.

 

 

 

 

Reservations Made!

This photo is from the recreation.gov website

This photo is from the recreation.gov website

I made reservations for March 24-31 at Whitetail Ridge COE near La Grange, GA last night.

This spot is one that I scouted out before.  To the left there is a path to a large, private, waterfront area that will be like having our own private park.

Having this to look forward should keep me going the next two weeks!

The average high temperature for that area in late March is 68 degrees.  Hope we get sunshine, blue skies and balmy temperatures while we are there!

 

 

 

Last Day at Whitetail Ridge

Ron and Sheba and the little island that looks like Tom Sawyer ought to appear on his raft at any moment.

Ron and Sheba and the little island that looks like Tom Sawyer ought to appear on his raft at any moment.

Today is chilly.  Ron is gone to town to search out a good take out dinner.  He took Sunny with him.

I’m sitting inside the Casita watching the reflection of the sunset turn the sky and the water a serene mauve.

Earlier Sheba and I went for a walk.  I deliberately left the camera behind, wanting to soak up the scenery and Sheba’s companionship without distraction.

We sauntered uphill and downhill, enjoying the play of light on the trees and over the water.  Noting sunbeams that turned the brown carpet of fallen leaves to golden magic. Inhaling the faint scent of a distant campfire.  The almost deserted campground was completely silent.

We detoured to the water’s edge so Sheba could wade and lap up her fill of water.

I felt as though I were saying goodbye to something significant, but couldn’t put my finger on anything definitive.  Maybe just saying goodbye to another autumn as we head into winter.

When we got back, I was warm enough from the walk to sit outside with Sheba for a little while.  I treated her to a dinner of her favorite canned dog food instead of the usual mix of kibble and canned.

Then I watched the setting sun blaze through the leaves, seemingly illuminating them from within.

Now the mauve is fading from the water and twilight descends.

It’s been a beautiful trip.

Autumn Splendor on Whitetail Ridge

table1

Sometimes words get in the way.

As I walked through the campground this morning, every sight I saw brought a poem, song or psalm to mind.  I felt almost as though I walked on the edges of another dimension.

I hope that you can sense some of that in these photos.  🙂

acorns

exposed tree roots

fall colors

grass seeds

lakeside

moon

odd hollow stump

One kind of creepy note — really weird hollow stump.

 

pine cone and acorn

shell

squirrel

table2

towels

tree trunk decorated for fall

tree sculpted by vines

waters edge

casita at whitetail ridge

Whitetail Ridge

My favorite little camping buddy.  Sunny coming out of his sweater.

My favorite little camping buddy. Sunny coming out of his sweater.

Carla and Jerry stopped by this morning to say goodbye on their way into Montgomery to see some of the historical sites.

Our site at Whitetail Ridge

Our site at Whitetail Ridge

I had fallen asleep last night and slept like a rock –until around 12:00 a.m.  Then I couldn’t get back to sleep until around 5:30 this morning.  So I had a bit of trouble getting up and moving this morning.  When they stopped by to say goodbye, I stumbled outside looking pretty disheveled.

Waterfront access behind our site

Waterfront access behind our site

I sure hope they don’t remember me that way!

We were planning to go to one of the COE campgrounds farther south, but ended up deciding on Whitetail Ridge on West Point Lake.  I’m glad we did.  This place is gorgeous!!!

We are surrounded on three sides by water, so get to see the sun set over the lake, and also enjoy the afterglow reflected off the clouds and water behind our trailer.

Looking down the road from our site

Looking down the road from our site

It’s a little cool for camping.  I think we might head into town tomorrow and see if we can find an inexpensive screen room with a wind break so we can enjoy sitting outside while we are here.

Fiery sunset across the loop

Fiery sunset across the loop

The sunset reflected in the clouds and on the water behind our trailer.

The sunset reflected in the clouds and on the water behind our trailer.

Clark Creek

Our Casita at Clark Creek

Our Casita at Clark Creek

We did something a little differently this time.  We chose a small campground (only 24 sites – all waterfront) very near to a small town.

Across the creek

Across the creek

We are at a bend in the creek.  The more impressive water views are on the other side of the campground.  But they also get full afternoon sun, and our site is in lovely deep shade all afternoon.

I’m surprised at all the different types of water activity here.  Pleasure boats, fishing boats, jet skis, rubber rafts.  And several people were swimming in the creek today, and one guy was snorkeling.  I swore swimming in creeks and lakes off after a fish bit me when we were camping in Mississippi a couple of years ago.  The only way I will swim in a natural body of water is if it is as clear as Salt Springs in Florida.

Bluebird scolding his shadow in the glass

Bluebird scolding his shadow in the glass

You can stand in neck deep water there and look down and see the individual grains of sand on the bottom.  Not here!

It was sweltering today!  We want to go fishing while we’re here, but will plan on going early in the day before it gets too hot.  After we got a shower this evening it was pleasant sitting outside…. except for the humidity.  So we are chilling inside tonight enjoying icy air conditioning.  I would love to open the windows and hear the night sounds, but don’t want the heavy, damp air that comes with it.

There's the enemy!

There’s the enemy!

How the other half lives :)

How the other half lives 🙂

Jetski towing rubber raft

Jetski towing rubber raft

Mimosas blooming on the bank

Mimosas blooming on the bank

I have never seen Sunny's tongue hanging out so far.  He was hot!

I have never seen Sunny’s tongue hanging out so far. He was hot!

Always beautiful Sheba

Always beautiful Sheba

This isn’t the ideal time to go camping, but we were so desperate to get out that we are glad we are here.  We’ll manage the heat by cocooning inside during the hottest part of the day.  And going for ice cream cones.  🙂

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