Stone Mountain

Don’t take the easy way out. Tough it out and earn the braggin’ rights. Just climb it.

Late one afternoon, after our meetings were over, a few of us decided that we ought to try going out to see Stone Mountain. We were a group of four, two had been there before, and the others had not. It took quite a while to get there from where we were staying in Buckhead. Traffic was pretty heavy, and there didn’t seem to be much in the way of freeways between the two locations.

Luckily I had brought the girl with me. She knew how to get us there. Getting back was another issue though. (BTW, girl is a term that my traveling companions and I frequently use to mean GPS. It comes from the female-sounding voice that it uses to give directions. It’s pretty common to hear one of us ask something like, “Does your girl know if there’s a good Mexican restaurant near here?” or, “Does the girl want us to get off of the freeway at this exit, or the next one?”)

By the time we arrived at Stone Mountain, the visitor’s center, shops, and other amenities had all closed. We got out of the car and looked around a bit. Of course we were able to see the mountain itself and the enormous carving on the face of it. The area was beautiful, with its fragrant, verdant forests.

The carving on the mountain is impressive. The figures of Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee, and Stonewall Jackson can all be seen. The carving is decptively large. They said that the statue of Robert E. Lee was more than 90 feet high.

It is a very popular area. There were a lot of well-utilized walkways. Bicycles were everywhere. I’m sure that it would be great to live near this place.

We stopped and had an excellent meal at a German restaurant nearby and then headed back to Buckhead.

I hope to go back there again someday, especially during the daytime when everything is open.

Years ago, this park was the first place I tried and did go camping. While there, I took the nature thing a bit further, and hiked up to the top of the mountain. My first hike, alone, out in the ruff etc.

There were some hard places, and then almost at the top is it all smooth curved stone. I decided to take the short cut. Oh My GOSH! I was almost vertical laying on the stone going up. It got to a point my toes were bent my boobs were touching the stone along with my face..and nothing to hang on to..just smooth rock… I could not go forward and I could not go back..if I was to have slipped then, it was all smooth rock to over the side… Litterally to save myself… I then became Spider Woman! and inched sideways until I could find a little weeds coming out of the rock… I kept going sidways until I could get on the regular trail. Made it up and made it down… almost to the building where I could get my Climbing certificate…and I tripped and fell on the railroad tracks and cut up my knees! I did good! Nice park…

Took my daughters for a quick getaway trip to the spa and to Stone Mountain. They really enjoyed their first spa trip!

We thoroughly enjoyed our day at Stone Mountain. The park is beautiful, but it was a really hot Southern Saummer day and the kids couldn’t wait to get back and swim at the hotel pool!

I drove down to Stone Mountain GA for Atlantafest last week… the park was more amazing that I remember!

I’ve only been here once but it was a lot of fun! Make sure you see the lazer light show! Its amazing!!

Be sure to stay for the laser show – the night is well worth it, and it has many of the old classics we know and love. The mountain (I’m from Georgia. I know it’s not REALLY a mountain, but it’s one of the biggest things we got here! :D ) isn’t spectacularly breathtaking, but the history behind it is well worth a stop by anyone visiting. (Or a local in for a walk through memory lane! The music hails from all sorts of eras!)

the mountain is so big when you’re a kid! then they tell you it isn’t ACTUALLY a mountain haha

When I first went to Stone Mountain, I really didn’t know what to expect. There was not a battlefield and I knew there was a big rock. Other than that I went in a a blank slate just willing to take in whatever was there. When I left, I had a great appreciation for what it was. This is really a combination of what I saw and a response to those who claim that its not worth seeing because it wasn’t what they thought it should be.

It was a very enjoyable experience. First of all there’s that “rock.” Now those of you from the West and further up the Appalachain mountains may not appreciate it because it’s n ot as grand as some of the ranges there, but…appreciate it for what it is. Something that is completely different from the surrounding area, a large canvas with excellent art on it, and most of all, a tribute to an era now lost. I am from the MIdwest and I am a student of the Civil War. Most would say that means I’m a Yankee…

Not really. I was moved by the state memorials located throughout the park and along the sides of the main viewing lawn. We don’t often see this side of the Civil War. Stone Mountain is a tribute to all of the soldiers who fought and died for the Confederacy in 1861-1865. Does that mean you have to agree with their decision to appreciate and visit this place? Well, it helps, but no you don’t!

This monument is in honor of the men who fought for what they believed was right. It’s not about slavery. It’s not about “The South Shall Rise Again,” mentality that we see so often all across the country.

It is a memorial to their bravery. Get that in your head. This isn’t a huge amusement park for the kids to run around and ride roller coasters. its not intended to be a hike that will allow to see 7 states when you reach the top. It’s not even a place to try to bring back the old SOuth. IT IS A MONUMENTFOR MENS’ BRAVERY IN FIGHTINGFORWHATTHEYDEEMEDRIGHT. If you don’t feel that way, don’t go…or go and educate yourself to the real story behind the Civil War.

P.S. I am an Enlightened Yankee, but I can look at all of the issues and make my own decisions about what happened. Don’t make your judgements without doing your own research. You might just be an enlightened Yankee too.

Climb the mountain, explore.