After a leisurely breakfast, we packed our lunch and off we went in search of some Georgia history. In addition to the typical state park stuff like hiking, biking, boating and camping, this park has a museum with aircraft, armored vehicles, uniforms, weapons, medals and other items from the Revolutionary War through the Gulf War highlighting the contributions of the men and women of Georgia.
We stopped briefly in the Visitor's Center to pick up a park map and trail guide. We then toured the museum. While it is not a huge space, they did a great job explaining the various conflicts and highlighting the contributions of Georgia's citizens. We were impressed with the number of Purple Heart and Medal of Honor recipients from the great state of Georgia. Here Dave examines one of the displays. Check out the Jeep behind him.
The outside displays were equally impressive. We got a chance to get up close and personal with several tanks and fighter planes.
After the museum, we took a stroll along the banks of Lake Blackshear, a man-made lake on the Flint River created by a dam that was constructed from 1925 to 1930. When the dam was constructed, little effort was made to cut the trees that would soon be underwater. It was believed that the trees would soon die and decompose once submerged. While this was true for many of the trees, there are still many living Cypress trees in the middle of the lake and there are still many dead trees that have not fallen down. All that deadfall makes for great fishing, as this family was enjoying.
We arrived in Georgia just in time to see Spring spring. How many colors of green can you see in this photo?
Having not grown up in the south, we can't help but be fascinated by trees that have knees.
We discovered that the SAM Shortline Excursion Train runs right through the park. You can travel through southwest Georgia in air-conditioned 1949 vintage cars mixing a taste of the old rural South with today's excitement. The train stops at the Georgia Veterans State Park at Lake Blackshear, as well as the Telephone Museum, and the towns of Leslie, Americus, Plains, and Archery (Jimmy Carter's childhood home). Dave wanted to take this photo of the tressel crossing Lake Blackshear.
He managed to bag his prey, but slipped and fell in the swamp. Nothing hurt but his pride.
This part of Georgia has a lot of colonial history. In August 1702, the Governor of Spanish Florida sent a force northward of more than 800 Spaniards and Apaches. Forewarned, the good folks of Georgia marshalled about 500 Creek warriors, lured the invaders into an ambush on the Flint River and routed them. Here is an "histerical" marker surrounded by all of these amazing purple flowers.
After our hike, we drove over to the campground and dock. Here is another family trying their luck on the lake.
We took another stroll, this time through the state park campground. We were amazed at the size of the sites. Private campgrounds would never give you that much room; they are always trying to cram as many rigs in as possible. Unfortunately, our rig is so big that we just don't fit in many state or county campgrounds.
After the campground, we then went to take a look at the beach. While there is no lifeguard, there is a life ring.
We were entertained by this catamaran as the men tried to launch it with the sails up. Now, we are no experts on sailing, but you would think that it would have been easier to raise the sails once the boat was in the water rather than fight the wind and try to pull your boat into the lake with the wind against you. Just saying...
We enjoyed exploring this part of Cordele, the Watermelon Capital of the World. We wish we could stay longer, but we know we will be back this way again.
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