A Fabulous Georgia Hike

George and I went to North Georgia on Friday,  August 17, 2012,  in order to check out some new waterfalls... We took a marvelous hike (almost 3 miles roundtrip) on the High Shoals Trail,  near Unicoi Gap north of Helen, Georgia.  We saw 2 gorgeous waterfalls plus a cascade.   The elevation when we started was 2,873 feet ---and we descended 950 feet down to the waterfalls... Going DOWN was easy---but hiking back up that mountain was harder..... ha

All in all,  it was a beautiful trail ---with lots of great mountain views... As I said on Facebook recently,  I absolutely love hiking in the woods.  Getting away from the 'crazy' world we live in  is just marvelous...  Hiking is truly good for the soul.

Hope you enjoy some of our photos from this hike.  Above is a picture of us taken at BLUE HOLE FALLS.  Blue Hole is 30 feet high, and the area around there is gorgeous.

Look at the beautiful woods around us!!!!!   God's creation is so marvelous!

The trail was well-maintained ---and they had built several bridges along the way.  Here's one of George taken when we first started down that mountain.  We both began with jackets on ---but those jackets came off quickly as we hiked!!!!!

George took this one of me on another one of the little bridges on the path...  You can tell that I already have my jacket off --and tucked into my camera vest!!!!!  We both wore our hiking boots and carried our hiking sticks.

I called this  "Seashells in the Woods"....   One neat thing about loving photography and hiking in the woods is all of the neat things we see... Some of my Facebook friends said that they look like little frilly skirts!!!!!   Pretty,  aren't they?

The 'ham' in the group ----ME---- decided that I wanted to pull that fallen tree-trunk back upright!!!!    Wonder how strong she was??????   If 'looks' count----she's a winner... Right?????  That girl is such a nut-head!!!!!! ha ha ha

Here's another picture I took of George along the trail.   I just wanted you to see again how beautiful this area is---and what a good trail it was!!!!! I loved it!

On the way back up that mountain,  the old woman had to find a place to take a short rest....  (This was AFTER she pulled the tree trunk up!!!!!! ha)

Here's another picture of us taken at the other large waterfall,  HIGH SHOALS FALLS.   This waterfall is 125 feet high.  There was another waterfall,  a beautiful cascade (White Shoals Cascade), which we saw ---and I'll show it on another blog post...

If you love hiking and are ever in North Georgia,  this is a great hike to take... It was one of my favorites that we've taken recently.

Have a great day.  We are out-of-pocket AGAIN today.... Don't know when life will settle down for us!!!!!! ha

Hugs,
Betsy

Our House gets New Clothes

I had another post ready for today,  but I'm so excited about our beautiful little home ---that I just HAD to share this with you...  IF you are on Facebook,  you saw my surprise yesterday--but that was only one photo.  Today I'll share several!!!!!

Our home is being painted... Maybe I should have waited until they finish,  but I am just too excited to wait!   I'm always apprehensive when choosing a paint color...  What if we don't like it?  What if it is too dark --or too light????  YIPES---what a decision!!!

I will show more pictures when they totally finish.  The painters haven't started the white trim yet --so that will take awhile.. BUT--other than touch-ups,  they have finished the green....  I love-love-love this green... It seems to be perfect for us and blends so well with our yard and the surrounding trees.. Hope you enjoy seeing the pictures today!!!!   Be sure to click on them for enlargements.

The green has a 'sheen' to it when the sun hits it.  It looks darker in the shadows... This is the front left side near the garage.  I love the way the ROSES are smiling ---just like I am.

Walking on around the house to the left,  I took this picture of the 'upper' side of the house,  near the upper flowerbed and the rock sidewalk.   The large window in the distance is George's little office area---across from the laundry room.  The smaller window is our kitchen.  The big sliding door goes into our 'Great' Room  (combo living/dining room).

You've seen the new deck (at the back of the house) in other blog posts recently...  If you missed the main post showing the new deck,  click HERE.   Both doors (on either side of the chimney) go into our Great Room... George and I read  our devotions together every morning on the swing (weather permitting)... The 'Bird Kitchen' is on the far end...   Beyond the deck  on the far end (out of sight) is one of our bedroom windows.    (The new deck will be stained in the spring.)

I don't think I have ever shown this side of our home.  This is the lower side of the house  where we have a half basement.   The two windows go into our bedroom... Since our bedroom is next to the Bird Kitchen (and since we put our bird feeders up at night)--the Northern Cardinals (and their loud chips) wake us up about 6:30 each morning begging for their breakfast...  There are 2 bathrooms in the middle (one off of our bedroom and one off of the hall).  The area to the left is the 2nd bedroom --which we use as our computer room...

 Now I am back around to the front of the house... This is the right side (from the front)--and inside the window is where we live most of the time---our Computer Room!!!!!  ha ha ..... There is one bird feeder next to this window---so that I can see some of the little birdies when I'm not close to the Bird Kitchen!!!!!

I'll close with one more photo of the front of the house.  Hope you enjoyed seeing the entire outside of our precious little home.  We love it --and it's perfect for a couple of retirees...   Sometime--I'll have to show you the inside --which is not nearly as pretty!!!!!!  Don't you just love our home and her new clothes?  George and I do----and I guess that is what matters...

Have a great weekend and I'll see you on Monday.   Tomorrow is George's Dad's 100th birthday party...  SO--like most weekends,  I'll be out-of-pocket.  His actual birthday is next Wednesday... We will be with him on that day also. Amazing man!!!!

Hugs,
Betsy