Upper and Lower Double Culvert Branch Falls, GA

On  our way TO Ocean Isle Beach on May 5, 2012,   we made another trip to the mountains of North Georgia to see some new waterfalls.    We visited this area on 2/14/12 --but knew that there are other waterfalls to see there!!!!  This area is near Helen, GA  (White County) and the Unicoi State Park.....

WELL--we tried to enter the forest service road at the same place we went in February..  But--to our surprise,  they had that road closed.... Hmmmmmm... So --as we do alot,  we went to Plan B.... We went to another entrance into the area.

What a nice route... We followed the Chattahoochee River up the mountain on Forest Road 44.   AND ---we were able to park and walk down to the river... What a fun surprise for us that day!!!!

These two waterfalls are on the way (off of Forest Road 44) toward Horsetrough Falls.  Since we hadn't been this way before,  these were two new waterfalls for us...

Today,  I'll share some pictures from these stops along Forest Road 44.   Be sure to click on the pictures in order to see enlargements.   Above is a picture of the Chattahoochee River ---where we stopped to take pictures along our way.

I took this picture of George along the Chattahoochee River...  You can see that the river is quite small here...  It heads south from here,  gets larger --and heads all the way to  Lake Seminole in Florida.  It then spills into the Gulf of Mexico as the Apalachicola River. 

Here's another picture of the little rapids of the Chattahoochee River.

George took this picture of me trying to do some rock-hopping at the Chattahoochee River.  (This girl seriously needs some clothes that fit her.... We have about 35-40 sets of matching t-shirts --and they are all too big for me now... AND--those shorts have to be held up with a belt!!!!! ha ha ---- I'm not complaining though since I desperately needed to lose some weight!!!)

The Mountain Laurel along the road was really beautiful when we were there.

When we got to the area where we parked to hike to the waterfalls,  the first thing we saw was this gorgeous little cascade.... Neat, huh?

Lower Double Culvert Branch Falls  --30 feet high

The hike to the two waterfalls was short ---but steep, and quite wet and slick.... I stopped at the first waterfall and George made it to the 2nd one.  However, he fell---and if you saw some scratches on his legs on our Ocean Isle photos,  you'll know what happened to him.  He didn't get hurt --but did get scratched and dirty!!!!!   (He loves to tell our friends that "I" scratched him!!!!! ha ha )

Upper Double Culvert Branch Falls--40 feet high

Here is the Upper Falls...  As I said,  I didn't see this one ---but I'm glad that George made it up there on that steep trail.... I certainly have enjoyed seeing his pictures though.  While I waited on him,  I enjoyed the little cascade (pictured two photos above).   That is more my style!!!! ha ha

After seeing these two waterfalls,   we headed on toward Horsetrough Falls (saw it again --which looked so different than it looked when we saw it in February).  We also hiked and saw 3 other waterfalls near there..  That will be on another blog post...

It was a great day for waterfalls (5 new ones total plus Horsetrough Falls) ---and a nice break while on our way to the beach.

Hope you have a nice weekend.  Try to stay COOL.   It's horribly hot here (hotter than I can remember since we moved here in 2003) and VERY VERY dry.....   BUT--- there are areas of the country struggling much worse than we are.  Prayers for the people effected by the fires in Colorado (and other places) --and also for the people who had flooding and/or damage in Florida due to  tropical storm, Debby.  I'll see you on Monday!
Hugs,
Betsy

Pretty Little Pansies

I've talked quite a bit about how much we love our PANSIES... This is the only annual that we plant now --since we have so many perennials.  (I used to plant Impatiens --but the rabbits kept eating it, so I gave up on that idea!)

We buy our Pansies in the late Fall --and plant them in the three round flowerbeds in our front yard ---and a few in other places around the yard.    Unless we have a VERY VERY cold winter (which seldom happens here),  the Pansies will make it through the winter---and will bloom until the heat of Summer kills them.

Today I'll share you some of this year's Pansies.   All of these pictures were taken around June 8, 2012.  Hope you enjoy seeing these little beauties...  The picture above is of our Lamppost Flowerbed in the middle of our front yard.  The Pansies are sharing space with all of our beautiful Lilies.  In the other flowerbed featured below,  the Pansies shared space with Daffodils...  Be sure and click on the pictures to see enlargements.

Hope you enjoyed seeing some of the Pansies in our yard.  I am sorry to report that they are all gone now since we have had some horribly hot weather the past couple of weeks.  BUT--they are wonderful little plants to have around for about 8 months or more.   AND---they do provide a little color to our yard in the drab winter months.

Have a great day.
Hugs,
Betsy