It was a clear, warm day in Atlanta when Jim, Kathy, and I decided to walk up Stone Mountain. We are Californians, not Georgians, so we did not know about the history of Stone Mountain. Somewhat fresh from hiking last summer in California, we thought this would stretch our legs a bit. The trail is generally very smooth from the footsteps of many visitors.
The trees were starting to change color. It was a very pleasant fall day for walking. There was a diversity of people, many speaking languages we did not understand.
In a few places we had to ascend stairs. These were the easy ones; later there was a set of steep stairs in which you had to grip the bar to help you rise.
At the top you could see that most of the land around Atlanta is flat. To the west we saw a range of tall buildings that help to identify Downtown, Midtown, and Buckhead. We also saw the tram landing that took people, who did not want to walk, up and down.
On our way down we stopped to look at carvings that have remained regardless of erosion. The earliest one we saw was from 1816.
At the bottom is pole that is filled with gum. Now why might that be there?
