Unfortunately we happened to pick a cloudy day to go to
Brasstown Bald, the highest point In Georgia. The mountain elevation is 4784 feet above sea level. The term bald refers to a mountain which has an unobstructed view in all directions as is the case for Brasstown Bald.
At the observation tower this little bird sang and sang to us. I looked around and noticed several young folks texting away on their phones. I wondered why someone would visit such a beautiful place of natural beauty and spend their time on the phone.
Four states can be seen from the observation deck including Georgia, Tennessee, North Carolina, and South Carolina.
We'll have to go back when it's a clear and sunny day. Temperatures never reach above 84 F on the mountain top. The lowest recorded temperature was minus 27 F.
On a clear day in late summer the tall buildings of Atlanta can be seen from the summit.
That's the parking lot below. A shuttle or a paved walking trail can be used to get from from the parking lot up to the top of the mountain. We took the shuttle up and walked down the trail. The trail is only a little over a half a mild and very steep. About half way down I was wishing I had taken the shuttle. Sometimes I think walking down hill is harder than going up hill.
The top of the observation tower is a fire lookout.
This rock wall is the base of the visitor center and museum.
Two bears are the centerpiece of the museum.
Normally I hate to see stuffed animals but I guess that's how folks are educated.
Native American exhibit in museum. The Cherokee had a village in the Brasstown area
The
rhododendrons were in full bloom.
This tree had a hole in the trunk, I was hesitant to get too close, who knows what lurked inside.
On the trail down to the parking lot there were lots of ferns.
I spied what I thought was a clump of mushrooms. On closer inspection I saw they were tiny white flowers with white stems. Do you know what they might be?
UPDATE: Suzi correctly identified these as
Indian Pipes, see link for more info on this strange plant without chlorophyll. This one was not opened up but the link show what they look like after opening.
The forest was dense and trees were gnarled from the weather they get on the mountain top.
Here's a native pink rhododendron.
It was windy on top of the mountain as you can see from the flag flying. Thanks for reading and for all your comments.
