Friday, February 24, 2012

Panola Mountain/Walking Gorilla

 A different trail for us! Panola Mountain is just a few miles from Arabia Mountain.   There was a golf course beside this lake and it has now been turned into a nature trail which circles around Lake Alexander and then continues down to the South River which is at the base of Panola Mountain.  You can't really see Panola Mountain from this side, since it is heavily covered with trees.  We walked this trail on Thursday afternoon as soon as I got off work.  If you notice the fish on the sign above, you will notice the same "fishy" sign at the end of our warm afternoon walk.  Let's go!

"Happy Trails to you, until we meet again". I love that this sign is at the beginning of the trail!
We sat  here and had our coffee  overlooking the South River, this was an important waterway for the Native Americans in this area.  Once again, if there is a place in this country that the Indians liked, then there is a a very good chance that is a place that I want to visit.  I would like to see this in the Spring.  On this walk, we saw two deer, a bluebird, a downy woodpecker, several squirrels and sad to say, two dead creatures... a possum and a hawk...that is nature, I suppose.
There were so many different trees on this walk.  I would like to have a book about trees and come back on this walk and try to identify as many as I can...
It really was a beautiful day, this was a field which just looked so tempting that I had to take a photo through the fencing... it reminded me of "The Wizard of Oz", the grass was so green, it didn't look real!  Normally, the grass in the winter just goes brown... and look at that blue sky!

Panola Mountain also has all the passenger jets flying over to the Atlanta airport!

We thought we had enough time to get around this lake but the lake was bigger than we thought...are we going to make it back to our car before dark?

You can always count on Richard to take a good photo of the sun setting.



"Son, look at this tree, go over there and let Richard take  a funny elbow picture of you".  I love it when people do what I tell them to do!

There!  We made it!   The lake was pretty and I can see that the trail will  be really nice in the Spring and Summer...but I really love the walks over Arabia, so we think we will leave this trail for others to enjoy!
So thankful that we were able to get this walk in, we think that we walked for almost four miles! It was about 75 degrees on Thursday afternoon, but after the rain we had today...it is expected to be 33 degrees tomorrow morning!  That is what our weather is like in Georgia, you never know what to expect...pay attention to the forecast but hope for the best.  Kind of like life itself, isn't it?

And hey, I don't know what made me think of this gorilla walking upright but have you seen it?   It's a really amazing sight for me... we have a very nice area for gorillas at Zoo Atlanta, but I never once in all the years of observing them saw any of them stand up and walk like this one.  Fascinating to me...



And I wrote about Willie B., our famous gorilla who was born free but lived most of his life at the zoo in Atlanta, back on Nov. 2, 2011, if you would like to read it, here is the link to do so:    http://georgiagirlwithanenglishheart.blogspot.com/2011/11/willie-b-and-me.html
 

20 comments:

  1. I enjoyed the walk, as usual, but the gorilla was what will stick in my mind this time. Like you, I hadn't seen it before. Remarkable!

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    1. This has been a huge hit on Youtube! I saw this on Youtube last year but I would love to go to this place in Kent and see that gorilla standing upright! (I love E. Sussex and Kent, the two counties where I have spent the most time...)
      I don't know what made me think of it...all the walking I am doing?

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  2. Awww, how sweet and smart of him not to want to get his hands wet or cold!! A fascinating creature and it's kind of surreal when he stands upright... Oh yes, and thank you for the trip to Panola Mountain :) It looks like a lovely place and with four hours of walking, you certainly got your cardio in for the day!

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    1. Dear Jane,
      Oh, I wish I had four hours! No, we walked four miles and it took us a little over one and half hours but we stopped for coffee and also stopped to see some of the views and wildlife, we were going faster than some of those on bikes!
      Glad you liked the upright gorilla too, there were other videos but I like the one with ending in the snow.

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  3. Thank you for taking us along on another one of your lovely walks! If we were in a competition about walking posts, you'd surely be the winner by now :-) And I love it that you do this as a family, after work, to counterbalance being inside an office all day. Nothing better! As for gorillas - I must admit all primates spook me somewhat, and when I am at the zoo, I usually pass their houses very quickly. Maybe I find they are too similar to us... or we to them.

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    1. HA! Now you see why I had to buy new walking shoes! We get C. to walk with us when he can but he is usually working or at school, but sometimes we walk as a family.
      Do you remember that I wrote about Willie B., the gorilla who was born free but stayed for 40 years at the Zoo? I added this at the bottom of my post. When you have a close encounter like that at a young age, you never forget it. Were the young boys acting more human or was it the ape?

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    2. Yes, Kay, I remember your post from November. This is how you can link to a post (or anywhere else on the internet):
      First, go to the blog post you want to link to, and copy the URL from your browser with CTRL + C.
      Then, type what you want to write in your new post, and when you get to the point where you want to put the link, type this: < a href = " CTRL + V " > followed by the word you want to act as the clickable link, and end with < / a >

      Now, it is important that you do NOT type any spaces between the symbols and letters, with one exception: there has to be a space between the "a" and the "href".

      Really not difficult - even I manage to do that :-)

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    3. ...and just to show you what I mean, here is the link to your post about Willie B., typed (without the spaces):

      < a href = " http://georgiagirlwithanenglishheart.blogspot.com/2011/11/willie-b-and-me.html " > here < / a >

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  4. Aside from the jets flying over, it looks SO peaceful and quiet. Beautiful place! Oh and I <3 gorillas!!! The video is captivating!

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    1. Dear Audrey,
      I do wish those jets could go elsewhere, but I think it was a busy time, just that time we were there...
      So glad that you like gorillas too! I wrote about Willie B. from Zoo Atlanta on Nov. 2, 2011, if you would like to read about him.)
      Thanks for your comment!

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    2. I just read the post and I love it. I studied Animal Behavior & Primatology and Jane Goodall is my idol. It's so sad to think of such intelligent animals living in a small cage with zero stimulation. Breaks my heart. I'm glad Willie B got a little taste of freedom before his passing. He deserved that after bringing delight to his many fans. Can you imagine how he must have felt just touching a leaf after being confined for so long? I love the person who made that happen for him.

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    3. I am glad you liked it. Our son was able to enjoy the gorillas in the more natural habitat and not locked up in a small cage like when I was young!
      Have you ever read the book "Reason For Hope" by Jane Goodall? I might have to write about it! I really like her too!

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  5. Another set of beautiful photos on one of your lovely walks.

    I had never seen that gorilla video. That is really amazing. And quite odd!

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    1. Dear Martha,
      Can't wait until all the trees start to show that lovely shade of light green!

      Glad you liked the gorilla too. I wonder why he stands upright, but the others don't?

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  6. Beatiful pictures! I guess you had a fun walk with your family.

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    1. Thank you so much for your visit! I have a good friend whose Father is from Poland...if she were at home, I would call her for some Polish words to type on here!
      So I will just say, thank you and please visit me again!

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  7. Hi Kay, you live in a beautiful place! Great photos as well. I'm just off out for a walk myself with my dog - nowhere near as scenic as your walk though. Loved the gorilla film.

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  8. Hey Sulky Kitten!
    Glad I found you! We are just off for a walk too, to Stone Mountain! I expect you will see some photos of our walk...we don't get out much, but when we do, we go photo-crazy!

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  9. I enjoyed my walk and the setting sun. Looks like I must have flown over there too as I have flown in and our of Atlanta a number of times. Small world.

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    1. Hey Barbara!
      Wave down at me the next time you are flying over.
      Your positive vibes will be very welcome!

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