Arabia Mountain x 3

What could be better than climbing Arabia Mountain last weekend?  How about this:  my husband calls me on his way home from work on Friday and says, "Would you like to go to Arabia the minute I get home and climb the mountain?  What do you say?"   What would I say?  Are you kidding me?  You know I said "Yes, let's go!"

Here's the wonderful thing, we climbed it on Friday evening.  We went BACK on Saturday and climbed it AGAIN (this time a little later and saw the sunset from the top.)   And then, we went again today (Sunday) and not only did we walk up the mountain, but remember that boardwalk at the base of the mountain?  We walked across the way there and ended up walking about six miles .  We kept trying to find a covered bridge which EVERY SINGLE PERSON that we asked told us that there was no such thing. We saw it on a map of the area, and now that we are back home, we think we can find it when we go back.  (Yes, we tend to forget little things like maps!)  Let's hope we can find all those folks who told us it didn't exist!

The yellow daisies were still there, even though some had gone to seed and we enjoyed seeing tiny birds flitting down to enjoy those seeds! (We can identify most birds in this area, but the sun was so bright, it was hard to see them.)  We were very excited to see something that we have enjoyed at Stone Mountain before, it is a beautiful wildflower called a beautyberry! What a perfect name for it! Just after I took a few photos of the beautyberry, we walked to another boardwalk which is over a bit of woodland stream and we walked on the path which goes to Arabia Lake.  We saw some movement on the trail, and just ahead of us were three deer!  Now, deer are very plentiful in Georgia, so we knew that there would be lots of them in this protected area, but we still didn't expect to see them!

These photos show what we saw, but I just wish you could hear the calls of the birds, smell the fresh air with the scent of pines, and feel that warm hard rock beneath your feet.  You can imagine it, can't you? Ready to see Arabia again?  Yes, let's go!

Why are we walking so much?  The weather is FANTASTICALLY beautiful.  It is my opinion that there is about a week in April and a week or so in October that, in Georgia anyway, are absolutely PERFECT.  So during this brief period of time, you must get outside as much as possible.  We are trying our best, not easy when you both work and both on different schedules, but we manage it somehow.
Just a note about the signs that I photographed.  The one with the scientific name for the yellow daisy... I have seen two different names for it, so I wonder which one is correct? Could the sign be in error? I found a different name for it and also it is mentioned in one of of the comments on my last post. Which is correct?  Interesting thought, what if the sign IS wrong.  Can someone tell me the best way to tell the Arabia Mountain Alliance?  Please could someone outside this country let them know for me, if that is the case.  I don't want them to have any hard feelings against me, and not let me come back!  Also, we laughed but we shouldn't have, that you actually have to tell folks not to drive golf balls off Arabia Mountain...
Hope everyone has a lovely week and is able to get outside as much as possible.


Davidson-Arabia Mountain Nature Preserve
One of the most remarkable and unusual hikes in the Atlanta area, the trails across the exposed granite hills, wetlands, and pine/oak forests at Arabia Mountain take you back nearly a half-billion years in time. Arabia Mountain is a monadnock, an isolated outcrop of exposed rock, near Lithonia (Greek for “place of rock”). In 1973 the Davidson Mineral Company donated the property to DeKalb County for a park. In 2006 Arabia Mountain, Panola Mountain, and surrounding areas were recognized by the National Park Service as the Arabia Mountain National Heritage Area.