Kayaking Lake Nottely with Bill and Nancy

 

Blairsville, Georgia (High 89, low 68)

We have had some rain the past few days, but fortunately it didn’t ruin our kayaking plans.  Unfortunately, the temperatures this week are going to be pretty warm and even a prediction of 90 degrees one day.   We haven’t seen that high of temperature since we’ve been here. I hope the heat wave doesn’t last long.  Fortunately, we’re still having cool nights and we can open our windows overnight and enjoy cool mornings.

The weather forecast yesterday was a little iffy with  brief showers popping up here and there.  There was nothing severe and no lightning around.   We debated back and forth with Bill and Nancy, but we finally decided to drive out to Lake Nottely and if it was raining, we could at least see the pretty lake.

When we got there, it looked fine, so we inflated our kayaks and carried them down the steep embankment to the lake.  We launched by the swimming area, so there was some sand, but at the water line, we ended up in mucky red clay.

 

Lake Nottely is a beautiful mountain lake formed by another of the TVA built dams.  This dam is no where near as pretty as the Hiawassee Dam in nearby Murphy, NC.   If you missed that post, you can see it HERE.

The lake as just as pretty though, with the same deep turquoise and green colors.

With the exception of the beach area, the rest of the shorelines were very rocky.   Red clay and rocks.

I discovered some unusual pink rocks.  Al missed them and I’m not sure if Bill and Nancy saw them either as they were in a different area when I spotted them.

There were a lot of pretty islands to explore. 

There are not shortage of rocks in north Georgia.

Bill and Nancy

I thought this tree looked interesting with the mountains in the background.

Love the pretty clouds.

 

One minute it was cloudy, and the next it was sunny.

 

 

 

 

dueling photographers

 

Nancy really knows how to relax!  I had to laugh when she would tell Bill  “take me over there.”   It would be so much easier to take pictures if you had a chauffeur.    (hear that Al)

There were some beautiful homes along the lake.

This was a nice boathouse for the pontoon.  That is part of the dam in the background.

interesting trim around the deck.

Love the blue sky and white puffy clouds

 

There were a few boats pulling skiers, but overall the boat traffic was light.  I’m sure that would be different on the week-end. 

The water was amazingly warm.  I’m guessing it might have been 85 degrees….at least on the surface.   I could have actually gotten in and I don’t get in cold water.

 

The lake was very pretty and the scenery was amazing, but it confirmed to Al and I that we aren’t really lake people.   We very much prefer kayaking in the ocean or rivers, because there is more to see.

We might take the kayaks out again to see the fall foliage, but then again, it might be too chilly by then.   :)

St Marks National Wildlife Refuge

St Marks
St. Marks NWR, is located 25 miles south of Tallahassee along the Gulf Coast of Florida. It has a lot of salt marshes, freshwater swamps, pine forests and lakes, and is a wildlife haven. There is a nice boat launch area and miles of trails.  It’s a great place to bird watch and in the fall there are thousands of migrating Monarch Butterfly’s.
Today we were supposed to be watching the Whooping Cranes and the ultra lights make a pass over St Marks, but they couldn’t fly this morning due to the wind and as it turned out,we were in the wrong spot anyway.
After we realized we wouldn’t be seeing them we decided to spend some time at St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge.  It’s a huge park with a lot of wildlife. It was very cold this morning and the ponds were frozen over.


There were a lot of birds.





Pretty scenery

St Marks Lighthouse



It was cold and we were bundled up good!




After we left St Marks we went over to Wakulla Springs State Park to watch the Manatees. I took a lot of pictures and will get them posted soon.  It was beautiful there too.

Kolomoki Mounds State Park

Blakely, Georgia
This is in the southwest part of Georgia, very near the Alabama border.
It was a beautiful fall day with clear blue skies and temps in the mid 70’s. We made a day trip to this park which is 80 miles from our house.

The park contains some old Indian Burial Grounds.


This park is an archaeological site as well as a beautiful campground and day use park. There were 7 earthen mounds within the park that were built between 250-950 A.D. by the Swift Creek and Weeden Island Indians. The mounds include Georgia's oldest great temple mound, two burial mounds and four ceremonial mounds. The park's museum is partially situated inside an excavated mound, providing an unusual setting for viewing artifacts and a film. There is a small fee to visit the museum which is well worth it. We went to the museum the last time we were here, so skipped it this time. It was very interesting and worth the time and price.
This is a very pretty park with lots of pine trees and a pretty lake.




Boat Dock - no motor boats with more than 10hp motor



The fall foliage is just starting to come out here in south Georgia.

Beautiful grounds with lots of fragrant pine trees.

Beautiful trails

Beautiful campsites, some on the lake

Site 18

It is not on the lake but backs up to the woods. Lots of privacy and a gray water dump place right on the site. Very convenient. We think this is our favorite site. Georgia doesn’t allow you to reserve any particular site. You reserve a spot, but it’s first come, first serve. We prefer the way Florida does so we know we can get the site we want, but Georgia doesn’t work this way.
site 15



site 19

site 75-campground host spot
This was the best site. Sewer connection, beautiful view of the lake, good chance to hook up satellite and away from the rest of the sites. I don’t know if you can get it if there is no CG host working there (like today), but it would be worth a shot.


site 4 – waterfront

lots of pretty waterfront sites but most are like double spots. Great if you are with a friend.


There were also several long pull through sites.

This is a pretty park and not real crowded considering it is perfect camping weather right now. There are 24 campsites with electric and water. There was the one camphost with with electric, water and sewer. There were plenty of sites that a larger rig could get into.

There were also 2 large group shelters which looked very nice.

View of campground from the lake.



Oh, and we saw a black bear…..
or at least we thought it looked like a bear around 1000 feet away. After I zoomed in it with my camera I discovered this.

Sure looked like a bear until I got a closer look!
The park has a nice day use are with pavillions and also a swimming pool. It's a little too cool now but I'm sure it's popular in the summer.



On the way home we discovered a house with these beautiful Zinna’s lining their driveway on both sides. They grow well here. I have been planting tons of them each spring and they flower like crazy until the frost gets them. I never have a shortage of cut flowers.