Delta to Stone Mountain, Georgia – 14 March 2023

We moved to Georgia and stayed at the Stone Mountain Park, Georgia for the next 6 days. As usual, we diligently plugged the address of the campsite into our GPS before setting off. After a couple of hours driving (should have only taken us about 2 hours) we realized we were nowhere near the campsite. Turns out RV Trip Wizard had the wrong address assigned to the RV park and we ended up travelling an additional 2.5 hours!!! That day ended up being the longest we have ever travelled.

Well in spite of the long haul to get here, it was well worth it. The park was really beautiful. Huge park with its own train, museum, amusement park, many campsites, couple of resorts, sky walk and golf course. Stone Mountain is the world’s largest sheer granite. It was formed by an upwelling of Magma within the earth’s crust and has been uncovered over millions of years of erosion. The 9 story high Stone Mountain weighs over a trillion pounds and covers 583 acres. Only about a third of it is visible. The mountain is engraved with a sculpture of well known people from the Confederacy: Jefferson Davis, president of the Confederate states, and generals Robert E. Lee and Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson. The carving was done by Gutzon Borglum who was also responsible for Mt Rushmore. The carving is in fact larger than Mt Rushmore. Work on the Carving began in 1915 and was completed in 1972. Facing the carving stands Memorial Park and around the park are monuments to each of the seven confederate states – Georgia, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, Tennessee, Florida and South Carolina. We were planning on doing the skywalk but they jacked their prices up to $39 per person which we felt was a little steep to do a 7 minutes ride, so we gave that one a miss.

There were several trails leading off the campground so we took Jax on one of the less arduous ones which was the Muscogee trail around Stone Mountain lake. This trail was named in honor of the Muscogee Creek Indians who once inhabited the lands surrounding Stone Mountain.

After a torrential downpour, we decided to explore nearby Atlanta. It turned out to be a lovely sunny day so we walked along the popular Beltline trail. This is a 22 mile paved walk around the core of Atlanta, that was the brainchild of an architectural student Ryan Gravel. It involved the redevelopment of an abandoned and underused rail corridor creating a a new public transit system combined with economic development and connectivity strategies. We took the Eastside trail which was packed with walkers, joggers, cyclists, skate boarders, and scooter riders. Lots of people were walking their dogs which Jax was happy about. The trail wound past many condos and new developments, parks, restaurants, shops, flea market, food halls etc. We saw all sorts of sculptures, graffiti and other works of art along the way. We stopped for a drink at Pour Taphouse. Interesting concept – you bring your credit card, get a bracelet, select a drink from one of their 48 options, pour … drink and drink and then pay. You can pour as much as you like – I just tasted a bunch of different drinks before settling on a Watermelon Sour Beer which was certainly not something I would have tried before. Derek, in the meantime, was in his element trying out a few new brews so I went to the Krog street market to buy lunch. I got my fill of a nice “super” veggie bowl filled with beets, quinoa, corn, sweet potatoes and other yummy stuff. Derek enjoyed quite the extensive Bento Box. While we were drinking and eating, we met and chatted with a couple from Chattanoga who were there for the wife’s birthday, which was a nice distraction.

Having been immersed into the whole civil rights and slavery from the past few States, we decided to visit centre of civil and human rights in Atlanta. It was very moving. Of course lots of info on the civil rights movement and Martin Luther King who was born and raised in Atlanta and also where he and his wife are buried. Atlanta is known as “the cradle of the Civil Rights Movement.’’ From 1940 to 1970, the city became the epicenter for the movement as black leaders fought for voting rights, access to public facilities and institutions, and economic and educational opportunities for African Americans. Besides learning the history and struggle of the African Americans, the centre also highlighted the many historical and modern day dictators and the injustices they have inflicted upon humans. Sadly prejudice and evil has not been completely eradicated as the struggle is still evident against race, religion, age, sexual orientation and gender.

After the centre we popped across the way to the World of Coca-Cola. Its crazy to think it’s been 125 years since Coke was invented. Originally invented as medicine by Pharmacist Pemberton, it was purchased by Atlanta businessman Asa Candler, who recognized its potential, for the princely sum of $2300. Asa did a phenomenal job in marketing the brand and today soda lovers around the world enjoy Coca‑Cola products 1.7 billion times every single day. That’s about 19,400 beverages every second. In the museum you can view the secret vault, where the age old secret formula for Coca-Cola is kept under lock and key. We also got to taste some of the 100 coke flavours in the taste lounge which was fun and kept us going for the rest of the afternoon. Didn’t realize Stoney ginger beer was one of their products.

Driving back to our campsite we passed Atlanta’s Olympic Torch Tower. It stands approximately 120 feet high alongside the busy I-75/85 connector just down the road from where the then-Centennial Olympic Stadium served as the main site of the 1996 Summer Games. It was famously lit by Muhammad Ali during the opening ceremonies. It was originally an observation deck and visitors paid to climb the stairs for a view of downtown Atlanta. Now closed to the public, the exterior of the torch tower has undergone several makeovers. Currently, it is white with the “flame” still permanently ablaze in gold, resembling the school colors of nearby Georgia Tech.