A Morning in Savannah, GA
After spending the day at the Okefenokee Swamp Park near Waycross, we headed to the Georiga coast to continue our trip. We spent the night in Tybee Island, followed by…
Okefenokee Swamp Park – Waycross, GA
Did you know that Georgia has seven natural wonders? One of these is the Okefenokee Swamp at the southern end of the state. The name derives from the Native American term “Land of the Trembling Earth” which is exactly the sensation one would feel when stepping on the soggy masses of soil deposits.
Consisting of 438,000 acres of wetlands (or roughly 650 square miles), the Okefenokee swamp remains the largest blackwater swamp in North America. The black water comes from tannins on the bark and leaves that drop into the water. However, if you scoop up water in your hand, the water is more of a dirty orange color.
The Okefenokee Swamp lies in a remote area of Georgia with few roads or cities nearby. The Okefenokee Wildlife Refuge has a main entrance about 11 miles from Folkston (pop. 4,500) and a smaller entrance at the Stephen C. Foster State Park about 17 miles from Fargo (pop. 250). Both areas offer boat rentals, guided boat tours, walking trails, and camping.
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Sealife lanterns
Winter Lantern Festival – Atlanta, GA
We usually try to see Christmas lights every holiday season. Favorites include Atlanta Botanical Gardens and Fantasy in Lights at Callaway Gardens. This year, we tried out a new event – the Winter Lantern Festival.
Lantern festivals originated in China thousands of years ago. Over the past decades, the spectacular display of hand-crafted silk designs now illuminated by LED lights has spread to the United States. Atlanta welcomed the Global Winter Wonderland in 2013. Now you can catch the annual Atlanta BeltLine Parade and the newer Sandy Springs Lantern Parade.
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Booth Western Art Museum – Cartersville, GA
For years, we’ve heard about the Booth Western Art Museum, but only recently made a visit. Wow – it is impressive!
And I’m not necessarily a fan of Western art. I tend to favor the impressionists such as Monet, Renoir, Pissarro, and Sisley. However, the paintings, sculptures, and movie posters drew me in. Who knew that Cartersville, just 45 minutes northwest of Atlanta, boasted such a great museum in this specific art genre?
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