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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Gibbs Gardens – Ball Ground, GA
Located just an hour north of Atlanta, Gibbs Gardens opened to the public a few years ago. However, not everything is newly planted. Jim Gibbs, founder of well-known Gibbs Landscaping, spent over 30 years creating these gardens on his 300-acre property.
We arrived during the early part of November to see the fall colors. Volunteers directed us to a parking spot and we entered the welcome center and gift shop. Presenting the tickets we bought online, another volunteer gave us a map and told us to head to the Japanese gardens. During the walk, we passed the Waterlily Gardens and Monet Bridge. (more…)
Central Georgia Day Trip – Jarrell Plantation, Juliette and High Falls State Park
The sunshine was out – the first time in over a week. We had to get outside and do something. We headed down I-75 just about an hour south of Atlanta and did three distinctly different activities.
Jarrell Plantation:
Built in 1847, by John Fitz Jarrell, this plantation survived Sherman’s March to the Sea. As time went on and the family grew, more buildings were added, such as the 1895 House for son, Dick Jarrell and the sawmill in the early 1900’s.
At the visitor center, a 15-minute film describes the history of the plantation. Interestingly enough, one of the descendants continued farming on the land until the 1960’s. Fortunately, the family donated most of the buildings in 1974 to the state of Georgia to show others what plantation life was like.
Surprisingly, it wasn’t the Tara or Seven Oaks type of house. Rather, the original 1847 House was just a one story house for the Jarrell’s and their seven children. The boys slept in the loft upstairs, while the girls had a room and the parents had a room. Later, the porch on the back of the house was enclosed making two rooms and a “honeymoon room” a room for travelers was added by enclosing part of the front porch.
My husband enjoyed that everything, especially the location of each of the buildings, was original. This was unlike Oconaluftee Mountain Farm Museum at the Cherokee, NC entrance of the Smokey Mountain National Park, where the buildings had been moved their from elsewhere in the area. Here, we could see how the house was built on the highest part of the property in order to get the best breeze.
