Hey, looks who’s here: Cocoa Joy! Doesn’t she look great?! She’s smiling and also looking at the camera! On Sunday we hiked to Angel Falls in Rabun County. This photo was taken at base of Angel Falls, which is located at the end of a moderately strenuous one mile hike. We were all pretty hot and in need of water, but I thought Cocoa looked rather good considering she had to jump over at least two sets of fallen trees and tunnel under a couple more. Oh, how ready I am to sing the praises of Dog School 101 again. What a perfect hiking companion she has become. She also had to hike back out another mile. At the end, she played in the water and helped me eat trail mix minus the raisins!

To reach Angel Falls take US441 north out of Tallulah Falls for about 2 miles. Turn on to Old 441 at the Rabun Beach Recreation Area sign. Travel along Old 441 for 2.5 miles and turn left on Lake Rabun Road. Follow the shoreline road around the lake for 4 miles (it is a beautiful drive around one of the top lakes in northeast Georgia) to the Rabun Beach Camping Area #2. Drive to the back of the camping area to the day use area. There is a small 3 dollar parking fee because the area is run by the National Forest Service.

Here’s Cocoa again at Panther Creek Falls. This is the first set of falls you come to and is a great place to sit for a few minutes and cool off beside the spring fed falls. Cocoa waded into the water and just stood there taking in the beautiful surroundings.

Panther Falls is the first falls you come to about 1/2 mile in on the trail that parallels Joe Branch Creek. Both falls are covered with rhododendron canopies.

There’s a park in the city where an old mansion once stood. While the house is long gone, many of the old trees and blooming flowers remain. Here is an early morning photo of an Eastern White Pine with a little bit of the dew still clinging to its needles.

This little Baptist church over looks  a road with very little traffic. I’ve noticed it for years while driving to South Carolina but have never turned off the main road to see it. This past weekend I couldn’t help but stop, especially after seeing storm clouds gathering behind it. A few minutes after I took this photo, clouds swept in completely covering the area and a thunder storm broke loose delivering lots of rain for me to drive through on my trek to Clemson.

I guess if you put a grid over this photo it would turn out to be all wrong, but I really like it. It was taken on the top of Stone Mountain—a place that I enjoy visiting at least once a year. A super tough walk to the top gives way to unbelievable scenery.

These reflecting pools at the top of the mountain capture the best image of all—the sky.

When you live in the city, especially a city like Atlanta, you see the green of summer. No doubt about that. But here there are layers of summer green that can only be enjoyed by being here. Speaking of that: Have you “loved” your north Georgia mountains lately?