Black Rock Mt. State Park

What a great place to spend the summer! This Georgia state park is on the side of a mountain reaching 3600 feet high. The air is normally 10 degrees cooler than down in the city of Clayton, and there is nearly always a cool breeze coming from the valley. Sunsets vary as the mountains turn a blue-gray in the evening mist. Mornings are foggy, smoky, and cool. There is always a cloud hanging in one of the green valleys below. There has been a good deal of rain each day before today. The forecast suggested scattered showers and a high of 90 degrees. It won't get that warm up here. Since the humidity is far less than I'm used to in Florida, the sun feels strong and harsh, not muggy. But the hiking has been great. There are two trails in the park. The first is relatively mild and only 2.2 miles. The second is a little more strenuous. There's a healthy elevation change of about 500 feet overthe course of the 7.2 mile loop. I did the first loop in the morning and the second in the afternoon. Morning hike dry. Afternoon hike very wet. But the woods here gorgeous.
I have signed up for 3 months as a camphost. I share the duties with a couple from Panama City Fl. They have been extremely helpful and friendly as I learn my way around the park. The ranger is really bright young woman who has a huge workload and handles all the varied responsibilities courteously and efficiently. Just managing the campers and volunteers seem a chore, not to mention all of the paid staff. Linked to the many other state parks of Georgia, this is northernmost, 10 minutes from NC. I'll have the 4th of July weekend off, so I'm hoping to get some more hiking in as well as a motorcycle tour of the area. I'm really happy about spending the summer here, and though missing my friends in Tampa enormously, the environment here is so appealing. Unfortunately I am having some issues with photo uploads to this site, but to get something posted soon. I can email pictures if anyone would like. More later...