For Amber’s birthday last fall, we went camping in Cloudland Canyon. We camped in the walk-in campground which was nice and secluded, but full due to the season.
Here’s our first day’s hike, around the West rim loop.
On the second day, we went to see the waterfalls and the overlooks near the park office.
Here are some photos.
In October, we usually head to North Georgia to hike, enjoy the nice weather and see some fall colors. This time we booked a room at the Len Foote Hike Inn which can only be reached by hiking 5 miles from the Amicalola Falls State Park.
Here is our hike path from Amicalola Falls to the Inn.
On our return the next day, we decided to take the Appalachian Approach trail which connects Amicalola Falls to Springer Mountain.
It was an easy introduction for our trip to LeConte Lodge in the spring.
The Bear hair Gap Trail starts in Vogel State Park and takes you to the Blood Mountain Wilderness.
Do go on the half-mile spur trail for a nice view of the lake.
This loop trail requires driving on Forest Service Road 42 for a while to get to the trailhead, but the unpaved road is in good condition and the Appalachian trail is always busy.
Basically, the loop consists of sections of the Appalachian and Benton MacKaye trails which crisscross each other a couple of times in this area around Rich Mountain.
A nice loop trail up Blood Mountain is to start on Jarrad Gap trail from Lake Winfield Scott, then go on the Appalachian trail and return to the lake via the Slaughter Creek trail.
Tallulah Gorge State Park would be fun to go kayaking. But even from the rim it’s very pretty in the fall.
Here’s the Tallulah Gorge South Rim Trail.
North Rim Trail:
Trail to Inspiration Point:
Brasstown Bald is the highest peak in Georgia. There’s a short 0.5 mile hike from the parking lot to the summit which we have done more times than I can count. It has really nice views in the fall.
Eight years ago, I wrote about the census statistics for my neighborhood. In that time, I have moved around a bit, though I am back in metro Atlanta now. And there’s a new census out. So let’s look at the 2010 census data for my neighborhood/block.
At the city level, we finally get a breakdown of the Asian numbers. In our city of Milton with a population of 32,661, there are 3,399 Asians (10.4%), out of which 2,258 (6.9%) are Indians.
Of the 11,659 occupied housing units in Milton, GA, 73.9% are owner-occupied. Renters are not that common here. Also, the average household size for owners is 3.01 while for renters is 2.22.
In Fulton county, of 920,581 people, 5.6% are Asian and 2.4% are Indian. African Americans are 43.5%, non-Hispanic Whites 40.8% and Hispanics 7.9%.
In the whole of Atlanta metro area (population: 5,268,860), the housing vacancy rate is 10.5%. Non-Hispanic Whites are 50.7%, African Americans 31.9%, Hispanics 10.4% and Asians 4.8%.
![Paradise Lost & Paradise Regained [Illustrated]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51NfJe8F2NL._SL75_.jpg "Paradise Lost & Paradise Regained [Illustrated]")
For me, the primary election season started with an early July 4 gift from the Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp asking me to submit proof of my citizenship. Strangely, I have actually voted in an election since I registered to vote. According to the letter, my driver license record doesn’t show that I am a citizen, which is true since I last renewed my license before I naturalized as a US citizen. Efficient that I am, I even called Driver Services after becoming a citizen to ask if I needed to do something to update their records, but they said to wait until the next renewal. Thus, I spent my July 4th (slight exaggeration) making copies of my passport to send to the county registrar.
Georgia is a fairly red state and I live in an even redder part of it. So there are a bunch of contests where there are either no Democrats running or just one running unopposed as the likely sacrificial lamb for the November general election. I have a rule about voting against unopposed candidates. I simply write in some name and never vote for anyone running unopposed.
Now on to who is running in the Democratic primaries and who I am voting for tomorrow.
US Senate:
Incumbent: Johnny Isakson, Republican, who’s running for reelection
Democrats running in the primary are R. J. Hadley and Mike Thurmond. While neither of them will likely have much of a chance in the general election, I am voting for Mike Thurmond.
U.S. Representative, District 6:
The incumbent, Tom Price, is running unopposed in the Republican primary and there are no Democratic candidates.
Governor:
There are a bunch of candidates of which the two front-runners are former governor Roy Barnes (who lost his reelection bid in 2002 to current governor Sonny Perdue) and Attorney General Thurbert Baker.
I was planning on voting for Roy Barnes until he came out in support of the Arizona anti-immigrant law. Being an immigrant who has had his share of fuck-ups by USCIS, I am not at all in favor of states causing more problems for immigrants (both legal and illegal). Therefore, I am voting for Thurbert Baker.
Lt Governor:
Incumbent, L.S. Casey Cagle, is running unopposed in the Republican primary while Tricia Carpenter McCracken and Carol Porter.
Since I cannot find a website (or any other info) for McCracken, I am supporting Carol Porter.
Secretary of State:
Gail Buckner, the Democratic candidate in 2006 (who lost badly), is running again. Angela Moore, 3rd in teh crowded 2006 primary, is also running again. Gary Horlacher, the polygraph guy, is the most interesting candidate since he took a lie detector test to start off his campaign. There’s also Georganna Sinkfield.
I met Michael Mills at the start of the campaign season and liked him. So I am going to vote for Michael Mills.
Attorney General:
Ken Hodges and Rob Teilhet are running in the Democratic primary. I’ll vote for Rob Teilhet.
State School Superintendent:
None of the Democratic candidates, Beth Farokhi, Joe Martin, or Brian Westlake seem to be for education reform and testing, so I am in a quandary. I’ll likely vote for Brian Westlake.
Commissioner Of Labor:
Terry Coleman and Darryl Hicks are the two Democrats running. I’m planning to vote for Darryl Hicks.
Unopposed Statewide Races:
J.B. Powell is the only Democrat running for Commissioner of Agriculture while Mary Squires is the only one running for Commissioner of Insurance. Similarly, Keith Moffett is the only Democratic candidate for Public Service Commissioner, District 2 Eastern.
As is my practice, I’ll write in some random name in these races.
Georgia House District 46:
Paul Kennedy is the only Democratic candidate, so I won’t vote for him.
Georgia Senate District 56:
There is no Democratic candidate, but I have seen lots of signs for the three Republican candidates.
Fulton County Commission:
Commissioners for Districts 1 and 2 are elected at large in Fulton county. The Democratic candidates John Eaves (Dist 1) and Robert Pitts (Dist 2) are running unopposed in their primaries. Thus, I’ll write in someone random.
I live in District 3 where the only candidate for County Commissioner is Liz Hausmann running in the Republican primary.
Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol by Brad Bird
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