This area is known for several old covered bridges. I had the time to go by the Easley Bridge for a photo.
Along many of the roads in the area, you'll see acres of kudzu. This non-native invasive vine was introduced at the turn of the century to prevent erosion, but quickly grew out of control. It can grow as much as a foot per day, and takes over trees, telephone poles and lines. It completely obscures the objects as it grows, choking out native plants. As kids, we called these large unidentified blobs covered in vine "kudzu creatures." They frequently look like animal shapes. I found a field with some great "kudzu creatures" while driving up a mountain. The road is clear because some people live up it above the overgrown property.
After looking at some of the shapes and blobs, we had the startling realization that one of them is actually a house completely buried in the kudzu. There is a trailer back on the property that is fast becoming obscured, as well. You can see the shape of the end of the house in the picture below. It makes you wonder what else is hidden under the vines.
We encountered this patch of kudzu on the way to Palisades Park, just above Oneonta off of Highway 231. We played at the park as kids, but it has grown quite a bit through the years and now has some very nice facilities, including pavilions, lodges, gazebos, picnic areas and more.
This old stump guards the parking lot.
The park also has a small meditation chapel on the edge of a cliff overlooking the valley. It's a really serene spot. Here's the chapel and the view from it.
There's also a monument to those from this area who fought in the Civil War.
The views are beautiful, but there are some pretty large (and dangerous!) cliffs and rock formations. We scrambled on some of the large rock formations years ago, but now there are actually over 90 mapped climbing routes ranging from 5.4 to 5.12 difficulty and some great cliffs for rappelling. Permits are required to climb, but only cost $2 for a two week pass. This view shows some of the drop.
This was a spot where I climbed around as a child - I remember scrambling down between the rock and the tree.
Bubba explored a few of the paths near the edge of the cliffs, but we didn't bring any climbing gear this trip. Somehow we'll have to make room for it on our next one! I was itching to try out some climbs and rappels. It's a great park, and well worth a visit if you are ever passing through the area.
My grandmother, Bambi, runs the Knit Shop in downtown Oneonta. On Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays her "Knit-wits" gather to knit and socialize. Many of them work on prayer shawls as part of a ministry at one of the local churches. To date, they have knitted and donated over 600 shawls. We always enjoy visiting with these wonderful ladies (and gentlemen!)
My daughter learned to knit several years ago on a visit to the shop. Here's a photo of us both knitting at my grandmother's home from a couple of years ago, just after she learned to knit.
We really enjoy visiting the shop and having 4 generations of women in the family in one place. Here we are:
While Oneonta may not be a hot spot for tourists, if you you ever find yourself in the area then come on down on a Wednesday, Thursday or Friday and you'd be welcome to take a look at yarn, get a free knitting lesson, or just sit and visit for a while and enjoy the Southern hospitality.
Have a great location to visit where you live? Tell us about in in the comments of the post titled: "Survey - Where should we visit?"
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