Black Rock Mountain Oct 6, 2020

Time for a picnic.  Today it will be at Black Rock Mountain State Park in Mountain City, Georgia.  I've said it before...one of the great things about living here in Seneca is that there are so many beautiful places within a short distance.  Black Rock is less than an hour's ride away.  We've gone to the top of the mountain before, but never really stopped to see what the park had to offer.  Today we did.

The elevation of Black Rock is 3640 feet, making it Georgia's highest  state park.  Here at the overlook, the elevation is 3388 feet. The

park, located on the Eastern continental divide is 1743 acres.  The mountain is named for its dark colored cliffs. 

Five mountain ridges, each over 3000 feet and four states can be seen from here.

...except when fog settles in the mountain valleys.

At the campground office, it is obvious that there is a master woodcarver nearby.

...and one with skills that can turn a tree stump into a work of art.

Behind the trading post is a small outdoor amphitheater.

                                                  

Oh, look who's making her debut on stage here today....

We worked up an appetite after that thrilling show, so we went to find a place for our picnic.  Bob found a sign for the lake, so we headed there.  The road was unpaved and extremely bumpy in parts where the rain had made potholes, but it was worth the bouncing around.

There is a trail and boardwalk around the lake.

and we were very lucky to be the only ones there.

All of a sudden, a flock of mallards flew in and landed.  I wasn't able to get to my camera quickly enough to catch their flight in, but it was a pretty sight to see.

With the crystal clarity of the water, it's easy to understand why the ducks would want to visit here, too.