What do you get when you cross a donkey with a zebra? A zedonk, of course! The owners of the non-profit Chestatee Wildlife Preserve near Dahlonega, Georgia got a big surprise recently when their mama donkey gave birth to her mixed breed foal. Since she was born with striped legs and a solid body, they named the baby Pippi Longstockings. The foal has attributes of both donkey and zebra. Though she sports stripes, she is much less skittish than a zebra and seems not to mind all the attention she is getting.

Can’t see the video above? Click HERE to view on YouTube.

Chestatee Wildlife Preserve is a non-profit wildlife animal rescue operation that is set up like a zoo so that visitors can enjoy their residents. The facility is open to the public 7 days a week Read the rest of this entry »

Mesmerizing. From across the gallery, Monet’s 42-foot painting undulated. Soft pink blossoms reflected on the indigo pond, rippling where blue-green lily pads broke the surface. Closer, the illusion of movement was replaced by one of depth. Rosy red lilies floated on water so crystalline it seemed I could see clear to the bottom.

Monet's 42-foot long painting of Water Lilies

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“I wonder where that road goes?”

Some insatiable curiosity has always compelled me to take the path less traveled, searching for little known landmarks, attractions, or beautiful vistas that I am certain lie along its route. I simply cannot resist the allure of the unknown. So when I returned from my westbound trek on the Silver Comet Trail the other day and learned that the ruins of an old mill could be seen on the eastern portion of the trail, I knew I could not leave Smyrna, Georgia without investigating further.

The following day I walked east on the Silver Comet, looking for the side path I had been told would lead to the ruins. Perhaps a third of a mile from the Concord Road access I came upon an unmarked narrow asphalt path that descended steeply, snaking through the forest in a series of loop-de-loops that must have been mapped out by a drunken surveyor. At the bottom of the hill the old mill leaned precariously toward Nickajack creek despite steel I-beams bracing what remained of its two-foot thick brick walls.

Concord Woolen Mills Ruin

When Concord Woolen Mills opened in 1847 it was one of the first industrial employers in the county. During the Civil War the mill made Confederate uniforms until it was burned by Sherman’s troops on July 4, 1864. After the war the mill was rebuilt and prospered until 1889, when fire again Read the rest of this entry »

Seems I have a hard time staying in one place for very long. I am on the road again, headed for Chicago to attend two blogging conferences: BlogHer and TravelBlogExchange. As usual, I am wandering a bit. In Smyrna, Georgia (a suburb of Atlanta) I stopped to check out the Silver Comet Trail, the longest paved trail in the U.S. and one that is extremely popular with walkers, bikers, joggers, and roller bladers.

Portion of the trail west of the Concord Road access in Smyrna

The vision for this trail began in 1991, when a group of cycling buddies envisioned a network of off-road trails in and around Atlanta. Each of them had biked off-road trails in other cities and understood how they connected neighborhoods and encouraged healthier lifestyles. Determined to develop this same type of amenity for the Atlanta area, they convinced the Georgia Department of Transportation to purchase miles of abandoned railroad right-of-way for a potential commuter rail corridor and allow interim use as a trail. It was named the Silver Comet Trail in honor of the Silver Comet train, which had carried passengers along this route from 1947 to 1969. Read the rest of this entry »

President Franklin D. Roosevelt nodded at me from his wheelchair on the porch of his favorite retreat in Warm Springs, Georgia.

“Good afternoon, Mr. President,” I said.

“May I inquire where you are from?” he asked.

“Sarasota, Florida.”

“Ah, yes. I have traveled to your part of the country to inspect military installations and harbors to make sure they are ready in the event of war.”

The conversation was surreal. The distinguished, soft-spoken man in the wheelchair looked like every photo of FDR I have ever seen. It felt like I’d stepped into a time machine and been transported back to 1938. He went on to explain that he first came to Warm Springs in 1924 to swim in nearby mineral springs, searching for relief from polio.

Bob Prater portrays FDR on the rear porch of the Little White House

FDR became so enchanted with the area that he built a small vacation home on the side of Pine Mountain while running for president in 1932. Throughout his terms he made many trips to the cottage, which by then had been dubbed the “Little White House.” During these visits he spoke with neighbors to learn about their difficulties, especially during the Great Depression. New Deal policies such as the Rural Electrification Administration, Civilian Conservation Corps, and Tennessee Valley Authority grew out of these conversations. Today the Little White House is one of Georgia’s most popular historic sites. Guests can tour Read the rest of this entry »

It was gray and drizzly on the afternoon I arrived at the Cecil B. Day Butterfly Center in Pine Mountain Georgia. I stepped inside the octagonal glass Conservatory, prepared to be wowed by more than 1,000 butterflies of 50 different species flying freely throughout the enclosed rain forest environment. But nothing was happening; hardly a butterfly was in sight. Staff members explained that butterflies rest in overcast weather.

Glassed-in Conservatory houses Cecil B. Day Butterfly Center at Callaway Gardens

I wandered through the facility, enjoying its tropical plants and waterfalls as I kept one eye peeled for the occasional lethargic butterfly and the other on the leaden sky. As usual, luck was with me. A short time later clouds began to break up and the sun peeked out. Sensing sun-warmed air, the butterflies and moths emerged from hiding. At first just a few fluttered around, then hundreds more rose into the air and began flitting from flower to flower.

One of 50 species of butterfly at Callaway Gardens

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Since I’d opted to extend my stay in Toccoa, I took advantage of the opportunity to visit Traveler’s Rest State Historic Site, located in the Tugaloo Valley just five miles east of town. This 1815 stagecoach inn and plantation house has been completely restored, providing visitors with a glimpse of what it was like to undertake long-distance travel in the first half of the nineteenth century.

Traveler's Rest State Historic Site, Toccoa, Georgia

Following Cherokee trading trails that later became wagon roads, Traveler’s Rest was built to accommodate travelers on the Unicoi Turnpike, a busy thoroughfare connecting the Tugaloo and the Little Tennessee River on the western side of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Although an imposing structure for its day, the inn was anything but luxurious. A common joke was oft repeated about such inns:

During his stay at a crowded inn, a traveler complained to the innkeeper about a dirty rag on the washstand in his room. The innkeeper replied: “Sir, more than a hundred people have used that rag today, but you are the first to complain about it!”

The Joe Brown room, the nicest in the inn, was available for $1 per night – which would equate to about $100 per night today. It was named for Joseph E. Brown, Georgia’s Governor from 1857-1865 and a U.S. Senator from 1880-1891. In 1847, Brown and his new bride spent their honeymoon night in this room. Read the rest of this entry »

My tour of waterfalls seemingly at an end, I spread the map out on my lap and contemplated the best route between Tallulah Falls and Atlanta, Georgia. As I scanned my options I noticed a red dot on the map, not far from my current location. I squinted to make out the small print: Toccoa Falls. Another waterfall! There was no question I would divert to see it.

Toccoa Falls, 186 feet high, is located on the campus of Toccoa Falls College

Upon arriving in Toccoa I stopped by the renovated train station that serves as the area’s Welcome Center to ask directions. My intention was to make a quick stop at the waterfall and then be on my way but the gracious staff convinced me there was much more to see in this tiny town nestled in the foothills of the Southern Appalachian Mountains. With no schedule to adhere to, I decided to investigate what Toccoa had to offer.

I began with the Stephens County Historical Society Museum and the Currahee Military Museum, both also located within the historic railroad depot. In the Historical Society Museum I wandered from exhibit to exhibit, learning about well-known personages connected with Toccoa. I was not surprised to discover that President Franklin D. Roosevelt was among them. Roosevelt’s love affair with Georgia is well known; he often traveled to his vacation home in Warm Springs, Georgia, which became known at the “Little White House.” On one such Read the rest of this entry »

By the time I crossed over into northeast Georgia from the mountains of North Carolina, I was tired. For days, I’d been hiking back country trails, shimmying down river embankments, and clambering over rocky cliff faces in search of waterfalls. But when I rolled into Tallulah Falls, Georgia, I realized there would be no rest on this particular day, as this town’s claim to fame is Tallulah Gorge State Park, home to five major waterfalls.

View of L'Eau d'Or Falls (French for "water of gold"), top of Tempesta Falls, and Hawthorne Cascade and Pool from the north rim of Tallulah Gorge

I stood at the rim and gazed out over the gorge. For thousands of years the Tallulah River has eroded the hard, quartzite rock into a two-mile long, 1,000-foot deep chasm. The river drops nearly 600 feet as it rages through the canyon, forming L’Eau d’Or, Tempesta, Hurricane, Oceana, and Bridal Veil Falls before joining the Chattooga River. Having arrived late in the afternoon, it was too late to get a permit to trek into the very bottom of the gorge, but I could hike the very strenuous Hurricane Falls Loop, descending from one side of the rim and climbing up the opposite side via a series of wooden staircases and a suspension bridge that hovers directly over Hurricane Falls. I considered it for a Read the rest of this entry »