After 50 years of rambling around Georgia, I still come upon natural areas for the first time whose splendor leaves me breathless. Last weekend was one of those moments, when I stood atop Lookout Mountain in Walker County in northwest Georgia and gazed down at McLemore Cove below us.
McLemore Cove is an amazingly beautiful valley that lies between Lookout Mountain and Pigeon Mountain. With its pastoral farmland surrounded by lush mountain forests and steep mountain ridges, it is one of the most beautiful, peaceful places I’ve ever seen in Georgia.
I had explored the valley itself but had not seen it from on high, as a soaring eagle would see it. My vantage point was from an overlook in the rugged Zahnd Wildlife Management Area atop the eastern edge of Lookout Mountain. The fall leaf color made the view even more majestic.
Now, the view of McLemore Cove is on my list of most favorite mountain vistas in Georgia. There’s something about the sweeping views from mountaintops that fills me with awe and wonder. Georgia is fortunate to have dozens of such vistas.
Some of my other favorites include the glorious views from Brasstown Bald in Union County, Georgia’s highest peak; Rabun Bald in Rabun County, the state’s second-highest peak; Black Rock Mountain State Park in Rabun County; Cloudland Canyon State Park in Dade County; Amicalola Falls State Park in Dawson County; Mount Yonah in White County; Preachers Rock at Woody Gap in Lumpkin County; Hogpen Gap in Union County; Stone Mountain in DeKalb County, and others.
A special vista is from Dowdell’s Knob in Franklin D. Roosevelt State Park on Pine Mountain in Middle Georgia. During his many visits to Georgia, Roosevelt went to Dowdell’s Knob and sat and gazed at the peaceful valley below, seeking solitude and serenity as he guided the nation through the dark days of the Great Depression and World War II.
IN THE SKY: From David Dundee, Tellus Science Museum astronomer: The South Taurid Meteor Shower peaks at about 15 meteors per hour this weekend — in the east after dark. The shower will continue for about another two weeks.
The moon will be last quarter on Sunday (Nov. 5). Mercury is low in the west just after sunset. Venus rises out of the east a few hours before sunrise. Jupiter rises out of the east at sunset. Saturn is in the south just after dark.
Charles Seabrook can be reached at charles.seabrook@yahoo.com.
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