DAY 5The next morning Dad departed for SC. Rather than climbing the ridge again, he tried the north entrance to the campground off County Road 354 and reported that it was an easier way into the campground. But I wasn’t in a hurry to get home but rather planned to spend a little time exploring the park. So after breakfast I crossed back over the little lake at the campground, Lake Delanor. On the opposite shore from the campground is a small older building surrounded by old stonework columns, and further around the lakeshore were several cabins. These looked like relics from the CCC days and I later found this is indeed the case.
Back at the park office on top of the ridge, I saw a troop of boy scouts getting ready to hike part of the Pine Mountain Trail. I talked with one of the scouts and he said they were getting in shape to go out to the Philmont Boy Scout Ranch in New Mexico this summer.
Franklin D. Roosevelt State Park is not only a state park but also a
National Historic Landmarkfor several reasons. FDR not only sought solace on this mountain but he also was instrumental in creating the park, originally called Pine Mountain State Park.
Hey, here’s another of those CCC statues. Turns out an organization by the name of the
National New Deal Preservation Association has erected 63 of these statues across 39 states. The NNDPA’s mission is to identify, document, and preserve the arts, literature, crafts, structures, and environmental projects created by FDR’s New Deal programs. I wonder if the men and women who sought refuge from the Great Depression in the Works Projects Administration and the Civilian Conservation Corps had any clue how long their creations would last or how loved they would be. I’ll bet this creation, currently the park office, was particularly popular in its earlier days as I read it was originally a tavern.
If you visit FDR State Park, be sure to walk around behind the park office.
One doesn’t expect to see mountains south of Atlanta, but this ridge is part of the Appalachian mountain range. Pine Mountain forms a linear mountain running from the northeast to the southwest. It towers above the adjacent terrain giving one a beautiful view from its crest. Note the old style coin-operated viewers.
Here’s a panorama of three photos stitched together. Unfortunately it was a cloudy day so this doesn't do the actual view much justice.
From the park office I took a short walk along the Pine Mountain Trail.
And this is what geologists call a bearded boulder … just kidding of course.
Another beautiful view from a rock outcrop along the trail.
When I returned to the park office I couldn’t help but take a closer look at this historic item. I can just hear a kid nowadays marveling at the thought of using a pay phone. It was odd to see the housing left behind while the phone itself had been removed.
It was time to move on so I continued along Pine Mountain Road towards Warm Springs. This overlook has a good view of Lake Franklin. This lake is part of this largest park in Georgia.
Further down the road I came to the turnoff to Dowdell’s Knob.
This Knob was one of FDR’s favorite places, one where he could think, relax, and contemplate the view during the stressful times of his presidency. As usual, the information plaques were an interesting read.
I can see why FDR loved this place. What a view! This is only a small piece of it. On the rocks in front of my camper one has a 270 degree view that extends for miles across the George countryside.
FDR had a stone grill built on the knob so he and any guests could picnic while enjoying the view. The attached plaques says it was filled with concrete to protect it.
If you look closely you can see that the artist of this statue of FDR chose to show his leg braces. Usually DFR went to great pains to conceal his polio stricken disability. But not here. Here he felt free to be himself. And here he sits, forever relaxing and contemplating the view.
Leaving the knob, I continued on along the Pine Mountain Highway (S.R. 190) until I reached the Whitehouse Highway (S.R. 85) where I turned north towards Warm Springs. It was about time to be moving along but I wanted to at least stop at the Little White House before doing so. I got to see the entrance sign …
… an information plaque …
… and the outside of the museum. But I decided I didn’t want to pay $12 to go in when I only had an hour or so and I knew I’d return some day with the DH. The State which operates this site has it set up so one must pay the entry fee to catch even a glimpse of the actual Little White House. So I moseyed on towards home.
As daylight waned I checked the map for a place to stay the night and chose Cheaha State Park.
After I registered I drove up to the campground and spied a deer along the roadside. This is one smart deer. I’d seen hunters parked at every pullout, road entrance, and wide spot in the adjacent Talladega National Forest as I’d driven in but she’s safe here in the park.
Then I drove on around the loop at the top of this tallest mountain in Alabama hoping to find a pullout where I could watch the sunset but there was nary a one. This is the best I could do.
Well, I thought I was going to get the last two days done in one post but I ended up with more photos to share for this day than I thought I would. So I’ll go ahead and post this and, if you’ll bear with me, will post my last day later. And that’ll be it for this trip … I promise!
See below for the last day, Day 6! Cheaha SP to home 
