Pic(k) of the Week: Washington W. King Covered Bridge

A historic covered bridge (open to light vehicular and pedestrian traffic) crosses a narrow channel of Stone Mountain Lake.

Stone Mountain Park: DeKalb County, Georgia, USA. 15 November 2023.

The Washington W. King / College Avenue Covered Bridge was designed, engineered, and constructed, in 1891 (at a cost of approximately $2,470), by Washington W. King, the son of a freed slave. It is one of only four remaining structures of the many created and constructed by King. Several members of his extended family were prominent African-American businessmen for decades in multiple Georgia cities.

The covered bridge —using a 'Town Lattice' design that allowed the wooden bridge to flex, expand and contract with the seasons— was built by King in Athens, Georgia, to connect the downtown area with outlying farm lands across the Oconee River.

The bridge served Athens until two severe floods, in 1910 and again in 1963, severely damaged the bridge. Soon thereafter, the covered bridge was replaced with a new concrete and steel crossing, and the original bridge was set aside on the banks of the Oconee River.

In 1965, the Clarke County Commission donated the bridge to the Stone Mountain Memorial Association (SMMA). The bridge was partially disassembled and transported sixty miles to Stone Mountain Park, where it was re-assembled and re-installed atop new cement and granite piers. It now connects the park to Indian Island, a picturesque 17-acre island on Stone Mountain Lake.

— Stone Mountain Park.
— Decaturish.

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Pic(k) of the Week: Verboten off-piste

A trail heads off into an autumnal woodland. A trace of light kisses the canopy.

But...stay off, a sign cautions.

Nature Preserve Guide Hikes Only.
State Law 12-3-10B
Violators Prosecuted!

Why the ominous warning? The park's brochure reveals the answer:

Because of the rare species of plants that live on Panola Mountain, a guided hike is required to enter the conservation area and go on top of the mountain. While both Stone Mountain and Arabia Mountain are similar geologic features, Panola Mountain has never been quarried, making it one of the most pristine monadnocks in the southeastern United States.

So, respecting the environmental concerns (and the law!), I took this photo from the (legal) Rockdale River Trail, a paved hiker/biker trail that follows the South River for several miles in Rockdale County, Georgia (an outlying suburban and exurban county in the greater Atlanta metropolitan area).

But, oh, off-piste looked inviting!

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Pic(k) of the Week: South River at base of Panola Mountain

A bend in the South River, as seen from a pedestrian bridge at the base of Panola Mountain.

Panola Mountain State Park: Rockdale County, Georgia, USA.24 October 2023.

Linger awhile.

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Pic(k) of the Week: Tree in morning marsh

Morning light anoints a dead tree, yet standing on marshy ground.

Seminary Wood in Legacy Park: City of Decatur, Georgia, USA.
3 October 2023.

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Pic(k) of the Week: Wasted Potential @Porchfest

The trombonist for Wasted Potential brass band performs during Oakhurst Porchfest, in Decatur, Georgia, USA. 14 October 2023.

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What is Porchfest?

In 2007, Lesley Greene and Gretchen Hildreth had an idea in Ithaca, New York: What if we had an afternoon when porches all over the neighborhood became stages and everyone just meandered from yard to yard, listening, hanging out, and connecting/reconnecting with their neighbors? Porchfest, the ultimate grassroots music festival, was born. 100% resident owned and operated, it’s been going and growing every year since. And in that time, other neighborhoods all around the country have taken the model and run with it.

The Oakhurst neighborhood in the city of Decatur, Georgia, launched its own Porchfest in October, 2015. The success that materialized that year — more than 130 performances in four hours — took us all by surprise and culminated in what Georgia's music tourism bureau called 'very likely the most diverse lineup of any festival' in the state. And, now, on Saturday, October 14, 2023. from noon to 7pm, we'll do it all again: 210 performances on porches and lawns, all around Oakhurst.

— Oakhust Porchfest

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Who are Wasted Potential?

Wasted Potential Brass Band is Atlanta's pop up party starter. Powered by tuba goodness, this brass band got their start playing on the streets of Decatur, Georgia. WPBB features a second line street beat, southern horn section, blues vocals and sousaphone as bass. Find them in Atlanta, Georgia, playing festivals and bars. They're what fun sounds like.

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