Tuesday, November 16, 2021
Providence Canyon State Park
This morning, we drove 40 minutes south of Columbus to Providence Canyon State Park, “Georgia's Little Grand Canyon.” This series of canyons is the glorious result of an ecological disaster caused by the poor farming practices of early settlers to the area.
In the 1820s, farmers clear-cut the forest here to plant crops, plowing the soft soil straight up and down the hillsides. By 1850, erosion had cut ditches five feet deep into the land. Water continued to erode the soil until it reached hard clay at a depth of around 150 feet. Today, the depth barely increases, but the sides of the canyon continue to wash away.
Providence Canyon
We hiked the 2.5-mile long Canyon Loop Trail, plus side trails into Canyons 4 and 5 - the most spectacular - for a total trek of 3.1 miles. From the visitor center, it's a steep hike to the bottom, where the path into the vividly colored canyons is along a muddy clay creek bed. Boots recommended!
Muddy path into the side canyons
Colorful strata
Chalky spires
Jana explores the canyons
Extreme erosion
After exploring the canyons, we continued on the Canyon Loop Trail, which led us gradually upward through the woods before emerging again at the canyon rim near the park entrance.
Rusty remains along the loop
If you're not interested in the whole hike, the best views of the canyon from the top are found between the picnic area and the visitor center. Awesome!
View from the top
Dramatic destruction
After leaving Providence Canyon, we crossed into nearby Alabama for a few fun bits of roadside America. First was Possom Trot Auction, in Seale.
Pretty name, pretty sign
You bring it, they'll sell it
What the...???
Georgia peach in Alabama
Yeehaw!
Also in Seale is the “Museum of Wonder” - free and worth every cent! Quite eclectic and moderately interesting. It's billed as a drive-through museum, but we parked and walked around for a better examination of the odd artifacts.
Willie Nelson for President!
Bigfoot mystery solved
Can't argue with that
Final words of wisdom
In Phenix City, Alabama, just across the Chattahoochee River from Columbus, we stopped by Lakewood Park to check out the Phenix City Waterfall. This is a strange manmade waterfall pouring through - and sometimes over - an old rock-wall dam. Not what I was expecting, but pretty nonetheless.
Phenix City Waterfall
Closer view
We still had a little daylight left, so finally we visited Heritage Park, back in Columbus. The park was built to recognize the workers from the late 19th and early 20th centuries who harnessed the Chattahoochee River, turning Columbus into a manufacturing boom town. Heritage Park lies within Columbus's Historic District, a neighborhood of colorful Victorian homes built during the same era.
Foundry worker, Heritage Park
Brick kiln and log cabin
Captain Tom steers hard to starboard
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