Little Grand Canyon
Hey, hey, beautiful people. So yall know I decided to go on a 90-Day journey, and It has not been the easiest. Discovering yourself is hard work; let me tell ya! I have had tears, anxiety, depression, and oh so many mind-crumbling experiences. So I decided to take myself on a much-needed outing. I drove about 2 hours to The Little Grand Canyon or Providence state park in Lumpkin, GA. Let me say it was one of the most calming experiences. As you will see in the many pictures scattered about, it is a place of true splendor. Not only is it quiet, but it's a great workout 😉. Now, keep in mind, although these pictures are gorgeous, they DO NOT do it justice. You HAVE to see it in person to appreciate its splendor and magnificence.
“A healthy self-love means we have no compulsion to justify to ourselves or others why we take vacations, why we sleep late, why we buy new shoes, why we spoil ourselves from time to time. We feel comfortable doing things which add quality and beauty to life.
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It felt like a tranquil oasis, a hug from your beloved after a long day, a hot shower in the morning. It was simply breathtaking. I got to eat my lunch on a red clay rock with a gorgeous mountain backdrop full of purple, white, and grey hues! I even took my little Eva, who, by the end, looked like a dusty rust-colored ball of fluff, lol! Even the drive there was beautiful, but beware, if you don't have a great cell provider, you won't have any service, but in all honesty, if you are checking your text messages and emails during that time, you have missed the point anyway! Once I got there, I drove into the gate and came to a little wooden shed where you pay, if you have cash. Parking is $5.00 if you don't have cash with you, which I usually don't. I know I gotta get better. You can drive about a mile in and park at the visitors center and get a parking pass.
Once I got my pass, I went back to the car to gather my puppy and our backpack of stuff. After that, we headed down to the canyon floor, which in itself is a beauty. There was so much fantastic foliage, beautiful crevasses, peaks, valleys, and landscaped wonder! It took me about an hour to get to the canyon floor because I stopped, took pictures, admired the scenery, and took in the peace. I'm sure if you keep trucking, you can make it down in about 15-20 min. When you reach the bottom, there is a sign that tells you which trails lead where. At this moment, my friends, I realized the error of my ways...I didn't get a map 🤦🏾♀️, and I didn't have cell reception. Luckily I had done a bit of research before coming, so I remembered which trails went where and their difficulty. I decided to make a left turn which took me to trails 1-5. While walking, I saw another fork off to the left for trails 1-3, which I started down but, due to the recent rain, and the insufficient sunlight due to the overhang of trees, it was pretty muddy, and there was residual water. So, I chose to turn around and try my hand at trails 4&5. My Eva and I splashed back through the water until we reached the opening to continue to trails 4&5. I must say, out of the ones I did, those were my favorite! This is where the saying keep your head up has a new meaning!
We made our way through the beauty of nature, sat down, had lunch after about 3 hours, then made our way back and decided to try the White Trail. This one, in my opinion, was much smoother. Once I made it up the hill, it almost reminded me of walking in a park, with the grainy white sand mixed with crushed wood and fallen leaves. At the halfway mark of this trail, you would arrive at another sign that had trails 6-9 or continue on the White Trail. I chose to explore the other trails annnddd quickly regretted my decision because It was much like the others with water and mud, so again we splashed back to try a different path. Learning from previous mistakes and seeing how trail 6&7 started, I decided to turn around and head out. Good thing, too, because a couple coming out said that it was good, but you would be in the water the whole time! YIKES😱
I wanted to do it but didn't get the chance to try the Backcountry trail. According to the website, it's about 7 miles long and takes about 6 hours to do! I wanted that one for the views. It goes around the canyon at various stages, and I am sure it makes for some fantastic pictures, but that's ok because the peace I felt while there makes me most certainly want to come back!
