Watson Mill Bridge State Park

As we headed up the east side of Georgia, we found ourselves in a road construction zone. It looks like they are starting the process of adding an additional two lanes to this highway. We are still amazed by the number of trees in this state. It is a monumental process to remove enough trees to add those lanes. We saw miles of heavy equipment bulldozing trees and tall piles of timber to burn. In western Oklahoma where we have so few trees, we can't even imagine having to do this step.

Our destination for the night is Watson Mill Bridge State Park--one of the most picturesque parks in Georgia.

The longest original covered bridge in the state of Georgia is the name sake of this little state park. The bridge spans 229 feet across the South Fork River. Sorry for so many pictures of the bridge in this blog, but we are finding that Denisa likes covered bridges almost as much as lighthouses.

Built in 1885, this is a single lane bridge whose builders never imagined the cars that are now driving through it.

It's interesting to see the original solid wood construction from the inside.

The lattice truss system is held together with large wooden pins. Mark wanted to point out that he was not the "M.E." that painted his initials on the cross beam.

As strong as the covered bridge looks, it's not ready for the size of the motor homes today. We had to come in from the south, because we are almost four feet too tall, and ten tons too heavy for the bridge. There are appropriate warning signs to keep RVs from trying to make the crossing.

Besides admiring the covered bridge, we also checked out the state park's trails. This one led down the canal to where an old hydro-electric power plant and grist mill operated in the late 1800's. We could see where the powerful water flowed out of the canal and once powered the wheel that used to be where Mark is now standing.

Mark crawled down into the old cement box of the mill, and found some wild strawberries. Knowing how much Denisa loves these little trail goodies, he picked a handful. Then he had to figure out how to climb back out one-handed with his precious cargo.

Some sizable wild strawberries, they looked plump and delicious. Denisa sure appreciated Mark's efforts. But when we tasted them later, they were strangely tasteless. Maybe Georgia wild strawberries are different than the strawberries we enjoyed last summer in the Colorado mountains?

We are making a rare one-night stay because we have reservations down the road. So we had to take advantage of all parts of the park in one day. So we changed into swim suits and headed into the water for a view of the covered bridge from the water.

With temperatures in the 80's, the cool water felt good. We found the smooth rock and the rushing water made a natural water slide.

The rocks were slick to walk on, so that made them great to slide down.

Here's another view of the water slide from the top.

Interestingly, there was a section of seaweed-covered rocks right beside our slipper slide. The plants gave great traction for walking back to the top of the slope. The plants also made an interesting pattern as the water flowed over them.

We walked further down the river for more picturesque views of the covered bridge over the water. What a great little state park we have found today!

The green foliage, the century-old rock work, the rushing water, and a hunky swimmer makes for another great picture opportunity.

We almost had the swimming area and the campground to ourselves. With 21 camp sites, only three of them were used the night we were there. We would definitely stay longer if we weren't on a schedule, but we are looking forward to another special visitor and more adventures ahead! 

o