Fall Creek Falls

I wouldn't have thought this would happen, but as I drove through Arkansas, I started to feel like I was back home. There were rivers instead of dry creek beds, forests instead of deserts, and high, oppressive humidity instead of that wonderful dry heat of the southwest. The most noticeable difference between Arkansas and Connecticut is that on the back roads in Arkansas, you see the unfortunate remains of an armadillo every seven miles or so on the side of the road. Sorry, no pics. Makes me wonder if, upon seeing a car approaching, the armadillo curls itself into a ball to stay nice and safe.

On to Tennessee. Elizabeth suggested that while in Tennessee, I should check out Fall Creek Falls State Park. I got there fairly early, and it was already very hot and humid. But I figured that was a good thing, as it would keep the trails free of hikers other than myself.

For the most part, I was right, and the people I did encounter were slow and sluggish and quiet. Even the deer I ran into seemed oblivious to me! The hike down to the main falls was steep and somewhat slippery, but the bottom was a great place to spend some time on a hot day.

Later that day, a geocaching trip in Georgia took me to two civil war sites, one of which was a graveyard containing over 500 gravestones, mostly looking like this:


This marker appears farther into the cemetery:

The inscription reads:

Georgia Confederate Soldiers
We sleep here in obedience to law
When duty called we came
When country called we died