Cheaha Mountain, Alabama - God's Paintbrush - A Photo Essay

WARNING:  PHOTO HEAVY.  

I've lived in Alabama most all of my life, and a few years ago, realized that there were many things about my state that I had not discovered, had not experienced. So often we spend our time traveling to see the things that other states have to offer that we forget the beauty that is right on our own back yards.  I am still find nuggets of gold nestled in the most wonderful places.  For the first time ever, Darling Husband and I visited Mount Cheaha State Park yesterday. 

Mount Cheaha, or Cheaha Mountain, whichever you prefer to call it, is the highest point in the state of Alabama.  It is located just northeast of Talladega.

THIS is why they call them the Blue Ridge Mountains.

But I'm getting ahead of myself.   When you first begin the climb up the road to the state park you'll come across an observation point to stop and take a look at the view. 

This is what I saw as we pulled in and parked:

This is the view on the other side of the road:

 As you reach the top of the mountain, there is an stone building with an observation tower on top.  This is the actual highest point in the state. 

 The stone buildings on the mountain were built somewhere between 1933 and 1939.  They were built by the Civilian Conservation Corps.  If you aren't familiar with what the CCC is, here's a bit of history:

The Civilian Conservation Corps were established March of 1933 by then President Franklin D. Roosevelt as a part of his "New Deal" legislation.  The CCC was designed to employ young men to do outside construction labor and help combat the unemployment and poverty that had been caused by the Great Depression. 

My grandfather worked at one of the CCC camps.  I have not yet found his service record to know where he served, but as I stood on this mountain yesterday, I smiled, thinking that even if it was not THIS building that my grandfather's hands helped build, there were other buildings somewhere in the U.S. that has his fingerprints, and somewhere, some other woman was looking at a similar building, having a similar thought, and smiling too. 

It was one of those warm, fuzzy moments, and as I entered the building, which houses the observation tower, and off to the side on the ground floor, a meeting room, my fingertips grazed the stones just enough that I would know that I had touched where a grandfather's hands had been before.

 It is not readable, which stinks, but the little marker below is in the stone pathway to the observation tower, marking the highest point in the state.

This is the inner entryway that leads to the stairs going up to the observation tower, which is open to the public and worth the climb if you can make it.  There is NOT an elevator. 

I wish I could employ the CCC to build me a house.  I love these old stone buildings.

Darling Husband is waiting for me on the ground.  He did not go up into the observation tower.  He has some claustrophobia issues and there were a lot of people going in and out of that small space. 

 THIS is the view from the observation tower:

Don't you just love that bright yellow that waves at you from the most surprising places?

 Hubby thought I was nuts because I decided to lay down on the ground under the tree to get this shot.  The colors just don't show in the picture the way they did as I was laying there.  It was magnificent.

We decided to stop and eat at the restaurant on the mountain, and I'm so glad we did.  The view was wonderful, and the food was pretty darn good too.  They have a lunch buffet on the weekends, and if you eat there during the lunch hour, you can only eat from the buffet, but that's OK. It was $9.00, including tea, and there was a good salad bar, potato/cheddar chowder, bean soup, cornbread dressing (not stuffing - dressing!), turkey, gravy, cranberry sauce, cornbread, rolls, fried okra, turnip greens, meatloaf, fried chicken, english peas, field peas, speckled butter beans, corn on the cob, and I don't know what else.  There was also a dessert buffet with several choices.  The only sugar-free choice they had on the bar was green jell-o, but they had sugar free ice cream on the menu.  I inquired about whether I could get ice cream since they weren't supposed to serve anything from the kitchen, and our waitress was so wonderful - she brought me two scoops of homemade vanilla ice cream and didn't even charge me for it.  They were all so very friendly.  We will DEFINITELY be going back to eat there again. 

This is a view of the inside of the restaurant. The girl in the far right corner just below the painting on the wall is our waitress, Donna. She was a sweetheart.

THIS was the view from my seat as I dined.  See that big green spot just left of dead center?  As hubby and I dined, I made up a story about the pioneer family McDougal and their 16 children that used to live on that spot.  I would tell you the story, but it was special, just for Darling Husband so you'll just have to use your own imagination.

This is a view from outside the restaurant.  Behind me, across the street is a small hotel with some really nice rooms.  The hotel seemed pack.  The rates were very reasonable, considering the view!  The rock  formation you see jutting out of the trees is Bald Rock.  Near that part of the mountain is a lodge and some cabins.  There are people standing on that rock, but my cheap digital wouldn't pick them up.  I wanted to go on the rock, but Darling Husband said no.  I'm a bit of a klutz, you see. 

This is another view from the restaurant.  That's Lake Cheaha down there.  Note the blue of the mountains again.  I wish I were on that mountain this morning. I bet it is absolutely beautiful to watch the sun rise there.

Another view from the deck outside the restaurant.

And another of those magnificient yellow trees peeking out and waving at me!

After lunch we circled back around (most of the road is one way, so you have to make the circle once or twice to get everything, but it's not that big of a circle, so it's OK.   This is Bald Rock Lodge.  Apparently, a lot of people get married there.  I don't know what it looks like inside because it was locked, but I bet it is beautiful.  Most likely, at some point in time, it probably housed the CCC workers.

This is one of the five chalets that are available.  If you ever have a chance to go, you should rent one.  They are nestled in the side of the mountain, have a nice little kitchenette, a fireplace, a nice open living room area with that big glass wall to look out, and a small bedroom and bath to the side.

There are also cabins which are as nice as the chalets.  There are two "honeymoon" cabins that each have a screened-in porch and a whirlpool bath.  I didn't get any photos of the cabins because they were all occupied and nestled farther down into the side of the mountain. I didn't want to disturb anyone's private space, but Darling Husband and I have already figured out which cabin has the best view and which one we are going to make reservations for in the near future.

This is a view UP the mountain from Lake Cheaha.  For some reason the other photos I took from the lake up didn't turn out right.  It was getting dark, though, and it was overcast, so I'll just have to take more when we go spend the weekend!

This pretty yellow tree was waving goodbye to me as we left the park going down the other side.

Somewhere down the other side of the mountain we came across this lake that was on each side of the road.  The right side was rather sad as the drought had dried up most of the water. 

That's a boat house, not a shed.  The edge of the water is about two football field lengths away from that little shack.  I wanted to go sit on the little porch on the side of it, but again, Darling Husband wouldn't let me. He said something about me not getting arrested for trespassing.  Sometimes he's such a party pooper. 

This was the view on the other side of the lake. Note that the boat inside the little house is NOT touching the water?  They still have water on that side of the lake, but not enough.  What caught my eye, though, and had me yelling for Darling Husband to STOP the car was that tree.  I think I want to be a tree in my next life. I want to be a tree near a lake like this one that children can climb and teenagers can sit under to daydream, and old folks can smile at as they watch the leaves turn and drop in the fall.  Yep, I want to be a tree just like this one.

And this was the most perfect photo I think I've ever taken with my cheap little digital.  I did not do a thing to this photo except crop out the tiny bit of the car that was in the lower corner. That's all.

BTW. Hubby wouldn't let me go sit under the tree either!  Spoil Sport.

Apparently the little lake is next to Camp Mac which is a summer camp for boys and girls.  I never got to go to summer camp. We moved too much and I imagine, given my childhood circumstances, the money would not have been there anyway.... it made me sad when we rode past the camp and I saw all the neat buildings and stuff that the kids got to stay in and do so many things.  Darling Husband explained to me that he thought that Camp Mac was a non-profit that helped the underprivileged get to go to camp.  I said a silent thank you to all those who make such things possible.  They are part angel and I am truly thankful for them.

Somewhere along the way I took this photo. I can't remember where, but I remember thinking that was the reddest red I had ever seen in my life. It was so vivid.  This is when it struck me that God had the neatest paintbrushes and I was so glad he had graced us with the beauty of his art work.

I just want to say thank you to those that have made it this far through my meandering little trip.  It was a joy to share it with you.

Please have a safe, family and joy-filled, heart-swelling, belly-popping, food and fun filled Thanksgiving Holiday. And if you don't have special plans, join me at the local shelter and help me serve dinner.  I'd love to share the day with you.

God bless.

T.