George L. Smith State Park, GA
Several members of the Oglethorpe Astronomical Association had mentioned that they were planning to camp and observe at George L. Smith State Park, near Twin City, GA, during the long Memorial Day weekend. That gave Beth Ann and I an excuse to go camping at George L. Smith State Park as well for the long weekend.
We arrived at the State Park around 6:00pm Friday evening, and set up our camper on site #13. It was a decent site overlooking the water through cypress trees. Bob Rose arrived next, and set up his tent on site #11. David and Lecia Burrow arrived soon after Bob, and set up their camper on site #12.
Once everyone had set up their camp sites, David Burrow pulled out 2 electric model airplanes, and announced that he was going to the ball field to fly them. We all followed David to the field, and enjoyed the free entertaining "airshow."
Later, Bob Rose took his 20 inch scope out to to the ball field and set it up as it got dark. The sky was clear. We enjoyed some spectacular views of various night-sky objects. An iridium flare was also observed. Beth Ann and I returned to the camper around 11pm and turned in for the night a short time later.
On Saturday, Beth Ann and I explored the park's trails, attractions, grist mill, and camp store. If you need camping supplies, it is suggested that you acquire them before you arrive at the State Park. Their camp store has only a minimum of items. Beth Ann purchased several bags of corn meal that were recently milled at the Park's Grist Mill. We took a drive to the "metropolis" of Twin City. There wasn't much to see, so we drove back to the campground.
Later that evening, there was a group cookout at the Burrow's camp site. We were joined by Damon Mick and Charlene Rose. During the meal, Bob told about his nighttime encounter with a noisy armadillo. After the delicious meal, several telescopes were set up in the ball field. Clouds rolled in causing us to return to our campsites earlier than intended.
On Sunday it was mostly cloudy during the day. Beth Ann and I walked around the park and the campground some more. We then decided to ride about 30 miles to Magnolia Springs State Park near Millen, GA to check out their facilities. Magnolia Springs is very nice, but it was very noisy and crowded during our visit. The camp sites were open with no foilage or trees to provide some privacy between sites. We did not get to visit the aquarium because it closed only a few minutes before we arrived. We saw at least a hundred turtles swimming in the spring's water. Beth Ann complained that she did not feel well, so we rode back to George L. Smith
Once we arrived back at our camp site, Beth Ann still felt bad so she went to bed. She encouraged me to go ahead and join the OAA members get together for supper as planned. Everyone had a good time socializing, and the meal was delicious.
Heavy rains were forcast, so it appeared that the remaining part of our camping trip was going to be "wet."
We got up Monday morning and packed the camper for our voyage home. Around 11:30am, we pulled out of the camp site, and began our journey home.
We made it home safely around 1pm. We backed the camper in the driveway and unpacked. This is nice State Park, and we will most likely visit this State Park again in the future. By the way...there was no rain even though the forcast of one TV station stated that Memorial Day would be plagued by heavy downpours.
Here are some pictures taken at George L. Smith State Park:
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