Today I had about an hour of time to waste, so I went for a drive in South Carolina. I ended up on state highway S-33-88 which turns into Garrett Road at the Stevens Creek. At Stevens Creek is a sweet bridge, so I stopped and took some pictures.
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Stevens Creek Bridge
Today I had about an hour of time to waste, so I went for a drive in South Carolina. I ended up on state highway S-33-88 which turns into Garrett Road at the Stevens Creek. At Stevens Creek is a sweet bridge, so I stopped and took some pictures.
Friday, August 28, 2009
Digging Deeper
This past Wednesday, I went to a Bible study at my church. The study was on Luke 7:36-50.
First, the customs of the time. We see from the story that Jesus says that Simon did not give him water with his feet, a kiss, or anoint his head with oil. In these times, it was common and expected practice for a host either wash or have a servant wash the feet of the guests. It was a common to greet with a kiss. And to honor someone, they were anointed with oil. Simon, a pharisee, did not of these, which would have been disrespectful.
Given this information, the actions of the sinful woman make much more sense. We understand more of what Jesus meant when he said that the one who was forgiven little would love little.
Next, we looked at what the Greek meaning of Simon's comment about the sinful woman is. When translated from Greek, the words of Simon would be better translated as “If this man were a prophet, which clearly he is not, he would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is trying to turn him on, for she is a sinner.” The first change, the noting that Jesus is clearly not a prophet, is based on the Greek word used which indicates a negative connotation. The second one is based on the actions of the woman, which in her time would be considered as scandalous.
The woman enters the presence of men, kisses Jesus' feet, lets down her hair, and touches him with her hair, all to a man she is not married to. The cultural response for Jesus would be to kick her and dismiss her. Instead, he acknowledges her and says that her love is great.
This extra knowledge takes the story deeper and shows that Jesus is not only forgiving her sins, but shattering the cultural separation of men and women.
Next we looked at the dilemma Jesus had. Simon sets the stage with his comment of Jesus, who is obviously not a prophet, is entertaining this adulterous woman who is turning him on. Jesus' dilemma consists of either standing for righteousness by dismissing her or accepting her sinful lifestyle. Jesus takes neither of the paths and instead gives a story illustrating that the woman has been forgiven of her sins and is expressing her love for that forgiveness. He then takes it a step further and says that her sins are forgiven. He performs an act that only God could perform. Simon thought he had Jesus trapped and that Jesus would be exposed. Instead, the identity of Jesus was revealed.
Finally, we looked at 7:47, Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little. The leader of the study stressed that the Greek definition of the would for indicated that Jesus is saying that because she has been forgiven, she loves. It is not because she gained favor with Jesus by her love, but because He forgave her sins, she loves Him and is showing that love with her actions. We see this explained again in 7:50 when Jesus says that her faith has saved her.
Digging deeper took this passage which had a powerful message and gave it an even stronger message. Dig deeper, you might be surprised what you learn!
36 One of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee's house and took his place at the table. 37 And behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner, when she learned that he was reclining at table in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment, 38 and standing behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head and kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment. 39 Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner.” 40 And Jesus answering said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” And he answered, “Say it, Teacher.”
41 “A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. 42 When they could not pay, he cancelled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more?” 43 Simon answered, “The one, I suppose, for whom he cancelled the larger debt.” And he said to him, “You have judged rightly.” 44 Then turning toward the woman he said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 45 You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to kiss my feet. 46 You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. 47 Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.” 48 And he said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” 49 Then those who were at table with him began to say among themselves, “Who is this, who even forgives sins?” 50 And he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”
The Bible study took a different approach than just looking at the words of the page, but incorporated historical context. A slightly different approach than some Bible studies, but a very useful approach. I learned a lot from the Bible study that I did not know before.First, the customs of the time. We see from the story that Jesus says that Simon did not give him water with his feet, a kiss, or anoint his head with oil. In these times, it was common and expected practice for a host either wash or have a servant wash the feet of the guests. It was a common to greet with a kiss. And to honor someone, they were anointed with oil. Simon, a pharisee, did not of these, which would have been disrespectful.
Given this information, the actions of the sinful woman make much more sense. We understand more of what Jesus meant when he said that the one who was forgiven little would love little.
Next, we looked at what the Greek meaning of Simon's comment about the sinful woman is. When translated from Greek, the words of Simon would be better translated as “If this man were a prophet, which clearly he is not, he would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is trying to turn him on, for she is a sinner.” The first change, the noting that Jesus is clearly not a prophet, is based on the Greek word used which indicates a negative connotation. The second one is based on the actions of the woman, which in her time would be considered as scandalous.
The woman enters the presence of men, kisses Jesus' feet, lets down her hair, and touches him with her hair, all to a man she is not married to. The cultural response for Jesus would be to kick her and dismiss her. Instead, he acknowledges her and says that her love is great.
This extra knowledge takes the story deeper and shows that Jesus is not only forgiving her sins, but shattering the cultural separation of men and women.
Next we looked at the dilemma Jesus had. Simon sets the stage with his comment of Jesus, who is obviously not a prophet, is entertaining this adulterous woman who is turning him on. Jesus' dilemma consists of either standing for righteousness by dismissing her or accepting her sinful lifestyle. Jesus takes neither of the paths and instead gives a story illustrating that the woman has been forgiven of her sins and is expressing her love for that forgiveness. He then takes it a step further and says that her sins are forgiven. He performs an act that only God could perform. Simon thought he had Jesus trapped and that Jesus would be exposed. Instead, the identity of Jesus was revealed.
Finally, we looked at 7:47, Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little. The leader of the study stressed that the Greek definition of the would for indicated that Jesus is saying that because she has been forgiven, she loves. It is not because she gained favor with Jesus by her love, but because He forgave her sins, she loves Him and is showing that love with her actions. We see this explained again in 7:50 when Jesus says that her faith has saved her.
Digging deeper took this passage which had a powerful message and gave it an even stronger message. Dig deeper, you might be surprised what you learn!
Music for Friday
I love music. Anytime I am at home I have music playing. I often fall asleep with music playing incase I wake up so I can hear whatever is playing. I have a radio in the bathroom so I can listen while showering or getting ready in the morning. So it is no surprise that a lot of my posts deal with music.
Today's song is by Michael Martin Murphy, Geronimo's Cadillac.
Geronimo actually drove car. Here he is driving the 1905 Locomobile Model C.
I believe he was given the car for an advertisement. Geronimo was never released to go home to Arizona and died at Fort Sill in Oklahoma.
Today's song is by Michael Martin Murphy, Geronimo's Cadillac.
Geronimo actually drove car. Here he is driving the 1905 Locomobile Model C.
I believe he was given the car for an advertisement. Geronimo was never released to go home to Arizona and died at Fort Sill in Oklahoma.
Monday, August 24, 2009
Upside Down and Backwards Again
In 1998, I first met a man named Matt Neely. He was the worship leader for a church camp I was attending. Besides his music, I remember Matt for never wearing shoes. I enjoyed his music and purchased two of his CDs. One was the album Again for the First time. The other was Upside Down and Backwards.
This album included a song called Being Single Won't Kill You. It didn't mean much to me at the time. The song I really liked off the album was The Rebel.
Sometime between 1998 and 2009, the CD was lost. Most likely, it was stolen out of my truck when it was broken into in Des Moines, Iowa.
For some reason, I started thinking about the artist recently. I reminisced about several of his songs and remembered what I could of the songs. One song popped out though, Being Single Won't Kill You. Seeing as I have written about my struggles of being single recently, it seems appropriate. I looked online and didn't find many of his songs available but did find his website. I looked on the online store and found most of his albums, however, Upside Down and Backwards was not available. So I searched on amazon.com and found a used copy.
The CD arrived in the mail today. I threw it into the CD player in my truck and skipped to song #8, Being Single Won't Kill You. What a great song it is!
The song starts out with an odd game show like beginning. I don't understand it. But the rest of the song is great.
The song is written to a single woman who is told by life that she must marry in order to be normal.
Matt says that this is a list of the reasons to thank God for her "relationally challenged life."
Matt's reasons include nothing having to make your bed, not having to keep the fridge clean, not having to listen to someone nag, using your toothpaste however you want to, not having to call home when late, not listening to someone snore, not having to pay for a date, and no one stealing your covers.
In several parts of the song, Matt points out the things life tells us about singles. It starts with the mom and aunt asking her if she is dating anyone. My favorite one is that he compares to singleness to some disease that we have that are friends with cute friends know the cure too!
The chorus is an important message that I must remind myself. Being single won't kill you, being married won't cure you. Wherever you are today, just hold on and believe.
The last part of the chorus is probably the most important part. Wherever you are, hold on, be content. Don't just settle with singleness, be content in it.
I wrote about contentment in my 2nd post on the blog, in a post titled What could be better than this? Contentment doesn't mean to just not complain about your life, but to not desire more than what you have at that point. How important it is for me to not desire marriage while I am single and to elevate marriage to a place that it doesn't belong and to remove myself from the present. To be content is very important for me to strive for. This song helps to remind me of that.
After listening to the song, I continued through the album and found that song #4 was The Rebel. I got both songs that I really liked on the same album! A great buy this album was!
I did find one of Matt's songs on YouTube that I knew, it appeared that there were a few other cheesy songs on there as well. This song is a description of Matt's path to where he is. It is called Oz Song and is on the Again for the First Time album.
Thanks Matt for reminding me to be content with my singleness.
This album included a song called Being Single Won't Kill You. It didn't mean much to me at the time. The song I really liked off the album was The Rebel.
Sometime between 1998 and 2009, the CD was lost. Most likely, it was stolen out of my truck when it was broken into in Des Moines, Iowa.
For some reason, I started thinking about the artist recently. I reminisced about several of his songs and remembered what I could of the songs. One song popped out though, Being Single Won't Kill You. Seeing as I have written about my struggles of being single recently, it seems appropriate. I looked online and didn't find many of his songs available but did find his website. I looked on the online store and found most of his albums, however, Upside Down and Backwards was not available. So I searched on amazon.com and found a used copy.
The CD arrived in the mail today. I threw it into the CD player in my truck and skipped to song #8, Being Single Won't Kill You. What a great song it is!
The song starts out with an odd game show like beginning. I don't understand it. But the rest of the song is great.
The song is written to a single woman who is told by life that she must marry in order to be normal.
Matt says that this is a list of the reasons to thank God for her "relationally challenged life."
Matt's reasons include nothing having to make your bed, not having to keep the fridge clean, not having to listen to someone nag, using your toothpaste however you want to, not having to call home when late, not listening to someone snore, not having to pay for a date, and no one stealing your covers.
In several parts of the song, Matt points out the things life tells us about singles. It starts with the mom and aunt asking her if she is dating anyone. My favorite one is that he compares to singleness to some disease that we have that are friends with cute friends know the cure too!
The chorus is an important message that I must remind myself. Being single won't kill you, being married won't cure you. Wherever you are today, just hold on and believe.
The last part of the chorus is probably the most important part. Wherever you are, hold on, be content. Don't just settle with singleness, be content in it.
I wrote about contentment in my 2nd post on the blog, in a post titled What could be better than this? Contentment doesn't mean to just not complain about your life, but to not desire more than what you have at that point. How important it is for me to not desire marriage while I am single and to elevate marriage to a place that it doesn't belong and to remove myself from the present. To be content is very important for me to strive for. This song helps to remind me of that.
After listening to the song, I continued through the album and found that song #4 was The Rebel. I got both songs that I really liked on the same album! A great buy this album was!
I did find one of Matt's songs on YouTube that I knew, it appeared that there were a few other cheesy songs on there as well. This song is a description of Matt's path to where he is. It is called Oz Song and is on the Again for the First Time album.
Thanks Matt for reminding me to be content with my singleness.
Saturday, August 22, 2009
It is just a name, right?
I have been talking to some friends about the concept of dating. I do not like the idea of dating. To me, it just seems like that you are putting on a false front to try to impress the other person. My friends disagreed and in the course of our discussion, I figured out something about dating that I am against. I think this is why I have been against dating. To me, dating implies a commitment to the other person, albeit a low level commitment. I would not be able to make that commitment to a person that I barely knew. Perhaps it isn't dating that bothers me, but making the commitment to a person that I do not know. Before I dated someone, I would want to know them first. Is this something that I am actually doing different than others, or am I just changing the name dating to friendship?
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Throw Back Friday!
11 month ago, practically to the day, I wrote about a Ziggy Marley song called True to Myself. For whatever reason, I didn't post the song at the time. So today, since it is Friday, we will have a throw back to last September by posting the song and reposting my post about the song.
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Listening to Ziggy Marley
Earlier today, I wrote about Psalm 90, a psalm written by Moses. This evening, we will look at a Ziggy Marley song.
I am quite a fan of reggae. I love music particularly by Bob Marley and his son Ziggy. It is great music to listen to. I like the sound of the music, the feeling of the music, and the relaxing of the music. However, the philosophy is certainly not always in agreement with me!
Reggae music is associated with the Rastafari movement. Therefore, a lot of the music is quite religious. The music was born out of Trenchtown in Jamaica, and deals with topics like spirituality, relationships, love, poverty, injustice, and other social issues. The Rastafari movement has some basic familiarities to Christianity, but is quite different, which explains the difference in philosophy. I am no expert on the Rastafari movement and would recommend that you look for other sources if you are interested in more information.
The song we will look at is Ziggy Marley's True to Myself.
The lyrics:
The message in the song is that you have to be who you really are before you can be a part of the greater society. If you are not who you really are, you will not be happy, and as he says "I can't make you happy unless I am"
I think this is certainly an interesting, important, and partially true statement. If our life isn't in order, how can we be with others or impact others? The difference though, is who are we true to?
We live in a fallen state. We live with wrong doings. We do not do the things we want to do or are suppose to do. I think Paul says it best when he writes in Romans "For I don't do the good I want to do, but instead do the evil that I don't want to do." It is easy to live true to ourselves in our fallen life, it is what our body and mind want to do.
But that is not who we are called to be! Jesus says in John 10:10 "I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." This abundant life comes when we trust God and receive His Holy Spirit. The Spirit gives us the strength to live the life He desires for us. To do the good we desire to do, instead of the evil.
God gives us plenty of reason to be happy, to want to be with him. Just one example is found in Psalm 92.
4 For you make me glad by your deeds, O LORD;
I sing for joy at the works of your hands.
Two are better than one,
because they have a good return for their work:
If one falls down,
his friend can help him up.
But pity the man who falls
and has no one to help him up!
Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.
But how can one keep warm alone?
Friends are important in our life. If we do not care about our friends and do what we want without regard for them, who would want to be our friend?
Diversity is certainly important! What a boring world this would be if everyone was like me. I hardly think I do things right and would certainly not want a world full of people like me. The Bible is full of diverse people. God values all people, from the greatest of the kings to the lowest of the sheppards. He loves all of us and wants all of us involved in his kingdom here on earth.
Be true to yourself, but only with the spirits guiding. God has a great plan for us. Jeremiah 29:11 says "'For I know the plans that I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope." Now this is a quote from a letter written by Jeremiah to those in exile. He is reminding them why they are in exile (for following false prophets instead of God) and that after their time in exile, they will return to God. But are we not also following false prophets and false leaders when we are true to ourselves instead of God? By living our life following God and living the life God wants us to live, we are being true to ourselves, the self God desires us to be.
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Listening to Ziggy Marley
Earlier today, I wrote about Psalm 90, a psalm written by Moses. This evening, we will look at a Ziggy Marley song.
I am quite a fan of reggae. I love music particularly by Bob Marley and his son Ziggy. It is great music to listen to. I like the sound of the music, the feeling of the music, and the relaxing of the music. However, the philosophy is certainly not always in agreement with me!
Reggae music is associated with the Rastafari movement. Therefore, a lot of the music is quite religious. The music was born out of Trenchtown in Jamaica, and deals with topics like spirituality, relationships, love, poverty, injustice, and other social issues. The Rastafari movement has some basic familiarities to Christianity, but is quite different, which explains the difference in philosophy. I am no expert on the Rastafari movement and would recommend that you look for other sources if you are interested in more information.
The song we will look at is Ziggy Marley's True to Myself.
The lyrics:
life has come a long way since yesterday I say
and its not the same old thing over again I say
just do what you feel and don't you fool yourself I say
cause I can't make you happy unless I am I say I say I
got to be true to myself got to be true to myself
day in day out I've asked many questions I say
only to find the truth it never changes I say
if you don't deal with it it keeps killing you a little by little I say
call me selfish if you will my life I alone can live I say I say I
got to be true to myself got to be true to myself
I don't care if it hurts I'm tired of lies and all these games
I've reached a point in life no longer can I be this way
don't come crying to me I too have shed my share of tears
I'm moving on yes I'm grooving on well I'm finally free I've
got to be true to myself got to be true to myself
got to be true to myself got to be true to myself
The message in the song is that you have to be who you really are before you can be a part of the greater society. If you are not who you really are, you will not be happy, and as he says "I can't make you happy unless I am"
I think this is certainly an interesting, important, and partially true statement. If our life isn't in order, how can we be with others or impact others? The difference though, is who are we true to?
We live in a fallen state. We live with wrong doings. We do not do the things we want to do or are suppose to do. I think Paul says it best when he writes in Romans "For I don't do the good I want to do, but instead do the evil that I don't want to do." It is easy to live true to ourselves in our fallen life, it is what our body and mind want to do.
But that is not who we are called to be! Jesus says in John 10:10 "I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." This abundant life comes when we trust God and receive His Holy Spirit. The Spirit gives us the strength to live the life He desires for us. To do the good we desire to do, instead of the evil.
God gives us plenty of reason to be happy, to want to be with him. Just one example is found in Psalm 92.
4 For you make me glad by your deeds, O LORD;
I sing for joy at the works of your hands.
5 How great are your works, O LORD,
how profound your thoughts!
6 The senseless man does not know,
fools do not understand,
7 that though the wicked spring up like grass
and all evildoers flourish,
they will be forever destroyed.
8 But you, O LORD, are exalted forever.
God's works are great! The ones that I see some of my greatest joy is in His creation. I love hiking and enjoying the beauty of his world. I am being myself by enjoying something that he gave me. But I am being true to God.
Two are better than one,
because they have a good return for their work:
If one falls down,
his friend can help him up.
But pity the man who falls
and has no one to help him up!
Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.
But how can one keep warm alone?
Friends are important in our life. If we do not care about our friends and do what we want without regard for them, who would want to be our friend?
Diversity is certainly important! What a boring world this would be if everyone was like me. I hardly think I do things right and would certainly not want a world full of people like me. The Bible is full of diverse people. God values all people, from the greatest of the kings to the lowest of the sheppards. He loves all of us and wants all of us involved in his kingdom here on earth.
Be true to yourself, but only with the spirits guiding. God has a great plan for us. Jeremiah 29:11 says "'For I know the plans that I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope." Now this is a quote from a letter written by Jeremiah to those in exile. He is reminding them why they are in exile (for following false prophets instead of God) and that after their time in exile, they will return to God. But are we not also following false prophets and false leaders when we are true to ourselves instead of God? By living our life following God and living the life God wants us to live, we are being true to ourselves, the self God desires us to be.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
What do you want?
What do you want in life? What do you want from your job? Do you want money? A sense of accomplishment? To be recognized? What do you want from relationships? Do you want to have a lot of friends? Do you want to have a few close friends? Do you want to date? What do you want out of your free time? Do you want to relax? Do you want to do hobbies? Do you want to spend time with others? Do you want to just make it last? What do you want?
I don't really know what I want. I could tell you what I want, but do I live that way? I could tell you from my job I want to have enough to live, but I take home much more than I need to live and still manage to spend it. I could tell you in my free time I want to be outdoors, read, and write. But I do not spend the majority of my free time doing these things. I could tell you in my relationships I want to have a few close friends. And I do. But I could also tell you that I do not want to date, but have and some of those close friends would say that I do want to date.
Maybe I should figure out what I want. Right now, I want a cup of coffee so I can sit outside and read.
I don't really know what I want. I could tell you what I want, but do I live that way? I could tell you from my job I want to have enough to live, but I take home much more than I need to live and still manage to spend it. I could tell you in my free time I want to be outdoors, read, and write. But I do not spend the majority of my free time doing these things. I could tell you in my relationships I want to have a few close friends. And I do. But I could also tell you that I do not want to date, but have and some of those close friends would say that I do want to date.
Maybe I should figure out what I want. Right now, I want a cup of coffee so I can sit outside and read.
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Simplicity
I've been attending a Sunday school class the past few weeks that I have really enjoyed. The people in the class are senior to me by 20-50 years, but they have accepted me and made me feel welcome.
We have been studying the book of 1st John. John often writes in the book that if you are of God, you will love others. If you do not love others, you are not of God. One of the questions raised in the class by a member was if one can know for sure if they are saved. That I believe in Jesus but I still do some really bad things so I am not sure if I am saved.
I went to the coffee shop that afternoon and thought about the question. I wrote some ideas about how to know if you are saved along with scripture justification.
First, can we know if we are saved? Yes (1 John 5:13)
So how can we know? Well, I jotted down a short test.
1. Do you believe? (John 3:16)
2. Are you striving to not sin? (Romans 6:1-14)
3. Do you live by God's word? (1 John 2:3)
4. Do you strive to do good? (James 1:26 - 27, James 2: 14-26, 1 John 2: 5b-6)
5. Are you producing fruit? (Galatians 5: 16-24)
If you can answer yes to these questions, then you are saved
A few weeks ago, in the post post was Chaos in the Church!, I wrote about a sermon I heard. Part of the sermon dealt with knowing if you are saved. The pastor kept it simple. Do you believe in Jesus? Then you are saved.
I think the pastor is correct in his simplicity. I think my original test maybe a little too long. A better test would be:
Did you know God loves you? Do you believe in Jesus? Yes? Great, you are saved, Now go and Love.
We have been studying the book of 1st John. John often writes in the book that if you are of God, you will love others. If you do not love others, you are not of God. One of the questions raised in the class by a member was if one can know for sure if they are saved. That I believe in Jesus but I still do some really bad things so I am not sure if I am saved.
I went to the coffee shop that afternoon and thought about the question. I wrote some ideas about how to know if you are saved along with scripture justification.
First, can we know if we are saved? Yes (1 John 5:13)
So how can we know? Well, I jotted down a short test.
1. Do you believe? (John 3:16)
2. Are you striving to not sin? (Romans 6:1-14)
3. Do you live by God's word? (1 John 2:3)
4. Do you strive to do good? (James 1:26 - 27, James 2: 14-26, 1 John 2: 5b-6)
5. Are you producing fruit? (Galatians 5: 16-24)
If you can answer yes to these questions, then you are saved
A few weeks ago, in the post post was Chaos in the Church!, I wrote about a sermon I heard. Part of the sermon dealt with knowing if you are saved. The pastor kept it simple. Do you believe in Jesus? Then you are saved.
I think the pastor is correct in his simplicity. I think my original test maybe a little too long. A better test would be:
Did you know God loves you? Do you believe in Jesus? Yes? Great, you are saved, Now go and Love.
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Back in the Saddle
It has been a few weeks since I have been hiking. Yesterday I got back in the swing of it by hiking at Mistletoe State Park. I hiked the Cliatt Creek Trail and the Rock Dam Trail.
I found the trails in the book Hiking Georgia by Donald W. Pfitzer.
I arrived at the park and paid my $5 entrance fee. I then parked in the parking lot immediately by the fee station where the trailhead is.
The Cliatt Creek trail is marked by white blazes. It is a two mile loop with 18 natural trail markers. They are described by the nature guide available at the trail head.
The trail is in a second growth forest. The original forest was cut down for logging and farming.
The Cliatt Creek trail.
The pines are loblolly pines.
An American Holly.
An Eastern Red Cedar.
The trail is connected to the Rock Dam Trail, which is a 5.5 mile loop trail. They meet up by the Cliatt Creek.
The Rock Dam Trail is marked by blue blazes
Continuing on the Rock Dam Trail, I came to a junction.
I first went to the left and checkout the creek.
After wards I returned to the junction and continued to the right along the path. I ended up at another junction where both trails immediately dead end. Looking around, I realized that I hadn't seen any blazes in a while, even though I was on a trail. I did the most obvious thing and kept going. I made two sweeping arcs looking for the trail or blazes. After not finding anything, I did the right thing and went back down the trail the way I came until I found a blaze.
Returning to the junction, I found the blue blaze.
The trail crossed the creek continued. I kept an eye open for the blue blazes.
Later I came to another junction.
Luckily they clearly marked the posts.
I found a place by the creek and ate lunch. I packed a sandwich, carrots, and vanilla wafers.
After my lunch, I continued down the trail and 100 yards later, found a picnic table at the Rock Dam.
View below the rock dam.
In addition to the rocks at the rock dam, there were a lot of cool rocks along the trail.
I of course had to climb on the rock.
A large rock that split open.
Part of the trail went along the bottom of an eroded creek bed.
I found this awesome tree!
I thought it would be a great place to take a photo and took a bunch of different poses. I set the camera on a log and ran to get onto the branch.
I didn't make it the first time.
The Rock Dam Trail runs back into the Cliatt Creek trail.
Continuing on the Cliatt Creek trail, I came across this interesting scene.
The trail ended behind the office, just across the street from the trailhead.
There were a lot of fungi growing along the trail.
There was also a lot of fauna on the trail. In addition to the following animals, I also saw some deer.
I look forward to returning.
I found the trails in the book Hiking Georgia by Donald W. Pfitzer.
I arrived at the park and paid my $5 entrance fee. I then parked in the parking lot immediately by the fee station where the trailhead is.
The Cliatt Creek trail is marked by white blazes. It is a two mile loop with 18 natural trail markers. They are described by the nature guide available at the trail head.
The trail is in a second growth forest. The original forest was cut down for logging and farming.
The Cliatt Creek trail.
The pines are loblolly pines.
An American Holly.
An Eastern Red Cedar.
The trail is connected to the Rock Dam Trail, which is a 5.5 mile loop trail. They meet up by the Cliatt Creek.
The Rock Dam Trail is marked by blue blazes
Continuing on the Rock Dam Trail, I came to a junction.
I first went to the left and checkout the creek.
After wards I returned to the junction and continued to the right along the path. I ended up at another junction where both trails immediately dead end. Looking around, I realized that I hadn't seen any blazes in a while, even though I was on a trail. I did the most obvious thing and kept going. I made two sweeping arcs looking for the trail or blazes. After not finding anything, I did the right thing and went back down the trail the way I came until I found a blaze.
Returning to the junction, I found the blue blaze.
The trail crossed the creek continued. I kept an eye open for the blue blazes.
Later I came to another junction.
Luckily they clearly marked the posts.
I found a place by the creek and ate lunch. I packed a sandwich, carrots, and vanilla wafers.
After my lunch, I continued down the trail and 100 yards later, found a picnic table at the Rock Dam.
View below the rock dam.
In addition to the rocks at the rock dam, there were a lot of cool rocks along the trail.
I of course had to climb on the rock.
A large rock that split open.
Part of the trail went along the bottom of an eroded creek bed.
I found this awesome tree!
I thought it would be a great place to take a photo and took a bunch of different poses. I set the camera on a log and ran to get onto the branch.
I didn't make it the first time.
The Rock Dam Trail runs back into the Cliatt Creek trail.
Continuing on the Cliatt Creek trail, I came across this interesting scene.
The trail ended behind the office, just across the street from the trailhead.
There were a lot of fungi growing along the trail.
There was also a lot of fauna on the trail. In addition to the following animals, I also saw some deer.
I look forward to returning.
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