In the last blog, we were entering the Southeast State of Georgia. With little knowledge of what to visit or see other than looking online and carefully looking at our trusty Walmart atlas we really had no clue what to expect. I had highlighted several possibilities on or close to our route of travel up US27. The one exception was the Little Grand Canyon which I had seen a picture of at the Visitor Center, on the way down to Florida. I actually got this wrong as far as locations goes.
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| Georgia "Little Grand Canyon" |
From Wikipedia
Kolomoki Mounds State Historic Park is an important archaeological site as well as a scenic recreational area. Kolomoki, covering some three hundred acres, is one of the larger preserved mound sites in the USA.
In the early millennium of the Common Era, Kolomoki, with its surrounding villages, burial mounds, and ceremonial plaza, was a center of population and activity in North America. The eight visible mounds of earth in the park were built between 250-950 CE by peoples of the Swift Creek and Weeden Island cultures. These mounds include Georgia's oldest great temple mound, two burial mounds and four smaller ceremonial mounds.
The park's museum was built to incorporate part of an excavated mound; it provides an authentic setting for viewing artifacts. The museum features a film about how the mound was built and excavated.
As with other mound complexes, the people built and sited the earthworks according to a complex cosmology. Researchers have noted that several mounds are aligned according to astronomical events. For example, mounds A, D, and E, which form the central axis of the site, align with the sun at the spring equinox. Mounds F and D form an alignment with the sun at the summer solstice.
Soils at the Park are mostly dark red sandy loams or loamy sands of the Americus, Greenville, and Red Bay series. Some pale brown sands of the Troup series occur on the western shores of Kolomoki Lake, and at the northern end of the lake is brown or dark gray alluvial loam of the Herod-Muckalee soil association.
A view of the temple mound at Kolomoki Mounds State Park.
The Temple Mound is 56 feet high and measures 325 by 200 feet at the base. Research indicates that it would have taken over two million basket loads carried by individual workers, each holding one cubic foot of earth, to build this mound. The southern half of the mound is three feet higher and was probably the temple platform. From the top of the steps, most of the Kolomoki Archaeological Area can be viewed. Approximately 1,500 - 2,000 residents lived in a village of thatched houses arched around the plaza.
Back to rolling down on the highway
First stop was at the Park Visitors Center. The attendant mentioned that the park would be booked solid for the weekend. We weren’t planning on staying here anyway. We just wanted to visit the “Little Grand Canyon” anyhow. Surprise, surprise! The canyon is not located here! She gave us directions to Providence Canyon State Park about an hour north on US27. We could have stayed here and explored the archaeological site, but not on this day. We wanted a “Little Grand Canyon”!
The highway soon turned from pine forest to large plantation fields. Peanuts! Yes, I even had Jimmy Cater’s "Plains, Georgia" on the possible list of sights to visit. Plains is fairly close to Americus, GA… about the same distance from Kolomoki Mounds to Providence State Park, but in a different direction. North was our destination and so President Carter wasn’t going to welcome us to his home town. Providence Canyon was soon on the horizon and our lunch stop was there, at the Park. This is a self-registration State Park and the honor system is the rule. You fill-in the envelope, put your five dollar check, seal the envelope, put the envelope stub on your mirror and you are good to go. After lunch, we walked over to the overlook some twenty feet away and were blown away by the spectacular view and the one hundred fifty foot drop off at our feet. Amazingly, it reminded me, of not the Grand Canyon in Arizona, but of Bryce Canyon in Utah. This State Park is over a thousand acres in land mass. The access road has many overlooks to stop and admire the scenery. It’s not only the land erosion that makes this place special, but the flora makes everything jump out into the cameras view finder. At the end of the road was the Visitor Center which was not open. "Off Season” I guess. In the back of the Visitor Center was a trail guide which indicated different trails to the valley floor. We weren’t sure what equipment we would need and elected to pass on this hike to the bottom. There were plenty of places to explore along the ridge of the canyon.
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