For this blog category, “Countdown to Christmas: Our Travel Tree & Georgia State Parks,” each day between December 1 and 25, I take a pic of a state park ornament on our Travel Tree and briefly highlight that park.
Our first pandemic Georgia State Park trip, back in March of 2020, was a simple weekday excursion an hour and a half up the road to Magnolia Springs State Park near Millen. We reasoned that few people would be around during the week, and we were right. We had the park almost to ourselves.
We liked the park (and getting out of the house) so much that this short venture started our recurring overnight pattern of heading to a park on Monday, renting a cabin and returning before the weekend crowd arrived.
TIB (Truth in Blogging): Today’s countdown post is sorta long, so you might want to grab a snack and change into comfortable shoes. I’m incorporating three Magnolia Springs trips into one post.
The park website: “Beautiful Magnolia Springs State Park is known for its crystal clear springs flowing 7,000,000 gallons per day, and a boardwalk spans the cool water, allowing visitors to look for alligators, turtles and other wildlife near the springs.”
“Yeah, right, they’re just saying that about the big bad alligators,” I thought haughtily, standing in the sun by the springs, staring out at the water, daydreaming about our upcoming picnic lunch and my special sandwich.
Oh. My. Goodness …
Jeff Bezos couldn’t pay me enough to fish, feed or approach.
As I I have mentioned before, Robert and I love the Longleaf Pine, which excessive logging has cut to the brink of extinction, but is now making a bit of a comeback. Magnolia Springs has quite a number of majestic, mature specimens. (And so unlike with the alligators, I am simply not afraid of the Longleaf.)
I LOVE hiking through a forest replete with the beauty and aroma of Longleaf Pine.
Oh, here’s my new walking stick. I MEAN HIKING STICK!
Our cabin (and the goings-on inside and out) at Magnolia Springs. Come on in.
And looky here, it’s me leading a little impromptu (and free!) “Everyone is Welcome—Morning Yoga and Mental Cleanse Workshop.”
Even Robert didn’t show. He chose (non-supportingly) to sleep in.
But here he is, gay-ly, pridefully starting a fire.
I need to end this post, don’t I? It’s getting out of hand.
We really do love our nearby Magnolia Springs State Park.
Well, most of it.
NealEnJoy 
Ya know I just tried something called pinecone preserves, literally baby pinecone in honey. They are like the size of a raspberry. Weirdly delicious.
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Where on earth did you find them?
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It’s an imported product from Russia, a coworker brought it in. There’s a place in Seattle that sells it.
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Great photos. Nice recap. I think there must be longleaf pine in TX too. The bark you showed close up looks familiar. When we went on a car trip to FL in the 70s, I announced to my family that I was allergic to alligators. I still am. ; )
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Ha! I’m stealing your allergic line.
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You go right ahead! 🙂 I don’t trust any predator that’s been around for 36 million years longer than our species…
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