Houston and I still had some photos we needed to process from Lauren and Daniel’s wedding. We made arrangements to get together at his place in Watkinsville, Georgia. It had been awhile since I had been down that way, so Sunday morning I made the trek down I-85, through Athens, and down to his farm out in the middle of nowhere.
Of course, it wouldn’t be a proper ramble if we didn’t generate more photos along the way. So, before working on the wedding photos, we headed out to take some more.
The weather was perfect, so our first stop needed to be an outdoor venue. Just down from Houston’s farm is the Dyar Pasture Wetlands area. The wetlands are on the upper end of Lake Oconee, where the Oconee River enters the lake There is a boat ramp, and what looks like an excellent place to paddle. We took one of the trails out to an overlook for the wetlands, then walked out onto a dike.
I’m definitely going to have to come back with a kayak.
We headed on down to the main part of the lake, crossing the section where the Apalachee River enters. We stopped briefly for a drink, and found an interesting grill.
We retraced our steps back along Colham Ferry Road. The road reaches a crest at one point with spectacular views of the countryside. A small family cemetery added interested to the foreground of this long-range shot.
Along the way was a scary collection of single-wide mobile homes with a permanent yard sale in place. Houston said he had never built up the nerve to slow down and take a photo, much less stop in and see what they had for sale. I snapped a few shots as we drove past.
Houston took me over to Highway 15 where we crossed another portion of the Oconee River. Here there was another access point. This would make a perfect put-in for a float down to Dyar Pasture.
We had another stop along Highway 15. Houston wanted to show me the infamous Iron Horse. The horse was sculpted in the 1950s and placed on the University of Georgia campus. The sculpture was immediately vandalized and generally ridiculed by the students. In 1959 the horse was moved to Jack Curtis’s farm on Highway 15. The horse faces south, away from Athens and the university.
We walked out to the horse and took a few photos.
By this time we needed to get started with our photo processing. Half a day’s exploration of this area is obviously far too little time to spend taking photos. I’m definitely going to have to head back down this way soon.
Had a great time with you brother, and I really like the way you processed your Iron Horse photo. Come back soon and I can give you loads of material to write about.
Houston