About a week ago my girlfriend Julie and I took a road trip to Northern Georgia. We stopped in Stone Mountain, Helen, and Hiawassee. It was a week full of hiking, sight seeing, and even some whitewater rafting. I was torn between relaxing and enjoying a new place, while the photographer in me just had to get that perfect shot.

Our first stop was at Stone Mountain just outside of Atlanta. Our first day there we sat on the lawn to see the nightly laser and firework show. The next day we took the Skyride to the top of the rock and hiked back down to explore everything else that the park had to offer. Feeling exhausted, we treated ourselves to some great food and drinks at a near by German restaurant. After a short drive we arrived at our second location at a cabin just outside of Helen. This is where we stayed for the majority of our trip. We were literally the only people at this campground which made the darkness and fog at night that much scarier! On the first day there, we found a nearby trail that brought us to Duke's Creek Falls. The following day we hiked on the Appalachian Trail to Blood Mountain. At an elevation of 4,450 feet, we were met with breathtaking views and a rock shelter built for hikers in the 1930's by the Civilian Conservation Corps. Celebrating Julie's birthday, we went out for dinner that day and sat riverside with drinks and watched as people floated by on their own tubing adventures. Day five was whitewater rafting! Going down the protected Chattooga River meant that we saw nothing but wild and scenic shorelines. With class I through V rapids, our guides got us down the most beautiful river I've ever seen.

Down the road from our river guide's outpost is a working farm where they have a distillery and sell wine which is made with their own grapes, but is bottled at a different location. Let's just say we tried everything we could!

Our third and final stop brought us to Unicoi State Park where we were back to tent camping. There is so much to in the park itself that it really does deserve its own trip. With our limited time there, we were still able to do their zip line through the tree tops and complete a mini hike to Anna Ruby Falls.

It was an amazing trip with many more details and stories that I would love to share but I know you're here mostly for the photos. It is a mix of photos from a Nikon D5100, HTC M8, and a GoPro 4 Black. My photographs are available to purchase as prints. Please contact me if you are interested!

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