Tuesday, November 04, 2008

Stone Mountain

The kids were out of school for Election Day and since it is Tuesday...
We went to Stone Mountain.  I can't believe that we've lived here for over two years and we've never been.  Stone Mountain is the largest exposed face of granite in the world.  It also has the largest bas-relief carving in the world on its face. 
 The carving depicts three Confederate heroes of the Civil War: Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson. The carving itself measures 3 acres.  It is 400 feet about the ground, measures 90 feet tall by 190 feet wide and is recessed 42 feet into the mountain.  The monument was begun in 1919 but was not finished until the 1950's.  
We walked around the Memorial Museum and saw several scale replicas of the monument.  The size is very deceiving and the monument looks a lot smaller than it is because it is so far away.  The carving is actually bigger than Mt. Rushmore, which is 60 feet tall. 
This is an exact replica of one of the horses' mouths:
The horse obviously got a taste of something nasty.

We took a sky tram up to the top.
and walked around on the granite.  There is a beautiful view of the Atlanta skyline!
Look! Not one, but TWO pictures of me today!
After we rode the tram back down, we walked around the plantation and the grist mill.  

Believe it or not, NO one got wet!
Although it is the off-season and not everything was open we had a fantastic time.  As always, it was nice to do something fun with Mrs. Kim, Kristen and Kelly.  And of course, the traditional stop at Sonic for a frosted coke on the way home was the cherry on top!

10 comments:

Wendy said...

You have GOT to go see the laser show sometime! It is so cheesy and awesome! At least it was the last time I saw it back in 1992? '93? Well, whenever it was. I think I have hiked (not taken the sky tram) to the top at least 5 times. You need to earn that view! lol.

Glad y'all had fun!

Troye said...

Lots of great trivia. Did you find out as well that you can park a school bus on Stonewall's nose. One of those things that stays with you over the years. :)
And, ditto on the laser show, Wendy!

Paula said...

Looks like a great time!!

Jane said...

Great pics!! looks like a blast!

Andrea said...

dear mom I bet I had more FUN than anybody on the trip!

Coleman said...

oops I was posting as mom

Queen B said...

what a neat excursion!

Anonymous said...

We had a blast!!! Miss Take Off Tuesdays!!

Pleeeeaaasssee take that picture off the www!!!!

Andrea said...

Are you kidding? It's the best one!

Kim Thomas said...

Next time I want to go here! Looked way fun!

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