Stone Mountain State Park more stuff Part 3

Taken from the Blue Ridge Parkway.  This is a escarpment.   beside Stone Mountain

Stone Mountain form Blue Ridge Parkway

At the base

 

on a trail we call these two pic "chips off the old Stone"  LOL

I must enlighten you about Stone Mountain State Park. 

It is located on more than 14,100 acres.  One of the parks most spectacular features is the Stone Mountain, a 600 foot granite dome.  This feature is part of a 25 sq. mile pluton, an igneous rock formed beneath the earth’s surface by molten lava then with a lot of time and erosion it is exposed for us to enjoy.    The massive gray rock pictured is Stone Mountain, formed about 350 million years ago from intense heat and pressure deep within the earth.  Centuries of erosion uncovered the rock and sculptured it into the curious shape it is today.  At one time, the hard, granite surface of Stone Mountain attracted the attention of miners.  The rock proved to be too difficult to mine and Stone Mountain was eventually donated to the state of North Carolina.  Today it is protected as a state park.

The park was established in 1969 and designated a National Natural Landmark in 1975. 

Located here in this part of the park is the Mountain Culture Exhibit.  The exhibits tell the story of the independent mountain people how they provided shelter, food, and clothing for their families.  There is an old time still, loom and other historical artifacts displayed there.  They also have displays of animal skins and butterflies.  I have never seen a bigger display of butterflies, maybe at a university.

Hutchinson Homestead is complete with a log cabin, barn, blacksmith shop, corn crib, meat house and original furnishings.  The farm was built in the mid-19^th century. We are planning on going on the weekend because they have talks and such then.

Like I mentioned before there are trails all over the place.  Going to the Stone, the water falls, and they have a trail called, mountains to the sea trail, is here too.  They have a great place for horses and trails for them too.

Camping is open all year.  They have family camping which is located near the visitor center.  They have 90 tent and RV sites.  The RV sites are electric and water only.  They have very spacious and level tent sites at each site.  The RV pads are not so level, but one can manage.  They have two bathhouses with hot water showers.  They also have a place for group camping and backpack camping.  The creeks are noted for their trout fishing. Rainbow and brown trout are in the lower creeks and brown trout in the upper waters. They have at least 3 waterfalls.