Cloudland Canyon: my happy place

A few weeks ago, I posted a Facebook cover photo of a fall scene at Cloudland Canyon State Park near Trenton, Georgia.  My niece Anita Skipper commented on the picture, calling it “my happy place.”  Truer words were never spoken.

My love affair with Cloudland Canyon started in the late 1960s when both sides of my family started having reunions at the park.  On hot summer Sunday afternoons, we would gather under a pavilion, enjoying covered dish treats while shooing away flies and bees.  Someone would always set up a horseshoe game and a volleyball net.  Of course the highlight would be a hike down to the waterfall.  For us kids, it was an adventure as the older, braver ones among us would actually tiptoe around the rocks to get under the waterfall.  For the grown-ups, especially those past a certain age, it was a badge of honor just to make it all the way down and back without requiring assistance.

I would always take along a transistor radio.  For some reason, those summer songs just sounded better with nature providing visual ambience.  Even now, when I hear “Spill the Wine” by Eric Burdon, “Get Ready” by Rare Earth, and “In The Summertime” by Mungo Jerry, I’m back on the trails of Cloudland Canyon.  It’s wonderful how music from your youth takes you to your happy place, isn’t it?

My wife Cindy is from Pennsylvania, so as she was getting adjusted to life in the South, I couldn’t wait to show her my favorite places.  Shortly after we married, we rented one of the cottages for an overnighter.  No TV, no phone.  Just the sights and sounds of nature, everywhere.  When our sons came along, we kept that tradition alive.  Now it’s their happy place too.

With Chris and Vince, 1996

Cindy’s dad came down to visit, and wanted to see this park we always talked about.  He’s more than thirty years older than me, so I was hoping he would be able to keep up along the hiking trails. Let’s just say he got a little impatient when, on the way back up from the waterfall, I insisted on taking a “halftime” break, sitting on that well-placed bench under the big rock.  While I gasped for breath, he was ready to move on up that seemingly endless staircase.  He’s almost 90 now, and he can still run circles around me.

Cloudland Canyon has also played a role in my professional career.  When I was in my mid-20s, I had to make a big decision.  I had been on the radio for a few years, and was having a great time.  Out of the blue, I was offered a chance to switch to TV.  It seemed risky.  Should I leave the comfort and security of radio, which is all I ever wanted to do, to start all over in TV? I was about to get married, so it seemed like a bad time to roll the dice.

I was getting conflicting advice from every direction, so I did what any sensible person would do.  I drove to Cloudland Canyon one sunny afternoon, hiked down to the waterfall, and sat on a rock.  I think I was the only person in the park that day, so with no human distractions, I just sat and thought.  That rare moment of clarity enabled me to focus on the decision, and to this day, I think it inspired me to do the right thing.

Just recently, I took a day off, to enjoy what has become an annual ritual for me.  I visit Cloudland Canyon each October to see the fall colors, and chat with people from all over the country who are there for the first time.  I offer to take pictures of their families, so that no one gets left out.  When they ask me where I’m from, I tell them I grew up about 15 minutes away, and I tell them why the park means so much to me.  I tell them that little has changed since I was a kid.  Sure, we didn’t pay five bucks for a parking pass way back then, but the improved facilities and maintenance are well worth that small price.

When we part company, those visitors always say the same thing: “You sure are lucky to live here.”  Yes I am.

Directions from Chattanooga: Take I-24 West, to I-59 south, to Trenton exit 11. Turn left off exit to Highway 136.  In 3/10 of a mile, turn right (at Ingle’s intersection). Almost immediately (at Moore Funeral Home) turn left onto Highway 136.  Drive six miles up the mountain, and Cloudland Canyon is 6 miles on the left.  Admission is $5.00 for a parking fee.  It is about a 35 minute drive.