Unicoi saves the day!

Following our somewhat disappointing visit to Helen, GA, we decided to venture a little further and check out Unicoi State Park. More specifically, we wanted to see Anna Ruby Falls.

It was actually raining during our hike up to the falls so I didn't get a ton of pictures. Something about not wanting to get my camera wet since I can't afford to replace it was at the forefront of my mind. I did manage a couple of shots while standing under Craig's umbrella. Totally worth it. Even overcast and wet, the place was gorgeous. Bonus points for the fact that since it was raining we had the place practically to ourselves.

None of us are sweet enough to melt so we weren't extremely worried about the droplets. In fact, it was kind of refreshing.

The falls are actually part of a river system that extends from northern Georgia down to Florida. This particular section is a 150 foot drop, with a couple of shorter falls before and after this one. Unfortunately, the link that I provided at the top of this post doesn't give these specifics, but there was a park ranger stationed on the viewing deck and gave us the 411 on it all...in between laughing at Canon busting his behind every couple of seconds. More on that in a minute.

The rain had made the viewing deck pretty slippery and Canon decided he wanted to sing and dance in the rain. Like mother, like son. Since we were the only visitors around, we thought it was more than ok and let him wear himself out. Boy, did he. He ran and jumped and fell and slid and spinned to his heart's content. He played so hard that he fell asleep within roughly 2.3 seconds after settling back in the car. Thanks, Anna Ruby Falls, for a quiet ride home!

 Upon leaving the park, we came across this sign from days gone by and we not-so-secretly lusted after the gas prices that have since ceased to be. RIP affordable gas. You were under-appreciated then, but we now long for your return.

Even with the rain, our trip to Unicoi redeemed our otherwise 'bleh' trip and I am anxious to go back and explore again. Mainly to take more pictures, of course, but I am sure the boys won't mind having another adventure.