On Saturday, one of my friends posted on Facebook that they happened to be hiking at a park further north from me. My first thought was “well it’s really nice day for walk/hike/sojourn through the woods, bet they’re having fun.” My second thought was “wait a minute, it IS a really nice day for a walk and I have a walking trail just a few minutes drive away – why am I sitting inside and staring at a computer?” And so, off I went to….
If you happen to Google this place, you’ll find there’s a couple different names it goes by, including Bob Callan. I just go by what the sign tells me it is.
Now for anyone planning to venture here, this is a pretty typical paved trail with nice little benches spaced about and even a spot with wooden tables for a picnic. Like any good trail, there are a few unpaved mini ones shooting into the woods for exploring off-road but you’re bound to see some up close and personal nature no matter which way you go – like, say, a momma duck and her itty bitty, itty bitty ducklings swimming in a row.
Okay, so since this pic was taken with my camera on max zoom, it was not actually an up close and personal encounter…but I’m sure momma duck preferred it that way.
However, what I noticed as soon as I entered the park this time was not the nature around me but something equally colorful – my eyes zoned in on graffiti. I blame this first example that greeted me before I went under one of there bridges the trail meanders through…
Considering how tricky it probably was to get in position on that wall, this person was obviously very committed to their craft.
It’s odd but I’ve come to this trail a couple times and never really taken notice but once I spotted this first one, well, it became my unintended mission to seek out more. And I find I did – sometimes it just took a closer examination…
At first glance, just a nice scene of the Chattahoochee River running under a bridge.
But a closer look reveals a snake doodle and…some other artsy stuff.
When you take a closer gander at this part of the trail you’ll find that…
It’s SUPER!
And sometimes the graffiti was a bit more easy to spot…
This seems to be a more philosophical, “fill in the blank” sort of approach.
Directly to the left of the “Sometimes In Life” was a spotty cover up job with black spray paint in effort to conceal what the lighter-colored paint underneath revealed as a penis. For obvious reasons, that one did not get included here but makes me wonder if both had the same…um, artist?
Fortunately, there were no other potential X-rated creations – but somewhat unique nonetheless…
There were actually a lot of cover up jobs present but even these were sometimes used for artistic license…like this jolly snowman for example.
On these pillars there were three questions: “Will you go to prom with me?”, “I can change will you give me another chance?” and “Will you marry me?” I assume this was the same person asking all three…though if so, question two begs the question of whether one or three should be a yes.
Just so no – never go to prom with anyone too lazy to write out the work WITH.
Unfortunately for me during my walk back to the parking lot, I had not worn my good walking shoes for this expedition. Oh no, I wore just my regular ol work shoes. Go me.
Yep, that’s my pasty white legs there. The white spots on my non-trail-appropriate shoes show that I had least had the foresight to wear bug spray. The odd red and white “ball” I’m standing on is a mystery – just another bit of graffiti that filled my heart with glee.
I realize these highlights of mine may not seem to depict the trail as being a great place to bike, walk, or run (the latter of which I would only do if chased), but it really is a nice trail. Keep in mind I was sort of seeking out the ugly to some degree. That being said, beauty can sometimes be a matter of perspective. For example, take this beautiful pic I took of a flower near the entrance…
Hey, looks like we’re at the botanical gardens or something, right?
An entrance which happens to be the in middle of a bunch of construction and so a bigger shot may not look so pretty…
Nope, we’re not. The flower circled in yellow is the exact same one in the other photo.
And besides, even nature got into the graffiti act…
Oh so you’re gonna put some weird candy cane looking thing next to the woods? Well how about a little rust on that?
So – a little nature spotting, a snowman, and pleadings for second chance under a bridge. All in all, I’d say I had a pretty good walk. Though I could have done without the barely concealed penis on the wall. Avert your eyes children and go watch the baby ducks!
juliehhicks 