Just Photos: a Journal by Srinivas

  The sky cried at dawn, lamenting the bedlam unleashed by hate-filled lies of a power hungry narcissist. But soon, the cleansing sunshine lit up the skies, to heal the deep gashes inflicted on the core of the nation. Scorched earth, but sanity prevailed - monumental job ahead.

  Dawn at 7:07 AM from Ridge Road looking East toward Atlanta.  Perhaps a harbinger of new, positive, harmonious beginnings on the national political scene.

Had been walking on one fork of the Rottenwood Creek Trail along the Chattahoochee River off and on for the past two years. This morning, decided to try the other fork, which goes along the actual Rottenwood Creek. It was quite amazing urban trail, two-miles long, paved, undulating - rising up steep slopes to the interstate highway level, and back down to the creek along a winding path complete with underpasses and a variety of bridges back and forth across the creek, all the while, offering a tranquil getaway just a five minute drive from home. Frozen leaves and twigs with ice crystals gave way to sunbathing birds in the river. The meandering creek offered moments of quiet reflection, literally a stone's throw from the Atlanta perimeter, yet seemingly in a different, rustic world. The city all around us intruded, although politely, with reminders of its existence, in the form of bridges, graffiti, underpasses, and tall buildings. A winter morning well spent!

Sweetwater Creek State Park is just west of Atlanta, an approximately 30-minute drive away.  The full glory of the ubiquitous, meandering Chattahoochee river comes alive here.  I have been there several times, and each season presents its own unique look at this slice of peaceful wilderness. You never know what will turn up just around the corner, even if you have been there a few times. The river was in spate due to the recent rains. alternating between a gentle crawl and churning torrents. Of course, one of the highlights is the ruins of the New Manchester Manufacturing Company textile mill burned during the Civil War, nestled between the varied vegetation, standing sentinel over the river as the years go by.