Marginally Outdoors Activities

Obviously we don't spend all our time hiking. We have full time jobs, a house to maintain, and other obligations (well, honestly, the house and chores are usually the last priority). And sometimes we just do other things for fun besides hiking. They are usually somehow connected to the outdoors, though. My favorite "marginally outdoors" activity is going to vineyards. We have so many nearby and they are all in the mountains, so we can enjoy the views and scenery without actually hiking. Win/Win! Sometimes we'll do a short hike (so we don't end up all sweaty and gross) and then head to a more casual vineyard. Or if we start out intending to hike but then it starts to rain, we have a back up plan.  

Most recently we went to Cavender Creek Vineyards, which is not far outside Dahlonega at all. It's not new; we just hadn't been there yet. Cavender is very casual and rustic. It's surrounded by farms and there are some farm animals onsite. The Cavender donkeys are well known and adorable. They also have some livestock guard dogs, who also enjoy "guarding" the tasting room (to allow those to pass give out pats or treats). I'm hardly a wine expert or snob, so everything we had tasted great! In particular, we liked the peach sangria and would have taken a bottle of that home if possible. The staff were very friendly as well and there was a great live musician outside on the back patio. They also have an old log home onsite available for rentals. Overall, I would say Cavender Creek has something for everyone to enjoy. 

We have been to a lot of vineyards over the years and we've celebrated many special occasions at them. I tend to categorize them in terms of fancy or casual, so here are two lists of our favorites so you can plan accordingly! Again, no paid advertising or compensation, we just like supporting small businesses. 

More fancy:

1. Wolf Mountain- Dahlonega

2. Kaya- Dahlonega 

3. Yonah Mountain- Cleveland

More casual:

1. Cartecay- Ellijay

2. Cavender Creek- Dahlonega

3. Frogtown- Dahlonega

Sawnee Mountain and a side trip 11-22-15

I apologize for the lack of posting this week. I have been on vacation (unheard of- I have not taken a real vacation in about 10 years) in Florida. I started this post before Thanksgiving and never finished it. More on Florida later :)

We decided to take a lighter hike on 11/22/15 because we planned to meet family in Dahlonega for a wine tasting and didn't want to show up tired, sweaty or both. Instead of heading deep into the North Georgia mountains, we just went next door to Forsyth County and visited a county park- the Sawnee Mountain preserve.

Sawnee Mountain is not an extremely tall mountain but it has amazing panoramic views of the mountains to the north. It also has an interesting back story relating to Chief Sawnee and native American traditions involving the mountain. At 4 miles roundtrip, with few steep inclines, it’s a pretty manageable walk for adults or kids. There is also a nature center and some outdoor facilities like a ropes course. The only downside is NO DOGS ALLOWED. This is posted in several places so we decided not to test it and left the dogs at home.

The trails is pretty mundane, but there is an entrance to a creepy old mine along the way which is pretty interesting. As you get closer to the top, there are more and more rocks, including the “Indian Seats” which are seat like depressions in the rock were reportedly used for meditation and ceremonies by the Cherokee.

As far as parks and recreation very close to the metro area go, Sawnee Mountain is a pretty neat place. It's in west central Cumming and easily accessible from GA-400. It's an easy ~2 hour or so hike and it would be fun to have a picnic at the top among the rocks. 

So after our hike, we went to Wolf Mountain vineyards in Dahlonega. We have been there many times over the past several years and we love it. I am not a wine critic but everything they produce tastes lovely. It's about $10-15 dollars for a tasting, which includes 6 or 7 different wines with healthy servings sizes. There is also food available to order.

The view was spectacular, as we were there in the late afternoon as the sun was starting to set. I had never actually been there in the fall before and enjoyed seeing the vineyards turning golden. One of the things I enjoy most about living in Georgia, is the seasons and seeing how different scenery changes throughout the year. But on a different note, expect a post about Florida and it's year round sunshine soon!