HIGH FALLS
High Falls State Park boasts the county’ s only public pool-- admission is just $ 5.
games with balloons, sponges, and relays designed to leave participants wet, and a campfire with singing, story telling, and s’ mores to end the day.
Gadberry welcomed children ages 7-12 to three days of Junior Ranger camp in mid- July for arts and crafts, hikes and games, and environmental programs in Monroe County’ s state park. During the school year, Gadberry coordinates visits for school groups to experience the park. She conducts outdoor classrooms that comply with educational guidelines. She is the interpreter for two other nearby state parts in addition to High Falls and encourages visitors to see what Jarrell Plantation and Indian Springs State Park have to offer while they are visiting the area. Jarrell Plantation is a glimpse into life on a self-sustaining farm of another era. Indian Springs is one of the oldest public parks in the country, steeped in Native American history around its famous springs and filled with rock structures built by Franklin Roosevelt’ s Civilian Conservation Corps.
Gadberry comes to middle Georgia from Indianapolis; her husband is a law student at Mercer University. She is excited about learning more about all that High Falls State Park has to offer and expanding the programs that help all of its guests enjoy its setting and resources.
John McGee is introducing many guests to the joys of High Falls State Park as he and his wife serve as camp hosts this summer. McGee has enjoyed the role of camp host over the last seven years since he retired from a career as a truck driver. He welcomes campers, answers their questions, cleans up the grounds around their camp sites when they leave, cleans the park restrooms and keeps them stocked with supplies, and does whatever else needs to be done. McGee says he tries to help people make their trip to the park more pleasurable.
“ I want them to come back and see us again,” said McGee.
He has served as camp host at several state parks around Georgia, including, Seminole in Donalsonville, Reed Bingham in Adel, George L. Smith in Twin
City, Hamburg in Sandersville, Indian Springs, Victoria Bryant in Royston, and Hart in Hartwell. This summer is his first time as host at High Falls.
McGee’ s campsite at High Falls is within sight of the park’ s swimming pool, and on a recent afternoon he watched as four school bus loads of children from Henry County enjoyed a day at the pool and the park.
“ The pool brings kids,” said McGee.“ It’ s a good atmosphere.”
He said High Falls State Park offers the beauty of the falls and High Falls dam, history lessons, trails to hike, games of mini-golf, and lots of places to bicycle in addition to places to picnic, fish, and boat.
“ I love to talk to people,” said McGee.“ You meet a lot of interesting people [ at the state
park ], and 98-99 percent of the campers are good people, down to earth, who love nature. And there are good personnel here.”
McGee also had some stories to tell about the animal life at High Falls.“ This place is covered up in squirrels,” he noted. He said both the squirrels and the resident crows have learned how to work together to get the lids off the garbage cans so they can check out what campers and picnickers have left behind. There are mallards, Canadian geese, and domestic white geese that raise 30-40 young goslings around the lake each year. He watches the geese grazing in the open fields like cows, the goose who shows its influence as boss of the group and the geese who show their persistence as panhandlers to the people who visit in their territory.
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