2008 Stone Mountain Highland Games

**Splash_4** · 21st October 08, 09:51 AM

Originally Posted by Jock Scot

Great pictures. I wonder if you could tell me what the significance of the three military men, on horse back, carved into the mountain is? Your Civil War, perhaps?

Originally Posted by cajunscot

Gi'e that man a cheroot.

The figures are Confederate President Jefferson Davis and Generals Robert E. Lee and Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson.

Regards,

Todd

And check out this Wikipedia entry. It is quite informative...

On top of that, the park is just a pretty place to walk around.

**thescot** · 21st October 08, 10:12 AM

Due to a conspiracy of dunces, I was late arriving on Saturday, so I missed the photos.

But it was a great day, terrific weather, and a fine outing. As stated above, it's a great place just to walk around.

**Luckey** · 21st October 08, 10:30 AM

As soon as I hit the ground I didn't feel so much as a guest but as a member of the family. It was great to finally meet George and then have lunch with Jim and then meet up with all the Xmarkers. One would be hard pressed to find a finer group of people. The setting for the festival is imho the finest anywhere and the folks in charge had everything very well organised. Overall, a fantastic weekend!

**gilmore** · 21st October 08, 11:11 AM

Originally Posted by Splash_4

And check out this Wikipedia entry. It is quite informative...

On top of that, the park is just a pretty place to walk around.

The Wikipedia article is interesting, but doesn't include that Stone Mountain was important to Native Americans. They made an enclosure made of loose stones piled into walls on top of the mountain which was gratuitously destroyed by Gutzom Borglum when he started the carving for reasons that haven't been explained.

I grew up in the area, and must say Stone Mountain was much more interesting before the state of Georgia bought it. The inhospitable and fragile top of the mountain used to have all sorts of interesting and strange vegetation. Now most of it has been trampled bare by visitors and is as barren and lifeless as the surface of the moon. Creating the lakes that surround the mountain destroyed several wooded valleys and the streams that ran through them. But now visitors can pay to ride the steamboat and paddlewheelers.

If you want to see more what it was like, you can go to another much smaller granite outcropping, Mount Arabia, south of it a few miles. Fortunately DeKalb County seems to be trying to preserve it in the right way before much of what makes it unique is lost, rather than putting in as many tacky money-making amusements as they can. Her eis info on it: http://www.3leaves.org/4715/arabia_mountain.htm