Every now and then Nick and I treat the puppies to a day out, and this visual journal page was made for such an instances. It had been awhile since the pups went on a trip, to the dog park, for a swim, out of the house in general. Nick and I both happened to have a weekday off and decided to get up early and take the pups to Stone Mountain.

If you aren’t from Georgia here are some fun facts about Stone Mountain. It’s a huge quartz dome, 5 miles wide at the base, and extends 9 miles into the ground at the deepest point. It has the largest bas-relief in the world, and depicts three confederate soldiers (Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson, and Jefferson Davis). The carving is 3 acres, or 2 1/2 half football fields. In addition to the mountain there are trails, parks, a lake, and tons of activities. But, the most traditional activity is the hike to the top of Stone Mountain, for a good workout and an amazing view of Atlanta.

Growing up in Atlanta you have to try hard not to visit Stone Mountain. It’s cheap, an easy family outing, and a frequent field trip stop. Having said this, Nick and I have both been to Stone Mountain on multiple occasions, but decided it was time to see how puppy friendly it was.

We planned ahead, and got there early, far before the crowds. We stopped at the lake first, Jake and Kody spent a good hour swimming, running, and chasing everything that quaked, chirped, squeaked, or moved. After they were good and tired from their swim we decided to work them even harder, and hiked them up the mountain. Needless to say, I was impressed, especially with Jake. He trucked it the entire way up, claws digging in, panting, not wanting to stop until he saw the top. Unfortunately, 3/4 of the way up we finally noticed a sign that threatened fines if dogs were brought beyond a certain point, a point we passed a good bit back. I’m sure much to the relief of the pups we took in a good view from that point, then headed back down, and on home. Those dogs were passed out as soon as their furry butts hit the car seats, and they happily snoozed for the rest of the afternoon.

CHALLENGE: Create a page about a recent outing. It could be a recent vacation or something smaller, like a trip to the park, to the store for a treat, or an afternoon in your hammock or garden.

To create this page I collaged two photographs I took and a map of Stone Mountain Park. When I take photographs I enjoy the up close, textured, macro pictures. I enjoy a good landscape shot every now and then, but this particular day I was obsessed with the lines in bark, spongy moss, and beautiful leaves. In particular, I liked two photographs of a stump and moss and decided to keep it simple, cut them out and set them on opposite pages. As a contrast to the detail shots, and a way to tie the photographs together, I decided to cut out the birds eye view map to lay on top. We spent the day exploring Stone Mountain, and I wanted to represent that. I glued everything down using rubber cement.

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