RA News

RA Trip to Stone Mountain

Rod with Johnny Huffman and Jason Brice took five boys to hike up Stone Mountain. At right above are Brandon Hause, Mitchell Brice, Mitch Haney, Caleb Willis and Matthew Bryant.

As we headed up the mountain, Mitchell and Caleb paired off and were great buddies all day.

As we went up the trail, Johnny told them about a place where RA was carved in the mountain, so they were pleased to find it.

Rest stop along the way.

As we gained altitude, we were able to see a lake, and see the cable lift on the way up. Finally everyone was on top of the rock.

Mitch, Matthew and Brandon on the rock above left. At right, Jason and the boys check out the edge and the wide view.

Several hawks were soaring around the peak, looking like they were having a good time. At times you could see a half dozen of them.

At the edge, we could watch the pair of cable cars pass as they moved up and down the mountain. The boys enjoyed watching and waving at the passengers.

There was a nice view of the cable cars suspended over the view of the lake as they came up.

The boys could watch the paddlewheeler tour boat far below on the lake and then wave to the cablecar passengers as it came overhead.

We watched the hawks circling around over the paddlewheeled tour boat. At times there were a half dozen. The return of the boat to its dock near the carillion made a nice scene from our high perch.

We tried to get a group picture with the Atlanta skyline in background, but it was too hazy. We then headed down the mountain.

Even this large praying mantis was a source of fascination to the ever curious boys.

Caleb's monkey business brought a test of how ticklish he was. The arrival of the Stone Mountain train took us all to the tracks to watch.

Our traditional RA lunch, the gourmet peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Another advantage of working with boys is that they will eat anything. Especially after climbing a mountain. After lunch they amused themselves jumping a ditch. Jason and Johnny even got into the act.

Boys will make a game out of almost anything, and the boys dreamed up this ditch-jumping game while we were cleaning up from lunch. Then even Johnny got into it.

Mitchell takes flight over his dad. Then the almost inseparable Mitchell and Caleb pair take the ditch position. It is good to get boys out in the woods, away from TV and video games, and see their natural creativity come out.

We hope to help instill a love of nature and a reverence for the God who made it on our RA outings. We also pray that we as RA leaders can set an example of Christian character and concern for all the boys. Working with the boys in an outdoor setting provides fellowship with the adult leaders, gets us to spend time with them and help them deal with the practical problems you encounter in the woods and on campouts. A breakfast and a day outing are generally planned for the first Saturday of each month, with occasional overnight camping trips.