The Boswell crest: a hooded hawk, with the motto Vraye Foy

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Category Travel

Walking Dead in the Real World

·Family, Photography, Travel·No comments

The Walking Dead was filmed in and around Atlanta from its first season in 2010, and the city’s own places stood in for the show’s: a downtown expressway, a flooded quarry, an old metal works. Olivia and I photographed three of them on one afternoon in September, and what follows is the show’s view of each beside what is there now.

Jackson Street Bridge

Old Fourth Ward, Atlanta. Rick rides into the dead city — season 1, “Days Gone Bye”, and the poster.

The shot on the season-one poster — Rick Grimes on horseback, riding down an empty Freedom Parkway toward the Atlanta skyline — was taken from this bridge, looking west. In the show the lanes are choked with abandoned cars leaving the city; on a Saturday afternoon they carry the usual traffic. It is the most visited Walking Dead spot in Atlanta, and the graffiti on the rail is part of the pilgrimage.

Rick rides down Freedom Parkway into Atlanta, the outbound lanes jammed with the cars that fled.
The frame itself — Rick rides down Freedom Parkway into Atlanta, the outbound lanes jammed with the cars that fled. (AMC)

The season-one poster, taken from the same bridge.
The season-one poster, taken from the same bridge. (AMC)
The view from the bridge, looking west down Freedom Parkway to downtown.
The view from the bridge, looking west down Freedom Parkway to downtown.
Olivia on the bridge.
Olivia on the bridge.

Bellwood Quarry

Westside Park, Atlanta. The survivors’ camp above the city — season 1.

The camp where Rick finds Lori, Carl and Shane at the end of the first episode, and where the first season’s Atlanta group lives, was filmed at Bellwood Quarry, a worked-out granite pit on the west side of the city. The city has since flooded it as a drinking-water reservoir and opened the land around it as Westside Park in 2021, so the dry quarry floor of the show is now a lake. The cliff face the camp looked out on is the same; the downtown and Midtown towers stand on the skyline beyond it.

Shane, Lori, Carl and the others at the RV, the quarry's rim behind them.
The camp in season one — Shane, Lori, Carl and the others at the RV, the quarry’s rim behind them. (AMC)

The camp as the comic drew it, and as the show built it at the quarry.
The camp as the comic drew it, and as the show built it at the quarry. (Image Comics / AMC)
The flooded quarry from the park's overlook, the skyline beyond.
The flooded quarry from the park’s overlook, the skyline beyond.
The cut granite face across the water.
The cut granite face across the water.
The whole quarry, from the pump house on the left to the far wall.
The whole quarry, from the pump house on the left to the far wall.
Olivia at the overlook.
Olivia at the overlook.

Terminus

Collier Metals, 793 Windsor Street SW, Atlanta. “Sanctuary for all. Community for all. Those who arrive survive.” — the end of season 4 and the start of season 5.

Terminus, the railway-yard “sanctuary” whose signs draw the survivors in at the end of the fourth season, was the old Collier Metals plant on Windsor Street, south of downtown. The big TERMINUS letters were mounted across the top row of windows on the brick block, and the yard in front, where Rick’s group walks in, is the gated lot in these pictures. The plant is still a working scrap-metal business, so the pictures are from the street.

Terminus as the show dressed it, the survivors walking into the yard.
Terminus as the show dressed it, the survivors walking into the yard. (AMC)

The whole plant from the air, the rail-yard side.
The whole plant from the air, the rail-yard side — the side a train blocked on the day; Windsor Street is beyond the buildings. (AMC)

The TERMINUS letters close up, on the top row of windows of the rail-yard face.
The letters close up, on the top row of windows of the rail-yard face. (Gene Page / AMC)

Terminus burning, the start of season 5.
Terminus burning, the start of season 5. (AMC)
The Collier Metals gate on Windsor Street, the Terminus block behind it.
The Collier Metals gate on Windsor Street, the Terminus block behind it.
The same brick block, its windows now boarded.
The same brick block, its windows now boarded — the letters ran along the top row.
Closer, from the gate.
Closer, from the gate.
The sheds behind the main block, along the fence.
The sheds behind the main block, along the fence.
The whole plant from across the street.
The whole plant from across the street.
A red-shouldered hawk in the trees outside Terminus.
A red-shouldered hawk in the trees outside Terminus, the same afternoon.
The hawk again, watching the street.
The hawk again, watching the street.

Credits

Photographs by Olivia and me, 13 September 2026. The poster, the stills and the comic panel are AMC’s and Image Comics’, shown here for the comparison.

Today at Chautauqua – Children’s Parade and Jim Lehrer

·Family, Politics, Travel


Today at Chautauqua: Children’s parade around Bestor Plaza in the morning, followed by the 10:45AM lecture by Jim Lehrer. The rain held off for the parade, but interrupted the beginning of Jim Lehrer’s talk. Quite a downpour – but people braved the weather to attend the lecture. The rain had stopped by the time the lecture ended (~12:00) and we had to pickup the kids from the Children’s School schoolbus.

This is the first time I’ve heard Jim Lehrer speak outside of the News Hour show; he is an extremely engaging speaker, and a lot of fun. Some of the anecdotes he told about Presidential debates and interviews with candidates were hilarious!

Lots of pix follow:

Camping at Green Ridge State Forest

·Family, Outdoors, Travel·2 comments

This past weekend Preston and I had a great time “primitive” camping in the Green Ridge State Forest, about 100 miles west of our house. “Primitive” means no facilities other than a fire ring and a picnic table are provided. WOW! This was idyllic. Most sites are 1/2 mile from nearest neighbor. ~44,000 acres and only 100 camping sites. This is definitely my idea of camping. We drove for about 2 miles on a dirt road to get to our site. You could drive for ~50 if you did a full loop of all the sites. You can see the dirt path (off the dirt road) that leads into our site in one of the pix below.

We stopped first at the Ranger HQ, and the ranger there (and staff) were very nice and helpful. I asked him to recommend good sites for a 5 year old. He crossed off the ones near the C&O canal with steep dropoffs. He asked me what kind of vehicle we were driving. He smiled when I said “minivan” (its NOT mine; and it does hold a lot more gear than my car), and crossed off some more sites. The site he suggested was secluded, and huge! Lots of space for Preston to run in, but also lots of shade to setup the tent. The site was about 0.7mi from a creek, and Preston had a great time catching tadpoles and throwing rocks into the water. Beautiful setting. And the best part? NO CROWDS! No screaming kids, barking dogs, loud music, or neighbors’ banging pots in the morning.

I got up early (before Preston!) and made a pot of coffee and the only sounds I heard were the birds. SO much nicer than the State Parks, which pack everyone in like sardines. They have an atmosphere akin to camping in the parking lot of a daycare center. My only regret is that I didn’t find this place sooner.

One of the last-minute, spur-of-the-moment things I picked up was a butterfly net and bubbles at Target. That was the best $6.00 ever spent! Preston wore himself out chasing bugs all over the site, and in the creek. Preston also decided at the last minute to take some of his blocks and a train set. I said, “Sure! we have room in this van! They also kept him occupied in camp while I did other things (like try to rest in the hammock – until he found me).

We are going back in ~ 3 weeks. So looking forward to that!