Think vast expanses of deep, cold shining water, over 270 miles of mostly undeveloped shoreline boasting hardwoods and towering pines, and quiet secluded coves hidden down green fingers of lake. This is Lake Wedowee (pronounced Wee-DOW-ee), located just two hours west of Atlanta, across the border in Alabama.

Created by Alabama Power Company in 1982 (they still own over 80% of the lakefront), by damming the Tallapoosa River, Lake Wedowee claims to be one of the cleanest lakes east of the Mississippi. If fish were a gauge, it's probably true, as the lake brings fisher-folk, seeking varieties of bass, bluegill, sunfish, crappies, and catfish, from all over the Southeast.

Before the lake was created, this area was farmland and it has just been in recent times that the many arteries of gravel roads have been cut in to access different areas of the lake.

We discovered it quite on a lark, as I was thumbing through the classifieds in the AJC. On the exploratory trip around the lake, we saw that the area was brimming with wildlife: giant burnished wild turkeys, red tailed hawk, wobbly legged fawns. Wild blueberry bushes were as ubiquitous as muscadine grapevines. To add to pastoral countryside, I was struck by the notable absence of mosquitoes. It simply didn't make sense that with that quantity of water . . . nevertheless, they weren't present.

The town of Wedowee itself is simple and country. It claims two small grocery stores, owned locally, two banks (one actually called Small Town Bank), a handful of country Victorian homes. There are two country restaurants serving salad, burgers, and chicken fingers. For barbeque, you have to travel the 12 miles to the slightly larger town of Roanoke for the delicious pork (or chicken, beef) served with three temperatures of sauce. However, if you enjoy a cold beer with your picnic, pack it in, as Randolph County is dry as the Sahara.