Editor's note :
The American South’s Unexpected series explores unique and unusual destinations across the Southeast. We will take you off the beaten path to highlight artistic, historic, and quirky locales. To kick off the series, Unexpected will focus on outdoor destinations where it is possible to safely social distance.
The idea of being the curator of a decade-long evolving art project in the woods was far from Joel Slaton's mind when he decided to take a long walk.
It was 2010 and at the time he lived five miles from Constitution Lakes Park, an urban nature preserve popular with bird watchers located in the middle of an industrial district in Atlanta. The park was once part of an old brick company that excavated red clay in the area more than 100 years ago. The excavation pits were filled in and transformed into fishing lakes, Slaton said.