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30 Cheaha by Chuck Chandler PHOTOGRAPHY by MEG McKINNEY and High Falls (10 miles), as well as several scenic overlooks with views that are second only to those found inside the 2,799- acre state park. The park and forest share similar quartzite rock formations, stands of pine, oak and hickory trees, and bountiful wildlife including bats, bobcats, foxes, hawks, opossums, rabbits and raccoons; but hunting is forbidden within the confines of Cheaha. While many of the 200,000 annual visitors enjoy putting up a tent on one of the 73 modern campsites or in a "primitive" area of the park, others prefer staying in the 30-room hotel, the 12-room Bald Rock Lodge or one of five chalets (four pet-friendly, one handicapped-accessible) added in 1973. All of the newer facilities are modeled after the original local- stone-walled buildings, with none more picturesque than the restaurant with 20-foot-high picture windows facing out from the north side of the mountain. Three huge chandeliers of interwoven deer antlers hang from the ceiling above where diners order house specials such as whole catfish, Southern fried chicken or rib-eye steak served with vegetables, cornbread and, if requested, Alabama wine or beer. On a January Friday evening, a diverse crowd dines while looking at the distant city lights of Talladega on the left, Oxford in the center and Heflin on the right. One table is filled by six students from Japan. Square dancers in for their annual gathering at Cheaha occupy several tables. The center section tables are pulled together for Montgomery Christian Motorcycle Association members who have motored in for a meeting. The next morning, the Camp Store parking lot quickly fills with vehicles carting in scores of young people taking advantage of unseasonably warm weather to hike one or more of the trails. They pay the $5 park fee and spread out in all directions, some to the steep half-mile path to Pulpit Rock, where they may rappel after signing a waiver. Some accept the challenge of the 1-mile Rock Garden and Lake Trail that has a 1,000-foot elevation change in the first half-mile. Beginners enjoy the 1.4-mile Mountain Laurel Trail that hugs a stream along a level pathway reaching just into the woods from the campsites and chalets. Power has seen it all through the decades. She recalls the hiker who gave birth on a trail, but she also has seen many fawns born in the Telescope provides even better view at top of 75-foot-tall tower. Balcony view from Cheaha Restaurant