Tuesday, February 28, 2006

06-26 Last Report of the Season, Helen Georgia

This is my last report of the season. I’ve really enjoyed having you along with me on my journey across the country and have truly appreciated your comments and messages along the way. It made it seem as if your were right here with me on this most fun journey.

Without your messages, I truly would have been alone on my journey.

I traveled from Ashville thinking the 170 miles to Helen would only take a couple of hours. But going through the southern end of the Appalachian Mountains was quite the challenge. Besides being beautiful the mountain driving had me driving at a much slower speed.

Helen Georgia is in the north east corner of Georgia. I can see why my friend Tom Hooker and his wife have a cabin in the mountains of Georgia. What a pleasant surprise. It was due to his descriptions of the area that I came here.

Helen Georgia is a re-creation of a Swiss Mountain village. Campers will love the area as there are tons of State parks, State and National Forest campsites and commercial campgrounds in the area. A couple of Alpine lakes surrounded by the southern end of the Appalachian Mountains really makes this an outdoor mans paradise. Fresh Trout is served at many of the local restaurants, with a couple right on the Chattahoochee River.

You’ll find lots of snowbirds from Fla. here for the summer. I’m staying at Unicoi State Park just two miles from downtown Helen. Besides all the hiking and other outdoor activities, I found a small wooden covered bridge in the area, an Indian mound and a real grist mill still in operation just outside of Helen. One could also take advantage of the longest Oktoberfest in the world. Going from August through October! What a refreshing fun place to explore.

Keep in mind, a Google search will provide lots more information on any of the places I write about.

Further on down the road, I’m taking 441 through the center of Georgia. A quiet two to four lane country road. Pleasantly straight with gentle hills to travel over. Quite a difference from all the mountain driving I’ve been doing.

I’m staying at a Passport American park, Piney Woods Lake RV park in central Georgia. Cost, $12.00. I met the farmer, a true straw hatted, overall wearing farmer, who made the decision to create an RV park on his farm because he was loosing money each year and would have lost the farm without the conversion. It now has acorn trees along each row of campsites and a man made lake for fishing. The lake is surprisingly large and I’ve enjoyed walking around it in the later afternoon. Farmer John has two Bluegrass Festivals each year. Oct 5,6,7 and April 5,6,7.

It’s also a great hunting area if your into deer hunting. I not only saw a dead dear on the side of the road, but a few minutes later I had two deer run out in front of me as I drove down a country road. Thank goodness someone had told me a while back, that if a deer runs across the road ahead of you, slow down, because they always run in packs and another one would surely run across the road a minute later. As it did!

I’ll be heading out west again next year and sure would like to take you along on my journey. Hope to hear from you this fall and winter and please feel free to give me ideas out my upcoming trip in 07. From Arizona, New Mexico, I’ll be heading more northerly in the spring and summer to Wyoming, Montana and who knows where else.

Have a great fall season and hope to hear from you along the way.

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