Tennessee Travelers Rally – Hiawassee, GA – Part 3

The original Thursday plan was to go to Bell Mountain and Brasstown Bald (BB) but since we were passing near the bald on the way back from Helen on Wednesday, we decided to stop on the pretty day.  BB is part of the Chattahoochee National Forest and we therefore got in for free with our Senior Passes – one of the very few good things about being old.  

The road up the bald rises 2700 feet from the valley floor to an elevation of 4783 feet making it the highest point in Georgia – the road is pretty steep and curvy but easily doable in a car.  The first stop is at the parking lot from which a shuttle takes you up to the top where there is an exhibit hall, a theater, and 360 degree viewing platform – it is uniquely built from wood rather than the normal stone in most Federal Park structures.  Shots from the parking lot.

From the front sidewalk.

This locomotive sitting in the exhibit hall is also made of wood.

The negative of the nice warm day was that the air held lots of moisture and the views were hazy but GA, SC, NC and maybe TN can all be seen.

That night it was dessert around the fire of the goodies we bought at Hofer’s Bakery in Helen.

On Thursday, we returned to Sundance Grill for another good breakfast, then the girls went shopping and the guys worked on my awning issue to make it road worthy for the trip home.  The topper was put back in place and secured with cable ties and duct tape for the trip home – cable ties, duct tape, WD-40, small hammer will fix about anything – thanks to Louie, David and Steve as we made it home fine.

Then we all went back to Alexander’s Store, near Blairsville, so we could shop, pick up some purchases from Tuesday’s visit, and Bev could show me the furniture she had picked out for our living room.  Alexander’s is a classic “build it and they will come” place as it is located out in the boonies but it has some of about everything and at good prices.

That night, we ate leftovers at the club house and had a little game of Rook – Bev and I got whooped by Louie and Diane.  Friday morning it was leftovers for breakfast to use up the last of the food, clean up the club house, and say our goodbyes with a group hug – pic from Sandy.

Our trip home was uneventful but not as relaxing as the trip over as there were plenty of semis headed the other way on the curvy road through the Ocoee River Gorge and as usual they were driving too fast for that road and frequently crossed into our lane on the curves – I thought I would lose a mirror several times.  Unfortunately, for the 150 or so miles of mountains at the south end of the Blue Ridge, I-40 and this route are the ones truckers can use – US-441 over the Smokies and US-129 (The Dragon) are the other two main routes.

That’s it for this trip and we’ll see you down the road or in the kitchen.

Photos can be enlarged by clicking on them and the blue words are links.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

Larry

4/17-4/20/18 Event Date