Georgia - Day 26 - to Tallulah Falls

Tallulah Falls State Park, Tallulah Falls

Sunday, 23 April 2023

today's route

Google told me today's drive wouldn't take much more than an hour, and the map said the same thing, so I didn't leave the campground until going on 10:00 (when I gave up hope of getting a decent email signal).

In Hartwell (the town) we stopped for groceries and then made one more trip to the dog park.  Dext was joined by a young dog who was shy and a little afraid of him.  He did what he usually does with dogs like that, which is at first to bounce up to them to meet them and then, when they shy away, immediately back off and go elsewhere to continue sniffing things.  I was proud of him for being so sensitive.  The dog's owner, though, never stopped worrying about him and took her dog to the other side of the park to throw balls, which Dext is totally uninterested in.

It was 11:00 before we got on the road and about 15 miles later when we got to the town of Lavonia.  It's a nice old town, incorporated in 1880, and named after the wife of a railroad official.  The buildings and houses look like they were belong in a town that age.  But I was surprised to pass a very substantial-looking Carnegie Library.  

This is an internet photo of only half the building. 
I didn't see that sign out front but did see a building that's much more attractive
than this photo makes it look.  But this was the only one not copyrighted.

With 2,100 residents, Lavonia is the smallest city in the US with an original Carnegie Library building.

At Lavonia I switched to GA-17, and a sign told me I was on the Appalachian Foothills Parkway.  Tonight's campground was less than 40 miles farther along.

We got to Tallulah Falls State Park at 1:15 where I was greeted by some beautiful rhododendrons.

When I was checking in at the campground, the ranger made a face and said most people didn't like the campsite I'd chosen because it was so sloped.  I was dismayed and told him I couldn't level myself, and he scolded me, "You're in mountain country and you don't have leveling equipment?!"  I didn't bother to respond because it's hard to explain that traveling alone has definite positives but also some drawbacks.  Ease of using leveling equipment is definitely one of those drawbacks.

Anyway, he listed off for me the sites that weren't already reserved for the time I'd be there, and I drove around for a while to look them over.  I learned that the campground had some extremely steep hills but was fairly small, only 50 spaces.  I chose what I thought was a level site, only to learn later that I'd been mistaken.  But it wasn't so bad that I wanted to try to switch again.  I dumped my waste tanks and went down the road a ways to see more.  

At the nearby Interpretive Center, they had an odd assortment of displays, and here's a sample.

An Ancient Mountain Range

The "Bridge" is actually the dam creating the lake on the left. 
The campground lies to the left of the watercourse between the dam and L'Eau D'Or Falls.

Hollywood Comes to Tallulah

The beautiful scenery around Tallulah Falls has been used as a backdrop for numerous films.

photos for "The Great Locomotive Chase"

photos for "Deliverance"

Footsteps Through Tallulah

Over the years, many people have visited Tallulah Falls, including daredevils, explorers, scientists and artists.

Hermits:

Scientists:

Conservationists:

Lt. Gen. and Mrs. Longstreet

Daredevils:

enlargement of Guinness photo

And then, of course, tourists:

enlargements below

This wedding dress reminds me of my grandmother's dress - and about the same era.

Then there were the legends of the native Cherokee:

This is a spooky story.

And finally, an unusual resident:

There are only 2 species of mole that live in Georgia, and this one lives only in this northeastern corner of Georgia.  And unlike most moles, he prefers moist areas.  That star on his nose consists of 11 pairs of tentacles that give him 25,000 sensors to help him feel his way underground.  Seriously weird looking, but he's clearly adapted well to his environment.