Kicking Around North Georgia

I've been spending time in North Georgia, having looked forward to this part of the country for sometime (I've otherwise only known Savannah). This is gorgeous country, rolling hills and mountains primarily, all foothills to the Blue Ridge Mountains.

I was in and out of Clayton for about 4 days. This old town has had mushroom growth recently due to a Harrah's casino up the road in North Carolina. I'm told that once that casino went in, the traffic coming from Atlanta and Greenville, SC, increased phenomenally, so that now all the franchise businesses are located along the highway (with the real town in about 2 blocks). Clayton has a lovely new books store which I visited a couple of times.

In 1966, students in Rabun County began raising money for their schooling. They did this by interviewing oldtimers and writing up their interviews. The result of these writings is now the famous set of Foxfire books. Foxfire is now a rather famous museum and preserver of Appalachian folk arts. The weekend I was in Clayton was the date for the Foxfire Fall Festival at the Community Center and grounds. How lucky could I be? There were hands-on demonstrations of the classic arts of candlemaking and weaving, and the not-so-classic arts of wrestling a greased pig and climbing a greased pole. Needless to say, these last were for the children. Other exhibits were musical instrument making, carving and lots of banjo music. I was pleased to be able to attend, though disappointed that most of the exhibits were contemporary vendors of general items.
I made appointments to see several rental units that were available, but none of them appealed to me. I even went to church, where both parking and seating were at a premium -- I haven't had that experience in years. In the end, I decided that Clayton was just too busy for me to be really comfortable. So it was back on the road again.

Yesterday, Sunday, I started traveling across the top of Georgia. This area is far more mountainous than I had realized. I traveled along the Hiawassee River and town of that name: a beautiful area with no focus.

I then dipped down into Dahlonega, the site of America's first major gold rush. The town name is a corruption of a Cherokee word meaning golden. The gold rush here occurred just before the more famous California Gold Rush. Some official, trying to keep the miners from fleeing to California, spoke the line now famous: There's gold in them thar hills. This is quite a town, with the most active town square I've seen to date. At the center of the square is the old court house, now a gold museum; quaint shops surround the square, mostly restaurants. You can take a horse-drawn carriage ride or visit a wine tasting room (there are quite a few wineries in N. Georgia). Contiguous to the square is North Georgia College and State University (2 schools rolled into one: the former being the state's military college). Very hilly country with lush vegetation; probably too touristy for my likes, though the town has possibilities. It even needs a bookstore. Dare I? Probably not. I got back to the Square this morning about 10:00. Almost nothing was open. 

So I proceeded on to Ellijay/East Ellijay, another town built around a square and finally have landed in Murphy, North Carolina. This is a bigger town than I expected, without a square. Lot of 

Cherokee history here.

Murphy is town number LAST on my travels. When I wake up tomorrow (Tuesday), my trip will be over. What do I do then? I have about 16 hours to figure this out. Stay tuned.