Hiawassee # 3

We've had a relaxing time visiting with friends and seeing the sights,  This RV park is definitely on our list to visit again.

On Tuesday, the campground hosted a fish fry for us.  We all brought side dishes and had a wonderful meal.  Before I could get a picture of the fish, the vultures descended upon it.   Here is what was left after the first go around.   Those are hush puppies in the rear. 

There were plenty of side dishes to go with the fish.

We recognized Scott for all his efforts getting the Montana Rovers Forum up and running.  We are over 420 members strong in eight months and growing.  

We let him know that he's "Da Bomb"  

Vicki Allen gave Scott a couple of presents from her, hemorrhoid cream and migraine relief tablets.  She e-mails him a lot so this was her way to say thanks for all the help.  

He also got a gift bag of road food for travelling.

Several of us went to Brasstown Bald, This is the highest mountain in the state of Georgia.  It rises 4784 feet above sea level.  It lays claim to having the most inspiring vistas in the state.  You can see North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and on a clear day, the Atlanta skyline.  It was a bit hazy the day we went but the view was spectacular.

This is the visitor center with the ranger station tower on top.  From here, they can look for fires.

This is the road from the parking lot to the summit.  You can take a shuttle or hike 6/10 of a mile to the top.

Vickie visited Anna Ruby Falls. It's near Unicoi State Park near Helen, Georgia.  It is two streams that join to form Smith Creek. You need to hike up 4/10 of a mile to the falls.

 

On our last night. we had an ice cream social with home made ice cream.  First, we all signed a thank you card for Vicki for organizing the rally.

Then our ice cream social hosts, Brian and Kathy Adams told us about the flavors we were about to taste.

We all left on Thursday as the campground was being taken over by itty bitty campers.  They reserved all but six sites in the campground.

We stopped for the night in Clemmons, North Carolina at Tanglewood County Park.  Home tomorrow.

Hiawassee #2

Here are thirteen of us all in a row.  

Several of us visited Foxfire Museum and Heritage Center in Mountain City.  It was begun as a magazine in 1966 to engage English students and increase their interest in learning and has developed into what it is today. 

There are many log buildings along an almost one-mile trail through the woods.  All along the way, there are many demonstrations of the crafts and tools used for everyday survival in that period.  

Below is a young boy who was climbing the trees like a monkey.  He was about fifteen feet up and climbing barefoot going from one tree to another.

The blacksmith was making a trivet.  He has been in the trade all his life.  

This gentleman was demonstrating the art of making containers out of bark.  He grows his own poplar trees so he has an abundant supply.   

These are some of the berry picking baskets he has made.  He also has quivers for arrows and other uses.  

This is a rope making demonstration.  Six strands of sisal twine are used to make a rope about 1/4 inch wide.  

This is what the trail through the woods is like, a path through the trees.  

A potter was displaying his wares.  They were well made and very reasonably priced.  Some were quite elaborate. 

This is the grist mill powered by a waterwheel.  The log construction is beautiful to me.  

This building is used as an education center. It has electricity, air conditioning and a full kitchen.  The students built the split rail fence and many others like it.  

Here is a smoke house.  Notice the wooden hinges.  

This is the church.  Churches were usually the first buildings built and were used for the school, meeting room, and any other community purpose.  

Vickie, John and Cindy on the front porch of the church.

The broom makers building was built ba a professional log cabin builder and the students in nine days.  Here is some folklore or broom etiquette if you will.

We were told about the different brooms and their uses.  

I just liked this sign so I included it.

This woman was giving a weaving demonstration.  She has been doing this all her life and owns forty looms.  

Notice the bare feet.

It was a good tour and we beat the rain which was threatening us most of the day. 

Hiawassee

We arrived at Riverbend Campground in Hiawassee, Georgia on Tuesday for the Rovers Rally.  There are ten rigs here with the rest due in Thursday for the meet and greet.

Our current situation

The site isn't complete until the flag is up.  

Several of us started a new RV forum about eight months ago for any RVer wishing to join us.  We are now over 400 members strong.  Some of us have new decals on our rigs for our new forum.

Vicki Allen had a birthday on Monday so we celebrated with her on Tuesday evening. 

Vickie and I had lunch at a local restaurant on Thursday.  This was the sign in front of the Bear Meadow Grill.  This is my kind of place.

 

We visited the Hamilton Gardens at Georgia Mountain Fairgrounds.

There were over 400 varieties of Rhododendrons here, the largest collection in the state of Georgia.  We were here about a week too late but some were still in bloom.

It was a nice easy walk on the trail with some sculptures along the way.

They were harvesting hay in the fields next to the campground on the day we arrived.

We enjoyed the afternoon on Thursday before the meet and greet to start the official beginning of the rally.

There were 30 of us here with an additional couple arriving in a couple of days.
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Scott, our webmaster, opened the evening with a talk about the progress of our forum.

We presented Larry with a special recognition.

He has been giving one of our group a hard time for trading his Chevy for a Ford. We had to remind him about a trip last year.  By the way, that is a Ford wrecker.  

We are preparing for some rain this evening as we all head to Big Als' Pizza tonight.