Quite a ride today. Headed into the far southwestern corner of NC and dropped on into north GA. Wound up soaked to the skin (despite good gear) and frozen. Weatherman said 60s and 20% chance of rain. Reality? Maybe 50, and N. GA had plenty of rain to spare, I even brought some home in my boots...
US Routes used: 19, 23, 64, 74, 76, 129, 441
GA Routes used: Alt 17, 75, 255, 197
GA Routes I was SUPPOSED to use: 180, 348 (oops, missed a turn...)
In the beginning, ran though the Nantahala Gorge on US19/74. Nice area and home of the 2012 ICF Freestyle Canoe World Cup. Didn't stop for pic, but this if the off season and nothing was really going on.
1st stop - Murphy, NC. We came through here on one of the 2011 Deals Gap trips.
Old train bridge, part of the long abandoned old Southern (absorbed into modern day Norfolk Southern) Murphy Branch. Based on the amount of time since abandonment, I don't know that I would even WALK on this bridge...
Old Depot from the same line:
A couple restored cars for railfan nostalgia:
On to an interesting place called Fields of the Wood. This is the world's largest 10 Commandments. Odd park, BUT it was a great ride getting there! There is even a massive cross too. You can easily find this on Google Maps satellite view it's so large.
The commandments (poorly stitched pan, didn't have a wide enough lens)
Looking across from the top at the "Wall of Psalms" and the "Psalm Walk."
Looking down the stairs for a sense of perspective. That's a LOT of stairs to climb in full gear (aside from helmet/gloves)
Cross of Nations. Not sure where the flags are, but this is a cross when seen from above. Hard to tell here though.
View from the top near the cross:
Heading back toward Murphy, I saw a road sign & historical marker for "Hiawassee Dam" so I just headed that way. This dam is 307 feet tall, and it took from 1936 to 1940 to complete. Not as big as Fontana, but pretty large.
The top. That is one a service crane the roadway goes under. It has two 60-ton hoists.
An original turbine removed at some point probably for age/upgrades. The marker behind the bike gives the stats: 80,000HP, 120 Max RPM, built at Newport News Shipyard, and weighs in a 43 tons.
Next stop? Blood Mountain GA on US129 north of Suches, GA. The peak is 4,458, and the AT crosses at the highest point of the roadway. Now, remember the "Should have taken" from above? This is TWICE I'm missed a turn an wound up on Blood Mountain. Last time was on the 2011 NCS Deals Gap trip when the guy on the red SV (Sorry, can't remember a name now) had to chase my ass down and lead me back to the turn I missed.
In the rain and fog (this is where the soaking and freezing began too)
Last time on Blood Mtn. I nearly lowsided. I was WAY over, knee down etc., and caught a pot hole. The front almost tucked sliding a few inches wide, but the rear gave up completely. I broke one of my pucks using my knee and sheer strength to get the bike back in line.
Next stop? Helen, GA. Neat little town, and a fun place to enjoy Oktoberfest. However, not many pics of the coolest part because I didn't want to pay to part for just a few minutes to grab some pics. Here is what I did grab. These were on the back section and not the main drag.
Lights. This is also the road to the Festhalle that is an absolute riot during Oktoberfest.
Headed to a nice little dive for lunch. This bar is probably my favorite one in Helen.
More lights and a building that looks like a modern outhouse.
Headed out of Helen, intending to go to the Georgia Guidestones. However, the rain got crazy heavy so I just turned north toward home. Before turning, I found the Nacoochee Indian Mound. It was the center of the Cherokee town of Gauxule. Desoto visited it back in 1540. It's 190 feet long 150 feet wide and 20 feet high.
Saw a sign for Clayton which was on the way home from where I was, so I went that way. Too bad it was the long way and simply prolonged my soaking and freezing. However, GA197 is quite a fun ride and is worth hitting if in the area! I did find a random covered bridge. No marker though, so I don't know anything about it.
As I dropped into Clayton, it seems they're wanting a white Christmas according to the sleigh in their Christmas decorations:
JM
