Blue Ridge RR and Brasstown Bald

Yesterday we took off for Blue Ridge, GA and the Blue Ridge RR. The train ride is about one hour long and goes from Blue Ridge, GA to the twin border towns of McCaysville, Ga and Copperhill, TN. It was a really nice ride as the train went through the mountain valleys alongside the Toccoa River.

One story told while on board was about the Cherokee Indians fishing in the river. The men would make "fish traps" out of rocks in the river then send the women upstream where they would beat the water with sticks, driving the fish downstream into the trap where the men were waiting with baskets to pick the fish out of the river by hand, they were so plentiful. Here is a picture of one of only five traps still left on the river. It is now illegal to fish that way - but then what women would go upstream and beat the water while the husband sits and waits for the fish to come to him - not me! The following pictures shows one of the "traps" where the fish would get caught in the V for easy pickin!



Here is a picture of Morgan standing in two states at the same time....



And a picture of Morgan on the train and standing by the open air car we rode in....



After returning to Blue Ridge we drove to Brasstown Bald in the Chattahoochee National Forest. This mountain is Georgia's highest mountain at 4,784 ft. The ride up the mountain is breathtaking. There is a sign at the base to please leave trailers parked there - it's a very curvey, steep climb up (and back ). There is a parking lot that is a half mile from the observation tower. From that point you can hike the remaining half mile or take the shuttle, since it is a very steep climb we opted to take the shuttle to the top.

View of the observation tower from the parking lot.



Here are some views from the observation tower.



It's easy to see why this range of mountains is called the Smokies/Blue Ridge.



We have really enjoyed having our granddaughter with us for two weeks. Tomorrow her parents are coming to Cleveland, GA to pick her up. While we will miss her, we will be glad to be back to the "two" of us and back on the road again. Till next time.