Mountain Lagniappe

No matter where I go on photo shoots, I always seem to find lagniappe along the way. Today, I'd like to share a little of the lagniappe I captured during our recent vacation in the Blue Ridge Mountains near Blue Ridge, Georgia. This beautiful butterfly had stopped to get a drink in the parking lot of Fall Branch Falls, the waterfall we visited ... When we go to the mountains, I always hope to capture a bear (with my camera!), but these two little guys seem to be the only kind I ever come across ... Notice the acorn resting on this one's nose ... It rained almost every day we were there, and I managed to capture several pictures of clouds and the ever present mist hanging over the mountains ... Georgia Pines The sunrises were glorious ... I find mountain creeks and rivers fascinating, and love capturing the rocks along the banks, and the rushing water as it flows over and around the rocks. I wish my camera could record the sounds of its babbling, too. Toccoa River, after a heavy rain ... Old iron bridge, Dial Community I love the primitive stone columns supporting the bridge ... Just up the road from the bridge is a small mountain farm community named Dial, Georgia. Founded in 1834, Dial was one of the first communities settled in this region. There is no "town," only small farms and a hand full of modest homes that dot the fields and river banks. They say Dial has not changed in over 100 years and it was, indeed, a little like going back in time, as I captured some of the old out buildings and this beautiful Victorian farm house, which is called the Cochran-Davenport House ... Notice the way the floor of the old "spring house" curves. This beautiful and peaceful scene under the shade trees seemed to be beckoning to travelers to stop and "sit a spell." Fire pits are the up and coming thing for "outdoor rooms" these days, but I still prefer the real thing, like this one ... All of the buildings featured in the above pictures are part of The Sustainable Arts Society, which, according to their website, is an organization "fostering creative endeavors in visual arts, music, dance, drama, writing, and environmental sustainability in the rural, pristine setting of the North Georgia Mountains of Southern Appalachia." If you would like to read more about the Society, you can click on the above link. Not too far down the road from the Cochran-Davenport house, the 1941 movie classic, "How Green was My Valley," came to mind as we passed this breathtakingly beautiful valley ... I would love to go back to Blue Ridge in the Fall and capture its mountains and valleys and rivers and waterfalls and country mountain roads ... in all their Fall glory. I can imagine the endless "How Great Thou Art" moments that will be waiting there for someone to come along and discover them ... "just up the road a bit ... just around the bend ... or just over the hill."

Rambling in the North Georgia Mountains

One of the things I was most looking forward to doing during our vacation in Blue Ridge, Georgia, was to take some time to get off the beaten path and explore some of the many scenic mountain drives around Blue Ridge. But there was only one problem with that ... driving (or just riding, for that matter) on mountain roads makes me very nervous, and I knew I wouldn't be able to handle driving by myself and shooting pictures, too. But never fear, my sweet husband came to my rescue and "volunteered" to be my "designated mountain driver."

I had a couple of things in mind that I wanted to see, along with directions on how to get there, so off we went on our little "adventure," armed with cameras, a bottle of water for him, a Dr. Pepper for me, and some chips and candy bars for "energy," in case we had to hike to our destinations.

We were traveling on Highway 60, one of the most beautiful scenic drives in Georgia ...

Complete with old ramshackle barns like this one ...

This was a common sight, too, and made me sorta/kinda wish we had a motorcycle to cruise up and down the backroads (until I saw some cyclists caught in a rain shower a little while later) ...

A little farther down the road, I did a double take when I saw these unusual wind chimes on the side of the road. They are the largest I've ever seen and, yes, at the risk of being captured for posterity by the owner's security camera, I just couldn't resist ringin' those chimes!

I mentioned earlier that there were two places off of Highway 60, that I wanted to see, and the Old Skeenah Mill is one of them. It was built in 1848 by Willis Woody, who brought his family to the Skeenah Valley (named after the Cherokee word for “black bear”) in 1839.

The Mill is listed on the National Register, and was once a popular place for neighbors to gather and chat as they waited for their wheat or corn to be ground. It is currently being used as a campground.

Less than a mile up the road is the second place I wanted to visit -- the longest swinging bridge east of the Mississippi River! Located at the end of a three-mile bumpy dirt road that twists and turns as it winds its way up the mountain to the Benton MacKay/Duncan Ridge National Recreation Trail ...

... The 265-foot suspension bridge was worth every bump and the short hike down to the Toccoa River to see.

The Toccoa River is absolutely gorgeous ...

And I love to watch the water swirl around the huge river rocks. Its power is truly mesmerizing ...

After our hike back UP the trail, we were ready for our candy bars and drinks, and headed back to the lodge. As we passed through the little town of Morganton, Georgia, I noticed this sign and wondered if Mayberry's Floyd had moved his barber shop to the Blue Ridge mountains.

By the way, the lodge where we stayed during our vacation overlooks the Toccoa River that the swinging bridge spans, and here are a couple of pictures I took from our porch balcony.

The railroad tracks shown in this picture run along the river from Blue Ridge to McCaysville, Georgia, and the Blue Ridge Scenic Railway passed by our lodge twice a day.

The engineer would blow the horn to announce its arrival, and we would all run to the porch overlooking the river and wave to the passengers on the train.

No matter where Avery was, you could hear the pitter patter of her little feet running to see the train.

That's just one sweet memory to remind us of all the other little things we did together during our vacation this year.

Like our "scavenger hunt" grocery-shopping trip when we first arrived in Blue Ridge (we broke up into groups and each group had a list of things to find)

Picking blackberries along the road to the lodge ...

Playing board games until one o'clock in the morning

Eating whatever we wanted to eat, whenever we wanted to eat it (like a tuna fish sandwich for breakfast, with a fried apple pie for "dessert")

Whitewater rafting down the Ocoee River
(the younger, more adventuresome family members)

Watching movies (Evelyn, with Pierce Brosnan, and Heaven Must Wait, with Andrew McCarty ... both excellent movies, by the way)

Struggling with a jigsaw puzzle we weren't able to finish because we ran out of days

And finally, the "goodbye hugs and kisses," and teary eyes and more hugs.

So many little things, shared when a family spends a week under one roof ... things we will all recall and cherish for days and weeks and months to come ... until one day, once again, we will start planning next year's vacation. I can't wait!

If you are interested in planning a trip to the Blue Ridge area, you might enjoy reading some of my previous posts about our experiences there. Just click on the links below ... A Visit to an Alpine Village in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Georgia A Blue Ridge Vacation ... the Rest of the Story! Blue Ridge, GA: A Perfect Family Vacation Getaway All Good Things Must Come to an End A Blue Ridge, Georgia Family Vacation Mountain Lagniappe Just Ducky! A Place Called Blue Ridge

A 4th Picture Tag ... "Avery Goes Fishing!"

I was recently tagged by my friend Sheila at The Quintessential Magpie to post the fourth picture in the fourth folder of my pictures file, and here it is ...

It was taken during our family vacation last summer, and that's our little granddaughter Avery Grace trying out her new fishing rod in the Toccoa River near Blue Ridge, Georgia. She was so proud of it and had "practiced" throwing it for weeks before our trip.

Here she is in our courtyard with her daddy giving her a few tips (click on the pictures to enlarge them if you'd like to see the different expressions on their faces up close, especially the last picture) ...

I love the look of concentration on her face in this shot ...

And the look of amazement on both their faces in this picture, as if they're thinking, "WOW! ... what a throw!"

This was a fun post and I appreciate Sheila including me in her tag. I hope you will visit Sheila's beautiful blog, if you haven't already discovered it. She is a sweet, gracious, funny, and smart lady who has a wonderful way with words ... and I know you will love her.

Sincerely,