Wateree Recreation Area was a good lily pad for us. We were able to enjoy a holiday, take a break from the “Roadie Pace,” stay put long enough to utilize Amazon.com delivery service, and perform additional winterizing modifications to the rig.
“Where do we go from here?” ~ Missing Persons, Destination Unknown
Our eastward retreat put us in a position where we had choices. We could venture southwest towards the Florida panhandle—which had the temperatures that we yearned for. We could head due west across I-20, which would put us back on our “mental schedule” of seeing the Grand Canyon before Spring temperatures begin to rise. Or...we could head northwest and bisect The Country via I-40.
The Florida route was actually the most lucrative, as we had been dodging colder weather, and this was a way we could spend our days thinking about something other than how to keep The Rig (and ourselves) warm. The main problem with the Florida route was not getting there, but leaving. From the Florida panhandle (headed west) we did not see a lot of places that were "A-List" hiking locations; and we were not interested in back-tracking if we could help it.
The westward route on I-20 through Atlanta assured us of a quicker arrival in the Southwest region of The States, but again; we did not find a list of areas along the I-20 corridor that were “must see/must hike” places. Additionally, we still held fast to the notion that this was not a Cannonball Run across Our Country, but rather a semi-leasurly pace that would allow us to drink-in the various community cultures that makes us E Pluribus Unum.
The northwest passage (that’s actually how we felt about it) would take us right back into the colder temps that we had earlier fled. Although we had performed more extensive winterization while at Wateree, we (nor The Rig) had been “field tested.”
“Think about direction, wonder why you haven’t before.” REM, Stand
As Kristy and I discussed our options, we realized that (up to this point) we had been moving from place to place based upon where we could find accommodations. Although securing nightly accommodations is not a bad thing, it was making this journey have too much of a “business trip” feel to it. We decided to start looking for “stuff we wanted to see”, then find the accommodations near the "stuff we wanted to see.” The first item to make the list was “waterfalls.” We were within a half-day drive of waterfall country, so with our “to-see” list activated, we charted a northwest course for North Georgia—the Georgia Mountain Fairgrounds.
We made reservations at the Georgia Mountain Fairgrounds campground with a bit of apprehension about what “fairground accommodations” would actually look like. We had attended various state fairs, as well as the San Antonio Stock & Rodeo, and we did not want to park our rig in a large Walmart parking lot—minus the Walmart. We weren’t trying to be pretentious, but we just didn’t think we’d fit in amongst the “carne” crowd.
The Georgia Mountain Fairgrounds is buried deep in the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest at the southern end of Appalachian Mountains. This area is remotely located hours from any interstate, so our trek would utilized secondary roads which followed the twisting and turning trails that traversed through the mountain ridges and creek beds. It was the most challenging driving to date, and I grew to appreciate the capabilities of “Hank” (Kristy’s name for the RAM 3500) to pull 7-tons up steep grades…and (even more important) slow 7-tons going down those same grades. This leg of the trip was where I truly felt confident in my ability and the ability of the truck.
The trip took a bit longer than we anticipated, as we were forced to backtrack towards our moonshine buddy and the BunnyTuna thingy. We arrived after sunset on a Saturday. The check-in office is closed on the weekend (during off-season), and we had to find our spot and set-up in the dark. Kristy—being the expert navigator & crew chief—laid strands of Christmas lights on the pad to give me an illuminated “landing strip” to guide the Fiver onto. If it were not for her quick thinking, The Rig would certainly have a (real) wood paneling motif by now. We positioned solar lighting around the perimeter for additional visibility, and were level & set-up in minimal time.
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| Kristy & The Boys enjoying the mountain views across Chatuge Lake |
The next morning we took a walk around the campground to discover that we were the only occupants (again) besides the camp host (who was a retired DLA map maker for 40+ years). We had the entire 161-acres to ourselves. The campsites were spacious, and the views of the lake and mountains were beautiful. We were pleasantly surprised to find that this was the nicest fairgrounds we had ever seen, with all others being a distant second. A small crew arrived most days to empty any trash bins, service the shower houses, and clear the roadways of the daily avalanche of oak leaves.
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| Callie going "full camo"amongst the rusty oak leaves |
Although the fairground portion was closed, one could see all of the buildings that housed various displays during operating season. The buildings were primitive in design, giving a backwoods/hillbilly feel. Adjacent to the primitive buildings sat Anderson Music Hall. This 2,900 seat theater hosts various concerts and is home to the Fiddlers Convention and Cloggers Convention.
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| Rhododendron lined trails at the Hamilton Rhododendron Garden |
The fairgrounds also housed a 13-acre Hamilton Rhododendron Garden with gentle pathways that switchbacked from the entrance down to lakeside. There were over 3,000 rhododendrons of various species on display, all nestled beneath the hardwood canopy; with benches, gazebos, and various man-made structures tastefully arranged throughout.
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| Solitude amongst the oaks |
It was incredible to have such a large, well-kept piece of land all to ourselves. We had the serenity and privacy of a secluded lakeside property, but the convenience of being only 5-minutes from the quaint mountain hamlet of Haiwassee. We had found another gem in our hunt for Americana.
wWw
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