From Coffee to Goats: Day 2 in North Georgia

Good Morning, World, from the front porch of The Bears Den. That's the second cup of coffee in the beverage holder of my chair. Listening to the brook in the background and breathing fresh pine air. Linda and Sarah discovered goats and ducks in the farm area of our campground while on their morning walk. Definitely worth the long drive up yesterday!

After a very respectful time allotted to relaxing and coffee, the five of us (four human and one canine) drive off in search of adventure.

We're right down the road from the Brasstown Bald, the highest point in the state of Georgia at 4,784 feet. The road up is a bit twisty but when we arrive in the parking lot, we discover that we are not yet at the top. For this, we will either need to hike UP 6/10s of a mile or take the shuttle van. "Friendly lap dogs" are allowed in the van so we four humans and one 42 pound "lap dog" are soon on our way to the top. The view is fantastic!

The visitor center itself is quite interesting with a quilt exhibit and two animated forest rangers (sounds hoakey, but really a very well done insight into both early and current forest rangers in the Chattahoochee National Forest.) Several other exhibits covered the history of the area from the earliest Native Americans to the Trail of Tears relocation, the first white settlers, early logging techniques and the coming of the tourists.

Some of us walk DOWN the trail to the parking lot before we all move on down the road on our scenic drive ...

...stopping, of course, for short hike on the Appalachian Trail.

We meet a group of teenagers from Clearwater, Fl. who had been on the trail for the past three days and were waiting for their shuttle to pick them up. One of the adult leaders of the group sent his daughter up the trail after us to take our picture. Perhaps, we should be a titch embarrassed by that gesture, but it was fun interacting with them as well as sharing a bit of awe for something as historic as the Appalachian Trail.

The day is beautiful, sunny and "not-so-hot" as we've been experiencing. We're almost to Helen when we spot "Goats on the Roof", a gift store which has goats living on it's roof.

Ok, so this IS hoakey. But fun.

So ends "Day 2".

Tomorrow, we hike to waterfalls.

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