Met Someone Interesting and a Historical Twist.

 

October 14, 2015

 

We were trying to decide on whether or not to leave Georgia and head back to Tampa.  My Mom was having good days and then not so good days and we were hoping she would do better so we could stay in Georgia at least through the fall foliage season.

We spent a day driving on some of the scenic routes looking for fall color.  It hadn’t reached peak color but we enjoyed it anyway.

We drove up to Brasstown Bald, which is the highest mountain in Georgia.  They have a lovely viewing center. The fall foliage was just beginning to change.

The road up was gorgeous with cobalt blue skies.

Most of the trees were still green, but there was enough color to make for an enjoyable day.

When you get to the parking lot below the visitor center, you can walk the .6 mile on a paved trail up to the viewing area, or you can catch a shuttle.  The trail is kind of boring, and we didn’t want to waste precious time walking, so we took the bus.

While on the bus we struck up a conversation with another couple.  As we were exiting the bus she mentioned she had been there before and brought a picture.  I expected a picture of beautiful fall foliage, but I was certainly surprised at the picture she showed us.

There used to be a fire tower on the top of Brasstown Bald since it’s the highest peak in Georgia.

They have a non working fire tower up there now, but it’s no longer used because of new technology which made it obsolete.

This is what it looks like now.  That is the fire tower in the background and the visitor center in the foreground.

 

Peggy and Walt (I think was his name) were the couple on the bus.  This is the picture she wanted to show me.

It turns out she was last at Brasstown in 1957 as a little girl.

 

 

 

She is the little girl on the left.  Her sister is on the right and the man in the background was a family friend who is kind of a celebrity in Georgia.  His name was Leonard E. Foote.

If you’ve ever been to Amicalola Falls  State Park, you might have heard of the “ Len Foote Hike-Inn.”

From the top of Amicalola Falls, you hike 5 miles down to the Inn.   You can spend the night at the Inn, but you need to bring any personal items you may need.

Notice the name on the Inn? 

On a historical note . . .
The Len Foote Inn is named for Leonard E. Foote, a leading conservationist, biologist and nature photographer, who inspired the comic strip “Mark Trail.” Foote, a Georgia resident, worked for 30 years as the southeastern representative for the Wildlife Management Institute and 18 years on the Georgia Game and Fish Commission and the Board of Natural Resources.

 

One of the park rangers saw the picture, gave me his email address and asked that I send him the picture of the picture that I took.  He is going to copy it and post it at the visitor center at Brasstown Bald. 

We enjoyed a few minutes at the viewing area.

One of our favorite spots to read on a day when we have more time.

The color was just starting.

Some more pictures from our scenic drive that day.

 

Sadly, this was to be our last full day in Georgia. We left the next day and are now back in Tampa caring for my Mother.  More on that later.

A Moving Exhibit

 

 

Blairsville, Georgia  (high 68, low 45)

From 10/11/15

I think winter will be arriving here in the north Georgia mountains with the predicted temps getting town into the 30’s later this week.  We awoke to 45 degrees this am, and thankfully above the point where our heat pumps quit working.

After such a wonderful day Friday with the elk, Saturday it rained most of the day.  We hunkered down at home, except for a few short golf cart rides and a trip into town for a look at the Moving Viet Nam Wall.  It’s half the size of the original one in DC, but it was pretty impressive nonetheless.

We have tried to see it for years, but we’ve always missed it for one reason or another.  If you are interested in seeing it, the link to the remainder of the 2015 schedule is here.  It travels each year from April through November.

Al and I met on the island of Guam while our fathers were stationed at Anderson Air Force Base, during the height of the Viet Nam War.  Guam was an important base for the military and most every day, we saw camouflaged  B-52 aircraft taking off and landing on our tiny island.   We also very frequently saw big trucks loaded with bombs, also in camouflaged paint.  Guam was also a place for the military for their R & R.  Both of our fathers jobs were heavily involved in the war efforts, but I suppose pretty much anybody stationed there at the time was as well.

It was always a startling reminder of the nearby war when you saw truck loads of bombs. Regardless of what you thought of the war then or what you think of it now, it was an important part of our history and a lot of people died there.  I’m sure most of growing up in the 60s had friends or family who went to Viet Nam. 

We waited for the rain to slow down and then went into town to see the wall. 

We waded  through a very wet field and went over to the very moving display.

 

There are names of dating back to 1957 when 3 military advisors were killed and they included the 58,300 names listed on the wall, which include 8 women.   It’s a moving experience.

There were people there with computers to look up any name you gave them and would tell you where on the wall to look for their name. 

There were a lot of Viet Nam Vets there visiting and also helping out.  Several left hats and other memorials.

Out of respect, I didn’t take pictures while we were walking by. 

 

I am way behind on my blogging.  We had another interesting experience experience a few days after this.