Day Trip: Hiawassee, Young Harris, Blairsville, Helen, Georgia

This is Barbie writing this blog today while Jeff tries his best to win spider solitaire. LOL

We went on a day trip this past Tuesday, June 21, to Hiawassee, Young Harris, Blairsville, Helen, and around the Lake Burton area on our way back. This area in northern Georgia has always been a favorite of ours. The day was a very nice one weather wise. It did get warm as the day progressed. The highest temperature was in Helen at 90 degrees. Of course Kozmo went with us and she had a nice time, so she told us later on in her doggy talk. We stopped first in Dillard for some diesel gas for the truck. It has come down in price being $3.82 per gallon in this area. We saw it just recently at $3.76 in Clayton. If it comes down more we will be saving some more money on our trip up north later in the summer and fall.

We enjoy riding around the Hiawassee area because Lake Chatuge and it’s coves seem to surround the town. It is a beautiful area. Hiawassee is also the home of the Georgia Mountain Fair which is held in August and has an abundance of local craftsmen and women demonstrating and selling their crafts. Many country acts perform as well. We’ve attended in past years and really enjoy it.

   

We made a stop at Vogel State Park to see the ducks and stretch our legs. As you can see by the picture, Kozmo really had a great time checking out the ducks!

In Helen, there were lots of tubers in the river having a great time.

   

We found that unusual for a Tuesday afternoon-all the tubers. Helen wasn’t too crowded but we drove through town and Kozmo got a close-up of a horse drawn carriage. For those of you that have never been there, Helen is a small alpine designed village that caters to the tourist industry.

   

 

   

 

We had to make a stop at Fred’s Peanuts in Robertstown, just outside of Helen, for some Cajun boiled peanuts and pork rinds. We can remember the first time we ever had Fred’s peanuts. Fred was younger then and the peanuts are just as good as they were 20 years ago. Notice Fred’s decor below.

 

    

We also stopped at Stovall’s Covered Bridge in Sautee, outside of Helen. Years ago we caught about a dozen trout right under that bridge. At that time we didn’t have an rv, so we cleaned them in our hotel room in Helen and iced them down for the trip back to Florida.

  

Also in that area we passed an Indian burial mound and the Old Sautee Store.

  

We had camped about 18 years ago at Unicoi Springs State Park in our 32 foot travel trailer. When we went through the campground Tuesday we didn’t see many places that our 39 foot fifth wheel could fit into today. Unicoi Springs is also the home of Anna Ruby Falls.

    

As we were coming back from Helen, we passed the Lake Burton Trout Hatchery where all the trout stocked in local streams are raised and drove through Moccassin Creek State Park and saw many campers.

   

We also saw devastation from the tornado that came through this region in May in the Lake Burton area. Many workers were tearing down trees and leveling off the land to get the area ready for people to build their homes back up again. If you click on the photo and look closely, you can see the path of that tornado. They certainly have a long way to go but are making remarkable progress.

We never get tired of the mountain views and the pretty landscaping that surrounds many of the areas up in Northern Georgia. We feel very fortunate to own a RV site in Dillard that we can come to in the summertime to enjoy.

After our day trip, Kozmo was wiped out. She was very tired and slept through the night without hardly moving. She enjoys her truck rides very much.

‘Til next time…..