Now, it is not that far from Toccoa which if you notice from my profile, is the place of my birth and where I spent my early childhood. (I have ancestors from this area too which makes it special to me.) One of my earliest memories is looking down into the gorge and seeing the beautiful colors of the autumnal leaves. Richard and I went recently and while the colors were just beginning to turn, it was still beautiful...
It was very warm this day and sunny so the photos might not be as clear as they could be but hey, Richard took them so they are still good and I think it gives you a good idea of this beautiful area.
Tallulah Gorge is two miles long and almost 1000 feet deep. There are several rim trails and you know that Richard and I enjoyed those! As I mentioned in a precious post, we walked 321 steps to the suspension bridge which is 80 feet above the gorge...then, you have a similar set of steps to climb up on the other side! We did it though and it was worth it! (The bridge is 80 feet above the gorge.)
I bought a post card of this view but guess what, this photo that Richard took is really a much better photo even if I am in the middle of it!
There is a series of six falls that cascade through the gorge and the town next to the gorge is named after them- Tallulah Falls. Let's not hear any banjo music but...the canoe scenes in the movie "Deliverance" were filmed in the waters of Tallulah Gorge. That is NOT my favorite movie, folks! Let's not have any negative vibes from that film influence the way we think of this place of natural beauty, okay?
You can still see the remains of a tower that Karl Wallenda used to attach a wire in order for him to walk over the gorge. Yes, you read that correctly. Not only did he walk across on the wire but he stopped and did two headstands! By the way, he was 65 years old when he did this. (This would have been in 1970.)
You can still see the remains of a tower that Karl Wallenda used to attach a wire in order for him to walk over the gorge. Yes, you read that correctly. Not only did he walk across on the wire but he stopped and did two headstands! By the way, he was 65 years old when he did this. (This would have been in 1970.)
Tallulah Gorge must have been magnificent in the days before the power company built a dam to contain the powerful waters. (The sound of the water could be heard for miles.) It was a popular tourist destination with many coming by train. Some local people fought against the building of the dam (which was completed in 1913.) One of them was Helen Dortch Longstreet. Also known as "Fighting Lady" she was a newspaper reporter, editor, publisher, postmistress and business manager. She earned her nickname from championing causes such as preservation of the environment and civil rights. She was much younger than her husband, Confederate Gen. James Longstreet, and she spent a large part of her widowhood to ensure that he was "accurately portrayed by history". They married in 1897 when she was 34 and he was 76. He died in 1904.
Even though she was unable to stop the dam, her hard work paid off in the sense that this area is now a state park. One of the trails is named after her- the Helen Dortch Longstreet Trail.
So, what do you think about Tallulah Gorge? Gorgeous, right?
It's exactly the kind of place O.K. and I would love to go hiking at! Such fantastic views, and thank you for providing us with background information - to me, it makes a place, a book, a film, a piece of music or a painting so much more alive when I know something about its background.
ReplyDeleteMaybe you can go back for another visit when the autumn colours are in their full glory.
Wish you could have walked on these trails with us, you would have loved it!
DeleteI loved learning more about the background of Tallulah Gorge.
If you look closely at the 4th photo that I have here, you can just see a building...that would be the place that I remember, there was a viewing platform to look down into the gorge, one of my earliest memories!
Hi Kay - it looks absolutely stunning - loved seeing the photos and knowing there are trails around it ... and what a wonderful area to be born in. Richard has done you justice with his photos ... cheers Hilary
ReplyDeleteThanks, Hillary! Richard does his photos well even on the sunniest of days!
DeleteTruly magnificent, Kay.
ReplyDeleteMy legs would've been shaking, I'm sure, if that was me standing on the suspension bridge.
A great post; an interesting post with terrific photos. Thank you. :)
Thank you, Lee! I must admit I didn't linger on the bridge but got across it rather quickly!
DeleteI love the North Georgia mountains! I miss going there, but my hubby and I don't like driving in them at our age, and we have to go through Atlanta and you know how that is Kay.
ReplyDeleteThanks for letting me visit again through your photo's.
Oh yes, I know what you mean about driving through Atlanta, I try my best to avoid it!
DeleteHappy you liked this trip with us, Sylvia!
Oh yes, it is truly magnificent! What a treasure to have nearby you!
ReplyDeleteA treasure to be sure, I wish it was even closer!
DeleteIt is gorgeous but heights like that tend to make me quite dizzy. Looking out over such a view is ok but can never look down. Looks like you having beautiful weather. Here it has turned wet and chilly. Thanks for sharing ! I love seeing pictures of places I'll never be able to visit.
ReplyDeleteGuess what, I have a great fear of heights! I also can't look straight down too much, when I walked over the bridge, I only looked down ONCE, just a FLEETING glimpse!
DeleteIt is beautiful and I never heard of it before. Love the photos.
ReplyDeleteOH! I have known it for all of my life, as I told you, and I think now it must be very well known from the amount of cars we saw in the parking lot!
DeleteI've always wanted to visit a gorge, and that one looks absolutely stunning. The Grand Canyon is impressive of course, but I'd rather spend my time seeing something beautiful and green like that.
ReplyDeleteOh, but I LONG to see the Grand Canyon too! I hope very much to go and see it one day. Fingers crossed!
DeleteYes, it's beautiful and i hope i can see it in person someday!
ReplyDeleteCome on up, and let me know, we could walk slowly down those steps together!
DeleteHey, Kay, you delivered! You were right, it IS an interesting story. But what an amazing place - and huge. I haven't seen 'Deliverance' for years - great movie!! :-)
ReplyDeleteHey Mike! Thank you! I know the film was very popular but for me, well...when it is about your own neck of the woods it might make you a wee bit sensitive!
DeleteIt is truly gorgeous. My problem is that it is much too high. I felt dizzy looking at the pictures.
ReplyDeleteI also have a bit of a thing about heights. I tend to look out rather than down. I did the same thing when I went up on the London Eye, it didn't bother me at all, I loved it.
DeleteLOL- Well, at least the young couple didn't push you into the gorge so you must not have offended them. lol
ReplyDeleteThat is a gorgeous spot. I had no idea that is where Deliverance was filmed. I remember seeing that film and I think it was probably the most graphic film I had ever seen at that time....we've come a long way from that!
I love gorges and bridges both. I don't like driving over big really high bridges but I don't mind walking over them. I'm kind of weird that way. lol
I hope you have a great weekend, Kay, and maybe you can find another tagline to 'shamelessly steal" while you are out and about. xo Diana
I made it sound as if I walked up on them and just flat out told them they were wrong, didn't I? HA! It really wasn't like that, we were on a viewing platform and admiring the beauty of the view when the couple began to talk to me, I promise I wouldn't just jump into somebody's conversation, honest!
DeleteI will also look for something to shamelessly steal while I am out and about! LOL!
Wonderful place and great pictures. This is the first time I heard of a sourwood tree but I can tell that it's leaves don't look anything like maple leaves.
ReplyDeleteYes, I should have said, the couple couldn't really see the leaves from where we were. Richard took that photo on the steps as we came up from the gorge. Everyone should know the shape of the maple leaf, just look at a Canadian flag, right?
DeleteHa! Guess what, I just read on the Georgia Native Plant Society website that our native maple leaves actually don't really have that shape (like the one on the flag that I mention above!) Just to confuse me, I suppose! LOL!
DeleteAlways nice to visit places like that with great scenery and viewing platforms. Interesting history as well. I liked that film but thet's probably because I,m not southern and feel exactly the same about certain Scottish tartan,haggis, heather and bagpipe efforts filmed here that overseas audiences lap up. Even when National Geographic(a magazine I really like)did a photo portfolio on Scotland it was very different from my own perception of the place, living here as an insider. Not radically so but different all the same.
ReplyDeleteAs usual, Bob, you understand me so well! It is hard to explain, isn't it, the way that you think and feel about the place of your birth.
DeleteMagnificent, just magnificent. I know I will never be there to hike around this wonderful gorge so I am very grateful that you not only gave us great photos and lots of background but also a video. I have a sour gum tree in my yard which has similar gorgeous coloring in the fall and is not seen much in northeast Ohio. The leaves are similar, but I just looked up sourwood and see they are different trees. (And now I'm wondering if the reason they have sour in their names has anything to do with the reason for the powerful color in the fall.) You could probably have a whole post about Helen Dortch Longstreet. She sounds very interesting.
ReplyDeleteThank you! You made me look back at my photo (which I only just thought of adding there at the end of my post and therefore didn't notice it very well!) and I do believe that it IS a sour gum tree! We did see both trees and they both had very red leaves!
DeleteYou are right, I wish I could have written more about Helen Dorth Longstreet, I want to write a book about her and THEN, make a movie about her!
Thanks again for your comment, I went back and edited this post. You are a such a help to me, now please come to my house and proof read my posts, will you? :-)
I should have a look at that gorge someday. I pass through or near Helen on my way to the mountain house in North Carolina. Your photos are beautiful.
ReplyDeleteYes, you would love it. The Interpretive Center is amazing there also with a lot of into on the gorge and the town too.
DeleteWhat a fabulous place! how lucky you are to have grown up in this beautiful area. I know I'd really love it there. I have heard that NC is very beautiful also, but it's an area of the US I have never reached yet.
ReplyDeleteNorth Carolina is also beautiful! Like Georgia, they have beautiful mountains and then, a gorgeous coast on the east!
DeleteIt is so beautiful.
ReplyDeleteLove your photos.
All the best Jan
Thank you, Jan!
DeleteWhat a gorgeous place, Kay! Just the kind of spot I'd love to hike!
ReplyDeleteThanks Louise! You would love it!
Delete