This article first appeared in The Griffin Daily News on May 26, 2006 and won a Georgia Outdoor Writers Association Excellence in Craft third place award for Conference Site articles.
I miss the bears. When I was growing up back in the 1950s and early 1960s my family took a vacation to the north Georgia mountains every summer. For a week dad drove us on curvy winding roads and we stayed at little motels each night.
Most days we ate breakfast in a roadside diner, lunch was a picnic and supper was at a local restaurant.
One of the highlights of each trip were the bears. Back in the days before political correctness and heightened concern for wildlife many tourist traps had a bear cub chained outside. You could buy a nickel coke and give it to the cub and it would gleefully drink it. They were trying to attract visitors to get them to spend some of their money on souvenirs and other stuff they sold. Thankfully, you won’t see that anymore, but I do miss them.
I will never forget how I got taken one time at such a place. There was a box labeled “Baby Rattler and Copperhead” and for a nickel you could look in the box. Of course there was a pink baby rattle and a penny inside. Lack of truth in advertising goes way back.
Things have really changed in our mountains now. A few weeks ago I stayed in Hiawassee, Georgia for a few days attending the Georgia Outdoor Writers Association conference. Our motel overlooked Lake Chatuge, a clear mountain lake set in surrounding hills and valleys.
Next door was the Georgia Mountain Music Park, the site of the Georgia Mountain Fair, Bluegrass Festival, concerts and a beautiful nature park.
The first afternoon we got a tour of the Rhododendron Garden, a breath taking array of colorful flowers on a hillside overlooking the lake. Every kind and color of rhododendron was there and the caretaker explained about many of them. Many were over 25 years old. Dogwoods were still blooming and native azaleas were everywhere. Locally I call them wild azaleas or honeysuckle bushes and they are almost always a pinkish purple. There they came in many different colors.
One interesting wildflower that is common in the park but very rare in other areas is the Trillium. It is a small woodland flower with three blooms from which it gets its name. It is a very delicate looking plant and one area they covered the hillside. The caretaker said that was the biggest patch of them anyone he met had ever seen.
The next morning I went to the boat ramp in the park and cast from the bank for spotted bass. The campground was next to the ramp and many people were enjoying the excellent campsites and view of the lake. It was very peaceful and quiet and we even caught a few bass.
Lunch that day was at the Hiawassee River Trout Lodge, a place you can rent a cabin and fish for stocked trout right out in front of it. There is a nice pavilion there for events and many weddings area held each year in it and along the river. Some of the members of our group caught trout. I hooked several but never landed one.
The next morning we hiked to the top of Brasstown Bald, the highest spot in Georgia. The .7 mile hike from the parking lot to the top was breath taking in more than one way, it was almost straight up. You can also ride a bus up to the viewing tower and exhibits there and save your breath.
From the top you can see four states. There is a video about the area shown in the theater and many hiking trails are accessible if you have the breath left to do them. Exhibits s how local history and wildlife. It is well worth the hike to the top but carry a jacket - it was surprisingly cold even in early May.
Many of our members played golf, went hiking, fishing and horseback riding, all activities available to the public in the area. For fishing information the Upper Hi Fly Shop just up the road from Hiawassee and right on the shores of Lake Chatuge has fishing tackle as well as information and you can set up guided trips for all kinds of fish from walleye to trout. They also have a variety of clothing and I got a cute wooden deer head caricature with branch antlers for my wall.
The Georgia Mountain Fair is in July each year. Hiawassee will be jumping with huge numbers of visitors. Go then for an exciting time with lots of people, or go now for peace, quiet, beauty and fun. It is about three hours from Griffin and a great place to spend some time, even if you won’t see any tame bear cubs.
I miss the bears. When I was growing up back in the 1950s and early 1960s my family took a vacation to the north Georgia mountains every summer. For a week dad drove us on curvy winding roads and we stayed at little motels each night.
Most days we ate breakfast in a roadside diner, lunch was a picnic and supper was at a local restaurant.
One of the highlights of each trip were the bears. Back in the days before political correctness and heightened concern for wildlife many tourist traps had a bear cub chained outside. You could buy a nickel coke and give it to the cub and it would gleefully drink it. They were trying to attract visitors to get them to spend some of their money on souvenirs and other stuff they sold. Thankfully, you won’t see that anymore, but I do miss them.
I will never forget how I got taken one time at such a place. There was a box labeled “Baby Rattler and Copperhead” and for a nickel you could look in the box. Of course there was a pink baby rattle and a penny inside. Lack of truth in advertising goes way back.
Things have really changed in our mountains now. A few weeks ago I stayed in Hiawassee, Georgia for a few days attending the Georgia Outdoor Writers Association conference. Our motel overlooked Lake Chatuge, a clear mountain lake set in surrounding hills and valleys.
Next door was the Georgia Mountain Music Park, the site of the Georgia Mountain Fair, Bluegrass Festival, concerts and a beautiful nature park.
The first afternoon we got a tour of the Rhododendron Garden, a breath taking array of colorful flowers on a hillside overlooking the lake. Every kind and color of rhododendron was there and the caretaker explained about many of them. Many were over 25 years old. Dogwoods were still blooming and native azaleas were everywhere. Locally I call them wild azaleas or honeysuckle bushes and they are almost always a pinkish purple. There they came in many different colors.
One interesting wildflower that is common in the park but very rare in other areas is the Trillium. It is a small woodland flower with three blooms from which it gets its name. It is a very delicate looking plant and one area they covered the hillside. The caretaker said that was the biggest patch of them anyone he met had ever seen.
The next morning I went to the boat ramp in the park and cast from the bank for spotted bass. The campground was next to the ramp and many people were enjoying the excellent campsites and view of the lake. It was very peaceful and quiet and we even caught a few bass.
Lunch that day was at the Hiawassee River Trout Lodge, a place you can rent a cabin and fish for stocked trout right out in front of it. There is a nice pavilion there for events and many weddings area held each year in it and along the river. Some of the members of our group caught trout. I hooked several but never landed one.
The next morning we hiked to the top of Brasstown Bald, the highest spot in Georgia. The .7 mile hike from the parking lot to the top was breath taking in more than one way, it was almost straight up. You can also ride a bus up to the viewing tower and exhibits there and save your breath.
From the top you can see four states. There is a video about the area shown in the theater and many hiking trails are accessible if you have the breath left to do them. Exhibits s how local history and wildlife. It is well worth the hike to the top but carry a jacket - it was surprisingly cold even in early May.
Many of our members played golf, went hiking, fishing and horseback riding, all activities available to the public in the area. For fishing information the Upper Hi Fly Shop just up the road from Hiawassee and right on the shores of Lake Chatuge has fishing tackle as well as information and you can set up guided trips for all kinds of fish from walleye to trout. They also have a variety of clothing and I got a cute wooden deer head caricature with branch antlers for my wall.
The Georgia Mountain Fair is in July each year. Hiawassee will be jumping with huge numbers of visitors. Go then for an exciting time with lots of people, or go now for peace, quiet, beauty and fun. It is about three hours from Griffin and a great place to spend some time, even if you won’t see any tame bear cubs.