Day 31-June 19, 2017-Dahlonega, GA Wineries
80 and humid all day, some sprinkles during the afternoon.
We spent about 2 hours checking out the resort-it is huge! There are 7 camping areas plus an area for tents. Crystal Lake, up a slight hill is gorgeous, no swimming but fishing and canoe or kayak rentals. Up on chapel hill there is a chapel with great views and in the woods behind the chapel is the “tiny house community”, 14 tiny houses for rent. Back down the hill is the lodge. Inside upstairs are two banquet halls, decorated for a wedding. The pool, an R-shaped 13,000sq ft. heated to 85 degrees salt pool is right outside and on the other side rocking chairs with magnificent views of the mountains. Downstairs is a TV room, adult TV room, pool tables, book exchange, game room and a place to just relax with big overstuffed sofas and chairs. Once outside the security gate there are ball fields, soccer fields, volleyball, horseshoes, mini golf and the grazing horses. We didn’t check out another section with regular cabins and Rainbow Lake. We wanted to get on our way to the wineries. When we got to the main road there was a “pile of rocks” in the middle of an island. We turned left. I thought yesterday’s drive was a lesson in how to navigate steep slopes, no shoulders and windy curvy roads. I was wrong, today had it beat. Up, Up, Up in the “Appalachian Wilderness”. Huge drops, no shoulders, no side streets, no way of knowing where we are and nobody on the road but us. We crossed over the beginning of the Appalachian Trail at 3200’ elevation and stopped at an outpost to ask for directions. There were two hikers there who were about to start the trail. Their next stop was 15 miles away and they looked ready to go. A woman stopped by with a lot of packets of freeze dried food for them and they were really excited about it. Seems we should have gone right at the “pile of rocks”. We went about 16 miles out of our way. So down the hill we went and past the “pile of rocks”. Some wineries were closed on Monday but we found Frogtown Cellars and The Cottage, both of which had their owners doing tastings. Both wineries had beautiful rooms for weddings and fantastic views of the surrounding mountains. And good wine. We always split tastings so we never drink too much. One of the owners told us the “pile of rocks” is a burial site for a Cherokee princess, Trahlyta, and the custom is to throw a rock on the pile and get good fortune and youth. Twice they’ve tried to move the burial site for construction and both times somebody had died in the process. So now they leave it in the middle of the road. Back through more woods to the town square in Dahlonega. In the middle of the square is the Gold Museum. Dahlonega came into being because of the gold rush in 1833 and the square was the main road. Old buildings with antique shops, boutiques, gift shops and wine tasting rooms. We stopped at the visitor center, got a wine glass and brought it to the tasting rooms for samples. The crosses and flags were all over the square and I found out that each cross represents a veteran who was a citizen of Dahlonega and has passed away and fought in a conflict. They are on all the streets that lead into town and there are over 700 of them. And then we headed back to the RV but on the way back we had to stop and toss our rocks onto the “pile of rocks”. You knew we had to do that, right? Dahlonega was a wonderful place to visit but we’re off again tomorrow.