Friday, October 16, 2009

Tallulah Gorge (Clayton, GA)


The visit to Tallulah Gorge was fantastic despite the fact that it rained the ENTIRE time. We had driven to see the waterfalls with TONS of water coming over them --and we were not disappointed. This gorge or canyon is unlike most any other we have visited. Besides just seeing the beauty of the gorge itself, there are five main waterfalls plus two wet-weather waterfalls in the gorge. SO--you can only imagine how much George and I love that place!


Before construction of the Tallulah Falls dam in 1913, the mighty Tallulah River thundered through magnificent Tallulah Gorge, plunging over 600 feet in a series of six renowned waterfalls. Once the area became a state park in 1992, trails and overlooks were added. And --a few times during the year, the Georgia Power Company releases water from the dam. We were there on one of those dates. Seeing waterfalls with THAT much water was totally awesome.


When we were here in June, we stayed on the north side of the gorge. This time, we hiked down the MILLION (felt like that many) steps to the bottom of the canyon, crossed the swinging bridge and went up a million more steps to the south rim of the canyon. The views from the south rim were even more spectacular than the north side. Today I am posting just a few of our many pictures from Tallulah Gorge. I'll share the entire hike over the next few days/weeks ---and I hope you will add Tallulah Gorge to your list of places to go. It is located in the North Georgia Mountains not far from Clayton, GA. AND--if you cannot do much hiking, you can see the gorge and waterfalls via the overlooks. It is an awesome place!


Above is a picture of L'Eau d' Or WATERFALL taken on Wed., October 14, 2009. I wish you could have HEARD all of that powerful water---pouring down the gorge. You can see some fall colors --and also some fog. Below are more pictures.









Did I tell you that it was raining???????? Luckily, it never did rain really hard ---and we didn't mind getting wet. That is L'Eau d' Or Waterfall in the background.







This gorgeous waterfall is named HURRICANE FALLS. It is one of the most awesome ones in the gorge.







See that bridge???? George and I hiked straight down about 600 steps and crossed that bridge. We then hiked UP about 600 steps to the south rim. All of those steps didn't bother me too much--until the NEXT day... I found some muscles that weren't used to that kind of climbing!!!! ha







The state park has incredible trails---including benches around in many areas where one may rest and enjoy the beauty around us. I asked George to sit on this little bench since I loved the way it was tucked up under a rock overhang. Neat, huh????







This beautiful waterfall is named TEMPESTA FALLS.


This is just a few of our pictures from Tallulah Gorge. Many more to come!!!!


We're headed to Jacksonville, FL this weekend to attend a Memorial Service in memory of my brother. I'll try to do some 'catching up' on my laptop...


Have a great weekend.
Hugs,