Dog-Hobble

It was an uneventful tow from StoneMountain to Helen,Georgia.  Technically we are in Sautee Nacoochee, Georgia, but Helen is just 5.8 miles away.

We are in the mountains of northern Georgia and internet reception is almost non existent. I just spent a frustrating hour and a half trying to load the 14 pictures I wanted to put in this post.  But in that time I was only able to upload 4 pictures.  That will have to suffice until we get to a place that will give us better access.

After we arrived at the Creekwood Resort we unhitched and went to see Anna Ruby Falls, the local big attraction.  It is in a National Forest area and at the beginning of the trail up to the Falls we met and talked to Parker who is the area Manager. He use to teach Mechanical Arts in high school but he is now working for the Forest Service and he loves his job because he gets to meet people from all over the world.

Parker, a neat name for someone who works for the Forest Service.

After meeting and talking with Parker we hiked up to Anna Ruby Falls.  Tumbling down from Tray Mountain, Curtis and York Creeks flow over exposed granite to form two extraordinary waterfalls.  The taller of the two, formed from Curtis Creek, drops 153 feet while York Creek joins it with a 50 foot drop. Legend has it that a local Confederate soldier Colonel John N. "Captain" Nichols, found the waterfalls while horseback riding in the area and decided to give the name Anna Ruby after his only daughter.

Anna Rudy Falls.

I kinda wonder about this legend because I don't see how anyone could be just out horseback riding through this thick forest.  In face, we were introduced to dog-hobble that is all over these hills.  Mountain Dog-hobble is an evergreen shrub in the same family as rhododendrons and blueberries.  It grows on moist slopes and along stream sides where it forms such dense thickets that "a dog can hardly hobble through it."

Dog-hobble.

Coming down the mountain we went into Helen for some groceries.  I will write more about Helen when I am able to show more pictures of the town.  It is quite charming and unique in the U.S. 

Downtown Helen.