North Georgia Escape 2025

 Blue Ridge, GA

We arrived Tuesday to our new campground, KOA Blue Ridge / Tacoma River. Sites are spacious and it's super clean.  It sits on the river and appears to be new. 

                                          The Tacoma River across from our site

We have been doing some Ballew family research or more like trying to find things.  Big Bob's 4th Grandfather left Burke Couty NC around 1840 and settled in Fanin County, where we are now.  There seems to still be a lot of Ballew's here.  There was a Ballew town, a Ballew Mill - no longer in use (we got close to the ruins, but the roads got too scary) and in Elijay there is Ballew Mountain and more Ballew roads.

On Thursday, we explored the other mountain towns close to us.  In Elijay, we went to a historical museum located in an old house and it was like stepping into my Grandmother Byrd house.  In the back was an old cabin and that reminded of my Great Grandparents (Robertson) as well.  Check out this old Model T that was there.

Friday, we took the Blue Ridge Scenic Train ride.  It's 4 hours total - 1 hour to McCaysville GA and Copperhill TN, with a 2 hour lay-over, then back to Blue Ridge.   You can actually have one foot in Georga and one in Tennessee.

Today we went to Helen. If we are anywhere close to Helen, we always go to get grits at Nora's Gritz Mill and to sit overlooking the River and eat Bavarian stye food. But this time, we did sit on the River and watch the tubers (what ahoot!) but we eat at a Margarita Bar and Grill, and we didn't get grits.  Nora's was packed and no parking spaces.

Tomorrow, we move to our last campground, River Vista RV Resort in Dillard GA, just 1 mile from the NC state line and my good friend Maggie.

Mizzy says camping is exhausting (she found the folded towel and made it her pillow.  She is so spoiled!