Unicoi and Vogel State Parks

While in Cleveland, GA, we went to a great Assembly of God Church. The people were so friendly and the minister gave a wonderful message. We really enjoyed the music so much and I got the names of several of the songs they sang. I would love to learn them and maybe sing them when we get back home. Nicole, if you are reading this, I will share them with you when we get back the Chehalis. One of the gentleman recommended a BBQ place for us to go to for lunch. We did go to Rib Country and loved the food so much that we went back the next day. Their baby back ribs were the best ever. We even went so far as to buy matching T-Shirts with their logo. Yep, we like our ribs!!

We spent another wonderful day in the area surrounding Cleveland. We saw a sign for a falls and ended up in Unicoi State Park in our quest. The falls ended up requiring a long hike so we went to the visitor center in search of the restrooms instead. What a pleasant surprise when we walked inside. The interior was so awesome with some really beautiful displays of animals and birds. They had hand-made benches and tables in one of the rooms set up for meetings along with stuffed animal displays. There was a huge moonshine still. Even had a Christmas bear.. LOL

The center also had a display of tools that settlers in the area had used. I was surprised that a lot of them my father had on our farm. Some were no longer used but a lot of them were. They also had a room set up as a settler cottage may have looked.

The area around the visitor center was beautiful with a fire pit and even a bird house in the trees. The ranger told us about a scenic drive that was only a few miles away. He told us if we went a certain direction we would go over the dam on the lake. He was so interesting to talk to and so very helpful. Unicoi State Park is a very great place for any of you to visit.

We then headed up the road to the scenic drive. I can’t remember what it was called but it was just north of Unicoi Park. The views were breathtaking even though their was a lot of low-lying clouds that blocked our view at times. Several times we saw people looking at something along the road and just had to stop to see what it was. It ended up being beautiful waterfalls. I love these surprises.

Then to our surprise we discovered another state park, Vogel State Park. This was so beautiful and had so many wonderful things to see. We stopped by the office and had to take pictures of the creek and lake.

After we left the park we continued on the scenic drive. After a while we discovered that we were getting a long way from home and decided to find our way back. We ended up going into some interesting areas. We even ended up in a place called Booger Hollow. See, I even have a sign to prove where I have been. The last picture below is of Yonah Mountain.

When we were almost home we decided to stop at a place we had driven by a couple of times previously. This was Nora Grist Mill which was close by our campground. They have a working mill and made their own cornmeal, flours, pancake and muffin mixes, and much more. We bought a package of their biscuit mix with biscuit cutters attached. Have not tried them yet, but looking forward to doing so… I included pictures of the mill-race and stream that powers the mill. The train engine was parked in front of a book store that was across the road from our campground.