24 July 2022
Sunday
OK, I should not have left my eco-cottage to travel to Commerce, Georgia and stay at the Hampton Inn. On the other hand, if I had not, I would not have had the opportunity to hike the Laurel Ridge Trail and Anna Ruby Falls trail today.
I’ve stayed at Hampton Inns before and they are generally OK. I thought I was being smart by getting an end room (king bed) on the uppermost floor. I was to soon realize my mistake. The pool was three floors below me. I can take kids screaming and hollering – they’re just having a good time. I figured the pool area would close down around 10 pm.
I didn’t get much sleep the night before at the Eco-Cottage. I got out of bed at 3:30 am and made coffee and stayed up until I packed and left for Commerce. I decided I needed to get some sleep so I turned out the light at the Hampton Inn at 9 pm. I waked at 10:30 pm to adults in the pool area. They started to get louder. At 11:30 pm they were even louder. I called the front desk and asked when the pool area was to close. The host said normally around 10 pm but this was a wedding party at the pool. I asked if he could give me a new room and he eagerly agreed. I’m sure he didn’t want to confront a bunch of drunk wedding guests and tell them to close it down.
He moved me to the opposite end of the hotel and to the second floor. Again, another king bed, so no loss in accommodations. However, someone was constantly going up and down the stairwells and letting the door slam shut each time. The stairwell and door was where the headboard of my bed was. I didn’t get much sleep last night either.
However, everything has turned out more than OK. I got to Helen around 10:30 am. I went to the visitors center and they told me my cabin would be ready around 1 pm.
It was then I decided to hike the 1.6 mile loop called the Laurel Ridge Trail.
It has a 314 foot elevation gain and at the top you get a great view of Yonah Mountain. On a previous trip I climbed Yonah. It’s a 4.5 mile out and back 9 miles) (with a 1,466 foot elevation gain. The U.S. military considers it rugged enough it trains elite soldiers on it. It was nice to see from a distance this time.
After the Laurel Trail hike, I went into Helen and bought the obligatory fudge (maple pecan and chocolate pecan) and walked around the town. My last visit was in the dead of winter and I have to say I prefer the winter version. The town was packed. Some of the shops that were closed when I went in winter were now open and I would prefer them closed again. Most were tee shirts, fudge, and tattoo shops. People were hunting shade on a 94F day in Helen. However, I will say 94F in the mountains is preferable to 94F in the Okefenokee.
After the Helen excursion, I headed to Anna Ruby Falls. This was my second visit. The falls are pretty amazing. There are two separate falls: the one from Curtis Creek is 153 feet in height and the one from York Creek is 50 feet high. Both creeks join below the falls to form Smith Creek.
The place was packed. Entrance is $5 but since the falls are on U.S. Forest Service land, the senior national park pass lets you in for free. In the parking lot, a woman decided to back up to let another person out of a parking spot. Unfortunately for me, she didn’t see me and almost hit me. I had to lay on the horn to get her to stop inches from my front bumper.
It’s an 0.4 mile uphill paved trail to the falls and it can get quite steep. I saw a couple of families trying to get to the top by pushing baby carriages. Wonder if they made it.
On my last visit, someone had defaced one of the U.S. Forest Service interpretive signs – about how many millions of years ago the falls had been formed. The defaced sign is still there with the years of formation scratched out. Someone obviously feels very strongly about Bishop Usher.
The highlight came when I pulled up to the Garden Cottage. I’ve never stayed in a place as nice as this. I’ve stayed at the Fairmont at Lake Louisa. I’ve stayed at the Fairmont in San Francisco. I’ve stayed at the Roosevelt in New Orleans. Nothing is as nice as this cottage. If I ever build a cabin, no need to do anything but get the blue prints for this place. It’s perfect. I do not ever want to leave. However, at $375 a night, I could only swing 2 nights.
Living Room
Stay tuned!